NCAA women's golf preseason rankings: Top 30 teams, players for 2025-26

How dominant have Stanford head coach Anne Walker's teams been over the last decade?

Since winning their first NCAA team title in 2015, the Cardinal have never failed to make match play at nationals. They've been the No. 1 seed after stroke play six times in the past 10 years, even though they've only got three total national crowns to show for it. And they've won 12 straight stroke-play tournaments dating to April 2024.

With Walker returning her top seven players from last year's NCAA runner-up squad, it's no surprise that Stanford clocks in at No. 1 in Golf Channel's preseason team rankings.

How does the rest of women's college golf shake out behind the Cardinal? Golf Channel's Brentley Romine ranks his top 30 teams, projects this year's All-Americans and top freshmen, highlights the best tournaments on the schedule and provides in-depth analysis into the best programs in the nation:

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1. Stanford

• Final 2024-25 rank: 1
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: Runner-up (won stroke play)
• Returning: Paula Martin Sampedro (Jr.), Andrea Revuelta (Soph.), Megha Ganne (Sr.), Meja Ortengren (Soph.), Kelly Xu (Sr.), Nora Sundberg (Soph.), Leigh Chien (Soph.)
• Departed: Caroline Sturdza
• Arriving: Kaila Elsayegh (Fr.), Anna Song (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Sampedro, Revuelta, Ganne, Ortengren, Xu

Scouting report: Stop us if you’ve heard this before – Stanford might have assembled the best college team ever. The Cardinal’s starting five entering the season has an average World Amateur Golf Ranking of 7.2. That’s not a typo. There were no significant departures from last year’s top-ranked squad that didn’t lose a stroke-play tournament and dropped only two matches, the ACC semifinals and NCAA final against Northwestern. And it seems as if much of Stanford’s core has gotten even better this summer. Sampedro won both the Women’s British Amateur and European Ladies before finishing eighth at the AIG Women’s Open, where she was the low amateur. She continues to get better around the greens and could challenge Oregon’s Kiara Romero, among others, for the Annika Award. Revuelta had a less busy summer, though was third at the European Ladies – and she’ll hopefully have a much healthier sophomore season after battling a right shoulder injury that kept her out for the first half of last spring. Ganne entered last fall banged up as well, though what a difference a year makes as she’s coming off winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur and will surely build on a junior year where she didn’t finish worse than T-11 in nine starts. And then there’s Ortengren, who just won last Sunday on the Ladies European Tour. She was the Cardinal’s top-ranked player as a freshman at No. 5 in Scoreboard’s rankings. The fifth spot should be Xu’s, though Sundberg, a former top-30 amateur, can’t be ignored as arguably the best sixth woman in the nation. While a perfect season will be tough with Stanford’s top four players set to miss the Windy City Collegiate in late September to compete in the World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore, this team should have little trouble winning a sixth straight stroke-play title at La Costa. But as we’ve learned, match play is unpredictable, with Stanford only having three NCAA team titles to show for its dominance this past decade under head coach Anne Walker.

Texas Athletics

2. Texas

• Final 2024-25 rank: 6
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: Quarterfinalist (seventh in stroke play)
• Returning: Farah O’Keefe (Jr.), Cindy Hsu (Sr.), Lauren Kim (Jr.), Angela Heo (Sr.), Selina Liao (Jr.), Alisa Inprasit (Soph.), Emma von Hoffmann (Jr.)
• Departed: Bohyun Park, Tiffany Cao
• Arriving: Vivian Lu (Jr.; transferred from Washington)
• Projected starting lineup: O’Keefe, Hsu, Kim, Lu, Heo

Scouting report: It’s hard for the second-best team in the country to be flying under the radar, but such is the reality behind this Stanford juggernaut. The most well-equipped squad to take down the Cardinal? It might be Texas, now in its second season under head coach Laura Ianello, who led the Longhorns into match play last spring at La Costa and returns the bulk of her roster. “They’re hungry,” Ianello said. “They definitely know that we were a final eight team last year, but that wasn’t good enough. They may have been a little satisfied, but we felt like that was a mediocre finish and we are meant for so much more.” The depth is apparent with Texas boasting five players who will compete in the World Amateur Team Championship this October. Two of those, O’Keefe and Kim, were named to the preseason Annika Award Watch List. O’Keefe had six top-4 finishes last year, though no wins, before finishing runner-up at the Women’s British Amateur this summer. Kim didn’t play much this summer before struggling at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, so she’ll have some rust to knock off to start the fall. But there is a third Longhorn who could end up having the best season, and that’s Hsu, who made the quarterfinals of the Women’s Western Amateur and Round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur around a win at the LNGA Amateur. Hsu, who has worked hard this summer with her instructor Candie Kung in Dallas, has yet to win in college, though, perhaps a result of putting too much pressure on herself. She’s also struggled with inconsistency, as she finished 40th or worse three times last spring. “My job this year is to make sure Cindy feels ready to compete, feels confident and knows that she can win every week because she can,” Ianello said. Add in Lu, a top-60 amateur who transferred in from Washington, and Texas’ top four is the best of anyone not named Stanford. The fifth spot is a bit interchangeable, though watch out for Liao, who missed last spring with a right-thumb injury.

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3. Oregon

• Final 2024-25 rank: 3
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: Semifinalist (second in stroke play)
• Returning: Kiara Romero (Jr.), Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (Soph.), Karen Tsuru (Jr.), Tong An (Soph.), Darae Chung (Jr.)
• Departed: Tiffany Huang, Annika Varma, Sonja Tong, Yvonne Vinceri
• Arriving: Sophie Han (Fr.), Shyla Singh (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Romero, Vinijchaitham, Tsuru, Han, An

Scouting report: Oregon dug it out of the dirt at the NCAA Championship last May, overcoming back injuries to two starters and deploying a little-used sub to help the Ducks finish second in stroke play and win a match. Head coach Derek Radley returns most of that team, though Tiffany Huang decided this summer that she’d turn pro instead of coming back for her junior season. That said, with two talented freshmen coming in – Han and Singh, both ranked in the top 150 of WAGR – it wasn’t a guarantee that Huang would’ve even started most tournaments. Romero is arguably the best player in the country – and certainly the most physically imposing. Her wins at Big Tens and the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional last spring could signal that she’s ready to close out more tournaments this year. Will she go to Q-School this fall? That’s unknown, though it’s more likely we see Vinijchaitham chase an LPGA card. She’d be a huge midseason loss for the Ducks, though this program is used to such departures. Tsuru should continue to be super dependable, while An’s postseason run could give her a ton of confidence going into her sophomore season. Then there’s Chung, who surprised with an impressive summer, posting some low rounds and four top-3s, including a runner-up finish at the Cal State Women’s Amateur.

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4. USC

• Final 2024-25 rank: 8
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: Quarterfinalist (fifth in stroke play)
• Returning: Jasmine Koo (Soph.), Catherine Park (Sr.), Bailey Shoemaker (Jr.), Kylie Chong (Soph.)
• Departed: Cindy Kou, Joyce Jin
• Arriving: Elise Lee (Soph.; transferred from Northwestern), Sarah Hammett (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Koo, Park, Lee, Shoemaker, Chong

Scouting report: When it comes to peaking at the right time, USC just didn’t do that last spring. Koo cooled off after a three-win fall. Shoemaker was hampered by a right-arm issue. Kou ended her career having never really replicated her first semester as a freshman. And Park’s putter wouldn’t allow her to pull this team across the finish line. But with the arrival of Lee, a key piece from Northwestern’s NCAA title squad, and Hammett arriving this season, head coach Justin Silverstein isn’t expecting to get bit by a lack of depth this season. Koo made the Round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and if she improves off the tee, she’ll be a first-team All-American; she’s arguably the best putter in the nation. Park (four runners-up and a win last season) missed the cut at Bandon, though Silverstein isn’t worried. “I think we’ll see the best Cathy at some point this year,” he said. “I like where her heads at; super grown up, and she has the reins this year with the team.” Lee has done nothing but turn heads since stepping on campus this summer. Shoemaker still isn’t 100%, but Chong is poised to take another step after winning the SCGA Women’s amateur this summer, and Hammett could surprise after an early-year slump that was mainly the byproduct of a family move to India.

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5. Arizona State

• Final 2024-25 rank: 7
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: Ninth
• Returning: Patience Rhodes (Jr.), Beth Coulter (Sr.), Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Sr.), Isla McDonald-O’Brien (Soph.)
• Departed: Grace Summerhays
• Arriving: Johanna Axelsen (Fr.), Kate Dillon (Fr.), Pimpisa Rubrong (Fr.; arriving in spring)
• Projected starting lineup: Rhodes, Coulter, Schulz-Hanssen, McDonald-O’Brien, Axelsen

Scouting report: A few years ago, head coach Missy Farr-Kaye looked at other top teams in the country that were flush with fourth- and fifth-year players – and then she looked at her young team, including then freshmen Rhodes, Coulter and Schulz-Hanssen. “I thought, we need to mature and grow, and once we get to that space, they’re going to be amazing,” Farr-Kaye said, “and they are.” Fast forward to now, and Arizona State is a veteran squad coming off missing match play by a shot at the NCAA Championship. They also missed out on a Big 12 title in a playoff to in-state rival Arizona. To say this bunch is motivated would be an understatement. Rhodes, a redshirt junior, has taken off since making the GB&I Curtis Cup squad last summer. She didn’t finish outside the top 14 all season as a sophomore until the NCAA Championship, led the Sun Devils in nearly every major statistical category last season, and she enters the fall ranked a career-best 21st in WAGR. Coulter, the team’s gritty leader, and Schulz-Hanssen combined for nine top-10s last season, and like Rhodes, they both spent the summer playing mostly team golf for their nations. McDonald-O’Brien played every event last season out of necessity for the thin Sun Devils, who had just five on the roster, and she responded with four top-6s. After making the quarters of the Women’s British Amateur this summer, she could take another big step as a sophomore. The lineup should be rounded out by Rubrong, though she won’t join the team until January because of some fall tournaments scheduled with her native Thailand, including the World Amateur Team Championship, where she’ll compete against three of her Arizona State teammates – Rhodes, Coulter and Schulz-Hanssen. Meanwhile, at least one of the other two freshmen will get some fall run.

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6. Duke

• Final 2024-25 rank: 30
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: DNQ
• Returning: Andie Smith (Sr.), Katie Li (Jr.), Anna Canado Espinal (Soph.), Carla De Troia (Soph.), Martina Yu (Soph.)
• Departed: Rylie Heflin
• Arriving: Rianne Malixi (Fr.), Avery McCrery (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Malixi, Smith, Li, McCrery, Espinal

Scouting report: The seven-time NCAA champion Blue Devils haven’t finished better than 14th at nationals since making the semifinals in 2021. They’ve also missed at regionals twice in the past four seasons, including last spring, when they followed the program’s worse ACC finish ever (10th) with an 11th at their 12-team regional. But head coach Dan Brooks is feeling confident that Duke is about to return to national prominence thanks to the arrival of freshmen Rianne Malixi and Avery McCrery. Malixi is ranked 11th in WAGR and fresh off earning co-medalist honors at the U.S. Women’s Amateur; her world ranking could be much better, too, if not for a back injury that knocked her out for multiple months earlier this year after a torrid stretch that included wins at the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer. McCrery was a first-team AJGA Rolex Junior All-American last year and made match play at Bandon. Smith went the furthest of any Duke player at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, advancing to the Round of 16, and she’s coming off a consistent junior season that featured a win among six top-20s. Li has probably underachieved so far in college, though she had a nice summer, qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open and finishing second at the New Jersey Women’s Amateur. The two sophomores didn’t miss a tournament last season, with De Troia having the better scoring average but Espinal winning and posting two top-10s to De Troia’s zero. Espinal also has the better WAGR of the two, 292 to 545, so she’s likely got a leg up for the fifth spot to begin the season.

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7. Texas A&M

• Final 2024-25 rank: 20
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: DNQ
• Returning: Vanessa Borovilos (Soph.), Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (Jr.), Mia Nixon (Jr.), Sky Sudberry (Jr.), Kynadie Adams (Sr.)
• Departed: Lauren Nguyen
• Arriving: Louise Reau (Jr.; transferred from Georgia Southern); Scarlett Schremmer (Fr.), Natalie Yen (Fr.), Brynn Kort (Fr.), Avery Zweig (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Borovilos, Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Schremmer, Reau, Yen

Scouting report: When reigning NCAA individual champion Adela Cernousek bolted for the LPGA midseason, head coach Gerrod Chadwell was slightly worried his Aggies may not sustain well enough to make regionals. Yet, they finished fifth in a loaded Moon Golf field, easily got into the postseason and were a playoff away from advancing to the NCAA Championship. Every significant piece is back, too, and they will combine with Chadwell’s best recruiting class ever and Georgia Southern transfer Louise Reau, who is just outside the top 100 in WAGR. Reau didn’t play much this summer, but the ultra-consistent ball-striker could flourish in the middle of the Aggies’ lineup. Fernandez Garcia-Poggio has underwhelmed in two years in College Station and is coming off a missed cut at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, but can she get back to being the talent that rose to No. 2 in the world? Perhaps Texas A&M’s new No. 1 in Borovilos, who had a win and three seconds as a freshman. She also broke the U.S. Women’s Amateur scoring record with a 63 at Bandon before bowing out in the first round of match play. “She could honestly break every record in program history,” Chadwell said of Borovilos. As for the freshmen, Schremmer is the most polished, and she and Yen will get a lot of run. Kort needs to improve her putting if she wants to contribute right away while Zweig probably is at least a year away. “The way they have carried themselves is they are not intending on coming here and sitting,” Chadwell said of the freshmen. “They are intending on coming in and playing, and they want to do something great together. … “It’s just exciting to have this innocence and energy.” Nixon, who had top-10s this summer at the Texas Women’s Open and Texas Women’s Amateur, could sneak up in some qualifiers, too.

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8. LSU

• Final 2024-25 rank: 12
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: T-10
• Returning: Rocio Tejedo (Soph.), Elsa Svensson (Sr.), Taylor Riley (Sr.), Josefin Widal (Soph.), Edit Hertzman (Sr.)
• Departed: Aine Donegan, Jordan Fischer, Samantha Olson
• Arriving: Francesca Fiorellini (Soph.; transferred from UCLA), Ryleigh Knaub (Fr.), Lucia Iraola (Fr.), Perla Sol Sigurbrandsdottir (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Tejedo, Fiorellini, Svensson, Riley, Knaub

Scouting report: The Tigers didn’t really go anywhere after losing their Big 3 from two years ago – Ingrid Lindblad, Latanna Stone and Carla Tejedo. They shared the team title at the Darius Rucker among seven top-3s and ended the season T-10 at nationals. Again, LSU won’t have a surefire superstar. But as head coach Garrett Runion adds, “We’re on the younger side, but we’re one of the deepest teams I’ve ever had.” Tejedo’s sister, Rocio, now a sophomore, is most primed to be LSU’s No. 1, as she was the SEC runner-up as a freshman among five top-5s. The only issue is she’s been quiet this summer. Fiorellini is a former top-20 amateur who Runion is hoping can rediscover her game after transferring from UCLA. Svensson has clawed her way back into the top 250 of WAGR after effectively missing two years with a back injury and losing her world ranking. After that, LSU could go with two freshmen in Knaub, a member of the U.S. National Junior Development Team, and Iraola, who had a shoulder issue affect her recruiting but could be a nice surprise as she joins friend Tejedo. Riley and Widal were key contributors last season with a combined for six top-10s in 23 starts, and they aren’t going anywhere.

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9. Arkansas

• Final 2024-25 rank: 2
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: Quarterfinals (sixth in stroke play)
• Returning: Maria Jose Marin (Jr.), Clarisa Temelo (Soph.), Reagan Zibilski (Sr.), Abbey Schutte (Jr.), Natalie Blonien (Soph.), Anna Kate Nichols (Soph.)
• Departed: Kendall Todd, Giovanna Fernandez, Cory Lopez
• Arriving: Swetha Sathish (Fr.), Sayers Allen (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Marin, Temelo, Zibilski, Schutte, Blonien

Scouting report: Behind NCAA individual champion Marin, the Razorbacks reached the NCAA match play for the first time since 2019 before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual NCAA champion Northwestern. They also won a match at SECs for the first time since winning conference in 2018. While the graduation of Todd will sting, the most important thing is that Marin is back. The gifted ball-striker put in a lot of time refining her game from inside 100 yards this summer, and the hope is her playing in two majors will mature her game even more as she contends for national player of the year. The unassuming Temelo might be a better iron player than Marin, and she followed a nice freshman campaign (five top-10s, including a regional runner-up, plus a Women’s Amateur Latin America win) by nearly making the Evian cut this summer. Zibilski tailed off after a great fall, though she won the Missouri Women’s Amateur this summer and made match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Schutte also made match play at Bandon, and along with Blonien and Nichols will play Arkansas’ 6-count-5 season opener, the Carmel Cup. The two freshmen didn’t qualify for that, but Sathish came close and should adjust to the college game fairly quickly. While Arkansas probably wasn’t as good as its No. 2 national ranking last season, it wasn’t far behind, and head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor believes that a heightened focus on match play and pressure situations this year will prove the difference. For example, the last three holes of the Razorbacks’ qualifiers for Carmel Cup were worth double. “We’ve got to have a little different mindset and finish a little stronger,” she said, “so we’re doing some things to really challenge the girls coming down the stretch and prepare them for moments of winning.”

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10. Florida

• Final 2024-25 rank: 22
• 2025 NCAA Championship finish: 17th
• Returning: Paula Francisco (Jr.), Ines Archer (Jr.), Addison Klonowski (Soph.), Siuue Wu (Soph.), Elaine Widjaja (Soph.), Jessica Guiser (Soph.), Sophie Stevens (Jr.)
• Departed: Karoline Tuttle, Sarunchana Rattanasin, Isa Wu
• Arriving: Megan Propeck (Sr.), Katelyn Huber (Fr.)
• Projected starting lineup: Francisco, Propeck, Archer, Klonowski, Wu

Scouting report: It was a strange end to the season as Florida was the SEC runner-up and later qualified for its first NCAA Championship since 2019 but then had a bizarre penalty at nationals after Francisco took a shuttle to the wrong starting tee at La Costa and was late for her tee time. Luckily, that wasn’t the difference in the five-win Gators making the 54-hole cut (they finished 17th), but hopefully for head coach Emily Glaser, it’s a lesson that will bolster Francisco and the rest of her team. “They got a little taste of it, and what I’ve seen is they’re pretty motivated by last year,” Glaser said. “They have the realization that they can be a special team and a contender.” Francisco will be counted on to lead the way. She was runner-up at the NCAA Charlottesville Regional last spring, one of her seven top-20s as a sophomore, and she made the quarterfinals of the Women’s British Amateur and was T-11 at the European Ladies this summer. It just boils down to how comfortable she is in the spotlight. Propeck adds a maturity that Glaser has never seen before and should be the team’s leader while contributing reliable scores – she had top-5s in all three postseason events last spring for Virginia and was recently runner-up at the Kansas Women’s Amateur. Archer matched Francisco’s four top-10s last season, and Klonowski had a team-high 10 top-25s as a freshman. Wu showed she’s bounced back from a wrist injury that knocked her out of the second half of last spring, winning the Florida Women’s Amateur and making match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Huber was T-118 at the U.S. Girls’ Junior, but she’s apparently arrived on campus playing some nice golf and could crack some early lineups.

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Nos. 11-30

11. South Carolina: The departures of Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist (two wins and 11 combined top-5s last season) leave massive voids on this roster. While sophomore Eila Galitsky has the firepower to be the national player of the year, the Gamecocks won’t be able to best last spring’s T-10 finish at nationals without help behind her. Junior incumbents Maylis Lamoure and Vairana Heck will get plenty of run, but Campbell transfer Alicia Olsson, ranked No. 90 by Scoreboard last season, might quickly assert herself as the No. 2 for head coach Kalen Anderson’s squad, which could be a little inconsistent as it figures out who will round out the starting lineup. Though freshman Molly McLean is nearly top 200 in WAGR, fellow newcomer Laura Nepper from France might be better suited to contribute more from the start.

12. Wake Forest: After beating Stanford en route to an ACC runner-up finish and winning the NCAA Lubbock Regional, the Demon Deacons closed last season with a T-19 at La Costa. That was after replacing the graduated Rachel Kuehn. Now comes the task of withstanding the departure of another senior All-American in Carolina Chacarra. Junior Macy Pate and sophomore Chloe Kovelesky lead the way while senior Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, who was fourth at the European Leadies and runner-up at the Dutch National Stroke Play this summer, will also take on an increased role. Perhaps the success of Wake depends on if Auburn transfer Casey Weidenfeld, who didn’t post a top-20 finish last spring and was out of the lineup for regionals, can rediscover her form after a reset of environment.

13. Northwestern: The reigning NCAA champs lose Lauryn Nguyen to graduation and Elise Lee to USC, but they reload with the arrival of much ballyhooed freshman Arianna Lau, who is the Wildcats’ highest-ranked incoming freshman ever (No. 41 in WAGR). Lau reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur this summer and may be this team’s No. 1 ahead of junior Ashley Yun, senior Dianna Lee and sophomore Hsin Tai Lin, who were all in last year’s national title-winning lineup. The fifth spot is a major question, but there are some options, including sophomore Megan Meng, a former Junior Solheim Cupper who was a quarterfinalist at the New Jersey Women’s Amateur this summer.

14. Vanderbilt: The Commodores were on the cusp of a top-10 ranking before plummeting nearly out of the top 25 last spring, which they capped with a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Championship. The good news is that everybody from that squad is back, including junior Ava Merrill, an All-America honorable mention last season who won the Georgia Women’s State Amateur this summer, and senior Tillie Claggett, who recently captured the Canadian Women’s PGA. Freshman Elizabeth Rudisill (Vanderbilt’s top player per WAGR at No. 116) should supplant one of the returning starters.

15. Auburn: After not finishing outside the top three last fall, Anna Davis was more up and down in the spring, which she capped with a disappointing T-96 finish at La Costa. Not there’s any concern for her junior season, which she arrives at following a light but impressive summer that included runs at the British Amateur (quarterfinals) and U.S. Women’s Amateur (Round of 32). As her Tigers look to avenge last spring’s sixth-place finish at regionals, head coach Melissa Luellen is expecting a lot out of seniors Katie Cranston and Carys Worby, the latter of whom finally played a full schedule in the lineup though posted just one top-10 finish last season. Watch out for Spanish sophomore Balma Davalos, ranked No. 177 in Scoreboard as a freshman but coming off a breakout summer that was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the European Ladies.

16. North Carolina: With her top seven back from last season, head coach Aimee Neff has her deepest team in her five years in Chapel Hill, though it all starts with senior Megan Streicher. After posting five straight top-7 finishes to begin her junior year, Streicher cooled off and finished the spring ranked No. 48 in Scoreboard. But her 63 in the first round of qualifying this fall is indication that Streicher will be the Tar Heels’ horse once again. Sophomore Helen Yeung and junior Ing Iadpluem each racked up four top-6 finishes last season. The rest will just be a matter of sorting out that depth, as North Carolina looks to get back to nationals for the second time in three seasons after finishing eighth at regionals last spring.

17. Tennessee: The Vols have gone further every season under head coach Diana Cantu, who led Tennessee to a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Championship in her fourth season last spring. The Vols return four of their top five, too, including senior Manassanan Chotikabhukkana and sophomore Kyra Van Kan. Plus, two impact freshmen arrive – Madison Messimer and Thailand’s Thitikarn Thapasit, two players who are knocking on the door of the WAGR’s top 300. Messimer reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Girls’ Junior this summer after making the quarterfinals last summer.

18. Ohio State: Senior Kary Hollenbaugh followed her four-win spring with a summer that included Round-of-16 appearances at both the Women’s Western Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur. The reigning second-team All-American should again be one of the top players in the nation while sophomore Nellie Ong, who was T-6 at the European Ladies, is a talented running mate. How quickly Aussie freshman Sophie Eppelstun (No. 168 in WAGR) translates to the college game could determine if the Buckeyes better their T-24 finish at nationals last season.

19. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs did their best to withstand the midseason departure of world No. 1 amateur Julia Lopez Ramirez to the LPGA, but ultimately, they dropped from fifth in the national rankings in October to No. 18 to finish the spring, albeit with an impressive 14th-place showing at La Costa. After having no newcomers on his roster last fall, head coach Charlie Ewing has a seven-player squad that is comprised more than half by fresh faces, including four freshmen from four different countries. Sweden’s Moah Stridh is probably most ready to contribute to a starting lineup that will undoubtedly be led by junior Avery Weed, who was steadily risen into the top 50 of WAGR after being ranked outside the top 200 this time last year.

20. Ole Miss: The Rebels stumbled out of the gates last fall with an 11th-place finish at the Cougar Classic, but eventually others stepped up behind Caitlyn Macnab to help Ole Miss to its third straight NCAA Championship. The Rebels managed only a 27th-place finish at La Costa and Macnab has since graduated, so head coach Kory Henkes is going to need some improvement across the board from her young team (just one senior). Sophomore Kajsalotta Svarvar led the Rebels at regionals (third) and nationals (T-24) as a freshman and could be a prime candidate to break into the All-America space.

21. Oklahoma State: Annie Young takes over as head coach after Greg Robertson was ousted despite leading the Cowgirls to five NCAA Championship appearances in as many years, including a national runner-up finish in 2021, after being hired from Kent State. Senior Grace Kilcrease had eight top-10s, including a win, last season, and should again be this squad’s No. 1 following a nice summer. Freshman Allison Chen had a strong 2024, which included winning the Taiwan Amateur, though she hasn’t replicated that success so far this year.

22. Florida State: It will be impossible not to take some steps back after losing world No. 1 amateur Lottie Woad and reigning Annika Award winner Mirabel Ting, but head coach Amy Bond isn’t expecting a total retreat after last spring’s trip to the NCAA semifinals, even with no juniors or seniors on the roster. Sophomore Sophia Fullbrook, who nearly finished top 10 at the European Ladies this summer, will be counted on in a big way, and fellow sophomore Elin Pudas Remler will finally be eligible to compete after transferring from Kentucky.

23. SMU: With five top-3 finishes and a victory at the North and South Women’s Amateur, senior Mackenzie Lee might be the best player nobody talks about. Add senior Emily Odwin, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open this summer, and Sam Houston transfer Grace Jin, who won this year’s Texas Women’s Amateur, and the Mustangs should get back to nationals after finishing eighth at regionals last spring.

24. Houston: After back-to-back sixth-place finishes at regionals, can the Cougars finally qualify for the program’s first NCAA Championship this season? With its top four players returning, including seniors Moa Svendenskiold, Natalie Saint Germain and Alexas Saldana, Houston should have enough to be a top-30 team this season. Adding sophomore transfer Emilia Vaisto from Mercer will help, too.

25. California: Senior Constance Fouillet racked up six top-11 finishes last season, though no wins. The Bears will likely need her to close out a few tournaments in Year 2 under head coach Sofie Aagaard, though there is some nice depth behind Fouillet and senior Adora Liu thanks to the additions of Purdue transfer Jasmine Kahler and freshman Camila Zignaigo, who cleaned up this year in her native Peru with three wins among 12 total top-10s.

26. Eastern Michigan: Head coach Josh Brewer opened the bank account to add Long Beach State twins Jasmine and Janae Leovao, as well as the NAIA’s No. 1 player Baiyok Sukterm. And junior Savannah de Bock, a former top-40 amateur who followed Brewer from Georgia two summers ago, is back to lead a squad that could end up the best mid-major in the country.

27. UCF: The Knights probably fell short of expectations as they placed seventh at regionals while Pimpisa Sisutham and Molly Smith couldn’t repeat their All-America honorable-mention selections from the previous season. But Sisutham, a senior, and Smith, a junior, are back, as are four of the top five for head coach Emily Marron, who also added South Carolina transfer Tiffany Tsai and freshman Kinga Kusmierska, who won the Annika Invitational Europe this summer and is expected to play a lot.

28. Arizona: After the Wildcats placed eighth at regionals last spring, Year 2 could be a challenge for head coach Giovana Maymon. Arizona returns a squad filled with seniors and junior, most notably Charlotte Back, but must replace Carolina Melgrati and brings in freshman Kinsley Ni, who was the U.S. Girls’ Junior medalist last year but has plummeted in WAGR in recent months.

29. TCU: The Horned Frogs fell one shot shy of qualifying for its first NCAA Championship since 2023, and four of that starting five are back, including sophomore Camille Min-Gaultier, who posted three runners-up as a freshman and is now ranked No. 69 in WAGR. The four and five slots could be an issue, though TCU is hoping Gracie McGovern’s runner-up at the Arizona Women’s Amateur this summer kickstarts a much better sophomore campaign.

30. Baylor: Not many programs can claim five straight NCAA Championship appearances, but the Bears are one of them. Head coach Jay Goble, however, has his work cut out for him after several departures, including graduates Sera Hasegawa and Baimai Seema, and Ashleen Kaur, who transferred to Miami. The reinforcements include Illinois transfer Yurang Li and Lynn transfer Charlotte Brook, who was the 27th-ranked play in D-II last season, as well as freshmen Amelia Wan (No. 433 in WAGR) and Hong Kong’s Obi Chan. Senior Silje Ohma is the only returner with any top-10s last season (five), though senior Bridget Boczar had six top-25s.

Golf Channel’s Preseason Top 30

1. Stanford
2. Texas
3. Oregon
4. USC
5. Arizona State
6. Duke
7. Texas A&M
8. LSU
9. Arkansas
10. Florida
11. South Carolina
12. Wake Forest
13. Northwestern
14. Vanderbilt
15. Auburn
16. North Carolina
17. Tennessee
18. Ohio State
19. Mississippi State
20. Ole Miss
21. Oklahoma State
22. Florida State
23. SMU
24. Houston
25. California
26. Eastern Michigan
27. UCF
28. Arizona
29. TCU
30. Baylor

Next 10: 31. Oklahoma, 32. Kansas, 33. Virginia, 34. Michigan State, 35. Miami, 36. UCLA, 37. Clemson, 38. Princeton, 39. Iowa State, 40. Michigan

NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Golf Channel’s Preseason All-Americans

FIRST TEAM
1. Kiara Romero, Jr., Oregon
2. Paula Martin Sampedro, Jr., Stanford
3. Andrea Revuelta, Soph., Stanford
4. Eila Galitsky, Soph., South Carolina
5. Rianne Malixi, Fr., Duke
6. Megha Ganne, Sr., Stanford
7. Jasmine Koo, Soph., USC
8. Maria Jose Marin, Jr., Arkansas
9. Meja Ortengren, Soph., Stanford
10. Farah O’Keefe, Jr., Texas

SECOND TEAM
11. Catherine Park, Sr., USC
12. Anna Davis, Jr., Auburn
13. Kary Hollenbaugh, Sr., Ohio State
14. Vanessa Borovilos, Soph., Texas A&M
15. Cindy Hsu, Sr., Texas
16. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, Soph., Oregon
17. Patience Rhodes, Jr., Arizona State
18. Lauren Kim, Jr., Texas
19. Rocio Tejedo, Soph., LSU
20. Arianna Lau, Fr., Northwestern

THIRD TEAM
21. Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Jr., Texas A&M
22. Mackenzie Lee, Sr., SMU
23. Beth Coulter, Sr., Arizona State
24. Vivian Lu, Jr., Texas
25. Megan Streicher, Sr., North Carolina
26. Kelly Xu, Sr., Stanford
27. Avery Weed, Jr., Mississippi State
28. Macy Pate, Jr., Wake Forest
29. Paula Francisco, Jr., Florida
30. Clarisa Temelo, Soph., Arkansas

HONORABLE MENTION
31. Catherine Rao, Sr., Princeton
32. Elise Lee, Soph., USC
33. Balma Davalos, Soph., Auburn
34. Scarlett Schremmer, Fr., Texas A&M
35. Paula Schulz-Hanssen, Sr., Arizona State
36. Andie Smith, Sr., Duke
37. Karen Tsuru, Jr., Oregon
38. Pimpisa Sisutham, Sr., UCF
39. Chloe Kovelesky, Soph., Wake Forest
40. Sophia Fullbrook, Soph., Florida State

Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Golf Channel’s Preseason All-Freshmen teams

FIRST TEAM
Rianne Malixi, Duke
Arianna Lau, Northwestern
Scarlett Schremmer, Texas A&M
Sophie Han, Oregon
Natalie Yen, Texas A&M

SECOND TEAM
Elizabeth Rudisill, Vanderbilt
Avery McCrery, Duke
Sarah Hammett, USC
Pimpisa Rubrong, Arizona State
Madison Messimer, Tennessee

Getty Images

Circled on the calendar

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Aug. 29-31 – Carmel Cup, Pebble Beach, California
Sept. 8-9 – Cougar Classic, Charleston, South Carolina
Sept. 8-10 – Annika Intercollegiate, Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Sept. 15-16 – Inverness Intercollegiate, Toledo, Ohio
Sept. 22-24 – Golfweek Red Sky Classic, Wolcott, Colorado
Sept. 15-17 – Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Lake Bluff, Illinois
Sept. 29-30 – Windy City Collegiate, Golf, Illinois
Sept. 29-Oct. 1 – Blessings Collegiate Invitational, Fayetteville, Arkansas

OCTOBER
Oct. 6-7 – Illini Women’s Invitational, Medinah, Illinois
Oct. 6-7 – Prairie Dunes Women’s Collegiate, Hutchinson, Kansas
Oct. 13-14 – Dale McNamara Invitational, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Oct. 17-19 – Stanford Intercollegiate, Stanford, California
Oct. 17-19 – Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Oct. 20-22 – The Ally, West Point, Mississippi
Oct. 24-26 – Landfall Tradition, Wilmington, North Carolina
Oct. 27-29 – Nanea Invitational, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Oct. 27-29 – East Lake Cup, Atlanta

JANUARY/FEBRUARY
Jan. 26-27 – Sea Best Intercollegiate, Jacksonville, Florida
Feb. 1-3 – Therese Hession Regional Challenge, Palos Verdes, California
Feb. 1-3 – Puerto Rico Classic, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Feb. 9-10 – Arizona Thunderbird Intercollegiate, Tucson, Arizona
Feb. 15-17 – Moon Golf Invitational, Melbourne, Florida
Feb. 23-24 – Chevron Challenge, Humble, Texas
Feb. 23-24 – Bruin Wave Invitational, Valencia California

MARCH
March 2-4 – Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
March 6-8 – Gators Invitational, Gainesville, Florida
March 9-10 – GameAbove Invitational, Rolling Hills Estates, California
March 16-17 – Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, Austin, Texas
March 16-17 – Old Barnwell Match Play, Aiken, South Carolina
March 17-18 – Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, Honolulu, Hawaii
March 23-24 – Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate, Fort Worth, Texas
March 23-25 – Ping/ASU Invitational, Tempe, Arizona
March 27-29 – Clemson Invitational, Sunset, South Carolina

APRIL
April 6-8 – Silverado Showdown, Napa, California
April 16-19 – ACC Championship, Wilmington, North Carolina
April 17-21 – SEC Championship, Belleair, Florida
April 23-25 – Big 12 Championship, Dallas
April 24-26 – Big Ten Championship, Glendale, California

NCAA REGIONALS
May 11-13
Host sites (host school): University of Michigan GC, Ann Arbor, Michigan (Michigan); UNC Finley GC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (North Carolina); RJT Golf Trail at Hampton Cove, Huntsville, Alabama (North Alabama); Stanford GC, Stanford, California (Stanford); Seminole Legacy GC, Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State); Ridgewood CC, Waco, Texas (Baylor)

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
May 22-27
Host site: Omni La Costa Resort and Spa (North), Carlsbad, California