The Arkansas Quiz Bowl preseason poll received 5 responses from active ARQB community members. Here are the takeaways:
Russellville stands tall. When we started the Arkansas Quiz Bowl forum back in 2024, before the state tournaments, Russellville was the #1 ranked team in the state with 3 seniors and 1 junior in the starting lineup. Fast forward 2 years, and they're on track to be better than they were that year. The two-time defending NAC champions, Russellville's dynastic run doesn't look to be stopping, with a battle-tested lineup of 4 seniors (Ian Warnick, Keegan and Gidian Fuller, and Will Stump) plus another contributor from somewhere on their deep bench, most likely junior Marley McClanahan, returning to strike fear into the Natural State's quizbowling population. Russellville received all five first place votes in the community poll.
Battle for 7A supremacy. Two 7A teams received votes in the rankings: ASMSA and Fort Smith Southside. ASMSA received two 2nd place votes and three 3rd place votes, while Southside received 3 2nd place votes and 2 3rd place votes. These two teams matched up at 7A-West Regionals this last year, where ASMSA eked out a 260-255 victory over an incredible Southside team. Both teams return the bulk of their scoring, with ASMSA's star duo of Jacob Lewis and Ridgely Bond (the latter being the reigning 7A MVP) looking to forge a new legacy in ASMSA quizbowl history by claiming the school's first ever back to back quizbowl titles. Standing in their way is the team that stopped their last bid at back-to-back titles, Southside, led by consensus #1 player in the state Justin Han whose help stretches well into the bench with 9 of his 11 7A state teammates from 2025 returning for revenge. Those other two spots will be viciously in contest with a gaggle of great sophomores incoming from a truly dominant 7A junior high freshman team, spearheaded by the frightening big 4 of Katherine Apple, Lucas White, Jamizen Murphy, and Khang Nguyen. This storyline should be entertaining to follow through the season, and it will hopefully culminate in absolute cinema on TV for the 7A finals. Southside, in stark contrast to ASMSA's relatively new success, has a legacy of excellence: the team hasn't missed state in two and a half decades and has been in the 7A semifinals every year since 2017; an 8 year run of consistent high finishes in a very competitive division.
Small school excellence. Although all of the top 3 votes went to Russellville, ASMSA, and Southside, all the 4th and 5th place votes, except for one (Batesville), went to small schools. Haas Hall Bentonville, Haas Hall Fayetteville, and Hazen were regarded as top teams not only in their classifications, but in the state by peers who ranked them highly in their polls. Haas Hall Bentonville was ranked in every response, and both Haas Hall Fayetteville and Hazen were ranked in two responses.
A league of their own. A handful of elite players have established a clade atop the Arkansas quizbowl scene, with every top 4 vote besides one (Gidian Fuller) going to Justin Han (consensus #1), Michael Bowman, Ridgely Bond, Ian Warnick, or Jacob Lewis. Ian Warnick and Ridgely Bond are locked in an absolute dogfight for best history player in the state, Michael is the consensus best generalist, Jacob Lewis is considered the best science player by most, and Justin Han is the consensus best literature and fine arts player. Expect these five players to dominate discourse in player discussions and lead their teams to strong finishes in tournaments as the clear top five in the Natural State.