Cal One of 10 Schools to Have Two Wide Receivers on Biletnikoff Watch List

Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks, two wide receivers who arrived at Cal this past offseason as transfers, are among the 45 college players who were named to the 2026 preseason Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

The Biletnikoff Aawrd goes to the top FBS wide receiver in the country, and the preliminary watch list was announced on Wednesday.

Cal is one of 10 schools that have two players on the list, joining Miami, LSU, Texas, Oregon, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas State, Colorado and Houston.

Miami is the only ACC team besides Cal with two players on the Biletnikoff list, strengthening the claim that Cal may have the best wide receiver duo in the conference.

This is the first time that any Cal player has been named to the preseason Biletnikoff list since Jeremiah Hunter was on the list prior to the 2023 season. Hunter is the only Golden Bears receiver named to the Biletnikoff watch list since 2018, when two Cal players – Kanawai Noa and Vic Wharton -- were on the preseason list.

No Cal player has ever won the Biletnikoff Award, which has been awarded every year since 1994.

Strong had 52 receptions for 762 yards and five touchdowns last season for Rutgers, and Hendricks caught 71 passes for 1,037 yards and seven touchdowns for Ohio in 2025.

Strong and Hendricks are different types of receivers. The 6-foot-4 Strong is a tall receiver who can go up and grab passes in a crowd and is a deep threat. Hendricks is a versatile receiver who can play on the outside and in the slot and is a precise route runner who relies on finesse.

Their Biletnikoff candidacy is aided by having Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele as the Bears’ quarterback this season.

Cal tight end Dorian Thomas was named to the watch list for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight end.

Their first game action as Cal receivers will come in the Bears’ season opener against UCLA on Saturday night, September 5. Cal is currently a 1.5-point favorite in that game, according to FanDuel, but the point spread is likely to change as the game approaches.

That game will also be the head coaching debut of Cal’s Tosh Lupoi.

The Biletnikoff Award semifinalists and the three finalists as well as the award winner are selected by a panel of 625 media members.

Biletnikoff watch list | Biletnikoff Award website

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