The men's and women's cross country teams will kick off their season on August 29 at the Freed Speed Open taking place at Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park in Pinson, Tenn. This will be the second consecutive year the Lions will host a race after taking multiple years off. With the race being the opening race of the season, the men will be running a 5K instead of the traditional 8K they ran last year. One week later, the teams will travel to Memphis, Tenn. where they will race in the Memphis Twilight, the typical season opening race. The teams will head back to Memphis two weeks later to race at Shelby Farms in the Rhodes College Invitational. The teams will conclude their regular season racing at the Louisville Classic on October 3, and then the Appalachian Challenge in Knoxville on the 23, a course where nine runners have their PR. The conference championship will take place on November 6 in Bowling Green, Ky., with hopes of qualifying for the national championship race, this year being held in Vancouver, Wash on November 19.

The men's team returns ten runners, six of which have been scorers for the team over their Lions career. Seniors Barrett Poe and Daniel Puckett will look to lead the team, as they have been significant contributors since their freshman year. Fellow seniors Andrew Wrenn, Brock Windham, and Grant O'Neal will also look to help make their mark on the season, while underclassmen Neal Rowlett and Lucas Black are hoping to build off their seasons last year as constant top-five runners. The team adds on three freshmen, Luke Phillips, Anthony Pineda, and Samuel Ridnour. Phillips comes in with a 5K PR of 18:08 from Columbia Academy with a state appearance his senior year. Pineda hails from Durham, N.C. and was a three-time top-10 finisher at the CAA4SC Championships, including two runner-up finishes as a team as well. Ridnour brings in a 19:45 5K PR and also made a Class 6A state championship appearance his senior year as part of Athens High School.

While the women's team lost three significant runners from last season, they also bring back talent with experience producing for the team, and are bringing in some high-level talent. Mary Pearce, who has already etched her name in the Freed-Hardeman history books, looks to continue her impressive career and make her third appearance at the NAIA National Championship race. Hanna Cherry, Zola Dorris, and Mackenzie Reames were all top-five finishers from last season's team, and will look to continue to do so this year. Joining the team for the first time is transfer Zoe Lucas, from Shelton State Community College, hoping to use her experience to help a young team. The Lady Lions also added four freshmen, including hometown Bella Lamb, a three-time state championship qualifier, Hannah Gehlert and Clara Whitworth, both two-time state qualifiers, and Billie Rose Johnson, from Chestnut Ridge Academy. Despite their youth, all four are hoping to use their high-level competition experience in high school to roll over to the collegiate level.