On the surface, year three in 2025 for Charleston Southern coach Gabe Giardina appears mediocre, but it may have been more of a success than a quick glance would tell.
CSU”s record was a middling 5-7 season, but the Giardina-led Bucs won the most games and produced the longest winning streak since 2019’s 6-6 campaign. Now Giardina and company must focus on building on that success in 2026.
“I think we have outstanding leadership,” Giardina said at the Ohio Valley Conference Media Day. “We have more guys on our team than we ever had who fit that mold, who can lead well and influence our team in the right way.”
Player leadership is abundant, but top-heavy. The Bucs boast 21 Juniors and 17 senior/graduate students on the roster, a numerical downgrade from a year ago. There are fewer upperclassmen and returning starters than Giardina may prefer, but he’s confident in the 2026 group.
Starting quarterback Zolten Osborne, who threw for 2,216 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, transferred to Tennessee Tech over the offseason. In his place, graduate Lek Powell and sophomore Jared Echols are expected to compete for the starting spot.
“I’m most excited about our team offensively to see who emerges as the quarterback,” Giardina said. “I’m super excited about the guys competing for that position.”
Powell played in parts of three games last season during his first action at Charleston Southern. Before becoming a Buc, he threw for 2,088 yards and 15 touchdowns with a 69.7% completion percentage in 2024 with Shepard University.
Echols has been with CSU since 2024, when he redshirted his freshman season. Last year, he completed two passes for 24 yards in two games.
“Jared is a very good athlete and a good leader,” Giardina said after Echols signed as a freshman. “He makes great decisions with the ball. We are really excited to have him as a part of our team.”
The receiving room is another group that saw large turnover. Mekhi Campfield is coming off a breakout campaign and will be heavily relied upon as the primary receiver. After two lackluster seasons to begin his collegiate career, he was second on the team in catches and receiving yards in 2025. He was one of six Buccaneers to be named to the Phil Steele Preseason First-Team All-Conference Team.
The leading receiver in most categories last year, redshirt freshman Rashawn Cunningham, transferred to Liberty over the offseason. His absence leaves a gaping gap that Campfield is expected to fill.
Dwayne Wright is the most experienced incoming transfer this season. The running back spent four seasons at Newberry, where he found early success. He rushed for 893 yards on 189 carries as a sophomore and 664 yards on 117 carries as a junior. A season-ending injury limited his 2025 action to just two games before he decided to transfer to CSU.
He’ll replace leading rusher Ke’Marion Baldwin, who transferred to Bowling Green. Baldwin recorded 778 yards on the ground and six touchdowns last season. The second leading rusher from a year ago, Hakeem Waters, will get work in the backfield as well. Waters rushed for 450 yards on 89 attempts and scored three touchdowns.
Another Senior expected to produce at a high level is linebacker Steve Zayachkowsky. Last season, Zayachkowsky led the Bucs in tackles during his first full season as a starter. Entering this year, he was also named to Phil Steele’s Preseason First-Team All-Conference roster.
“I think we are underdogs in some sort of way,” Zayachkowsky said when asked about the team’s identity this year. “We weren’t ranked the highest in the last OVC poll, which is fine; that’s how it’s going to be. But I see (us) as emerging. We have a very experienced team, so I’m excited to see what’s going to happen this year.”
CSU was ranked fifth among the eight teams in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason poll. The OVC returns as the title name for the conference that shared a name with the Big South since 2023.
“The return to a unified OVC football identity represents more than a rebrand—it signifies a reset, a refocus, and the start of an exciting new direction for our league,” OVC Commissioner Matt Wilson said.