Matt Middleton learned two important lessons last fall during his inaugural season at Kansas Wesleyan's head football coach.

First and foremost, he needed to improve the Coyotes' depth after an onslaught of serious injuries wreaked havoc with the roster. Then secondly, the Kansas Conference is no slouch.

"Depth is everything here," Middleton said Friday during the KCAC's virtual media day. "Never went through the injury bug that I went through a year ago, a lot of season-ending injuries. What I realized is, and it's at any level, your (starters) can be good but if they're out, you're in trouble. So, what we've really tried to do is get good quality depth across the board at every position."

Middleton and his staff were not waylaid though and forged ahead, finishing 7-4. He points to running back D'Heaven Domena as an example of the team's season-long resilience.

"Week two we lost (running back) Luke Armstrong, who was an All-American the year before I got here, to a torn ACL. Took us till about week five to figure out where we were at running back, and D'Heaven Domena came blasting on the scene and had a phenomenal year."

Middleton signed another large class of transfers during the offseason to fill in the gaps.

"We've gone the transfer route, and we'll continue to do that," he said. "Obviously, that's the tough part about this league; you've got to go do it. I inherited a roster that was low in numbers, and I had to work really hard to be competitive. We've really tried to get good quality depth across the board at every position.

"We feel really good about our freshman class we signed a year ago, probably one of the better freshmen classes I've been lucky enough to be a part of. We've got a lot of those guys on the two-deep (chart), a few starting."

The second lesson was Middleton's indoctrination into the KCAC. Three fellow Gene Bissell Division members were ranked in the top 25 in the final NAIA poll last season – Friends sixth, Southwestern 21st and McPherson 22nd.

"It's a really good league, and there's a lot of really good teams from top to bottom. It's super competitive," he said. "I am a little bit more prepared mentally for what to expect and what I need to be able to compete."

Bissell Division coaches picked the Coyotes to finish fourth in a poll conducted Friday. McPherson was first with defending champion Friends and Southwestern second and third. Saint Mary was fifth and Sterling sixth. Evangel was the favorite in the Ted Kessinger Division followed by Ottawa, Tabor, Bethel, Bethany and Sterling.

Division winners receive automatic bids to the NAIA playoffs. Those harboring hopes of an at-large playoff berth will need a glowing record against their 11 conference opponents.

"I've realized (success in the Bissell) doesn't mean a hill of beans if you don't handle the front half (against the Kessinger)," Middleton said. "I know for us we're super concerned about Ottawa (in the August 29 opener) and the first part of our schedule. We'll deal with the (Bissell) gauntlet at the end when it gets here."

Middleton said Ottawa has the Coyotes' undivided attention.

"Ottawa was as hot as hot could be at the end of last year," he said. "They finished 6-5, could have easily been 8-3. They've got guys back; they've got a quarterback (Luke Edwards) that's a dude, so we know what we're in for. They're really good football team."

KCAC BISSELL DIVISION COACHES POLL
1. McPherson - 23 (3)
2. Friends - 22 (3)
3. Southwestern - 18
4. Kansas Wesleyan - 13
5. Saint Mary - 8
6. Sterling - 6