Stanford (below), who had a perfect Fall with three stroke play wins (including co-wins) along with three victories at the new NB3 Match Play event, is perched in the familiar top spot in women’s golf. The nest, however, is now located on a completely different coast.

Women’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#1 *Stanford (Pac-12) - 3 wins

#11 Virginia

#12 Florida State - 1 win

#13 North Carolina - 1 win

#14 Wake Forest - 1 win

#18 Duke

#31 *California (Pac-12)

#35 Clemson

#43 *SMU (AAC)

#45 North Carolina State

#49 Miami (FL) - 2 wins

There are no newbies at the top of the men’s side of the ACC, however SMU is ranked inside the top 20 nationally and will look to push the traditional conference leaders. Virginia sits on the cusp of having both teams ranked inside the top 10.

Men’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#6 North Carolina, above - 1 win

#8 Virginia - 1 win

#13 Georgia Tech - 2 wins

#16 *SMU (AAC)

#22 Notre Dame - 2 wins

#24 Duke - 1 win

#31 Florida State

#33 Louisville

#37 Wake Forest

#42 *Stanford (Pac-12)

Consistent national contender Southern California women (below) notched their third tournament win of the Fall by capturing the East Lake Cup for the fourth time in program history. They lead the Big Ten over familiar rival Oregon, with Northwestern rounding out the top 10.

Women’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#4 *Southern California (Pac-12) - 3 wins

#6 *Oregon (Pac-12) - 1 win

#9 Northwestern - 1 win

#22 Michigan State

#28 *UCLA (Pac-12)

#29 Ohio State

#33 Purdue - 1 win

#42 Minnesota

More surprising is the UCLA men leading the Big Ten over perennial powerhouse Illinois. The Illini had their eight-year stranglehold on the conference broken by Northwestern (below) last season, and now the new kids on the block look to make creating another streak more difficult.

Men’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#10 *UCLA (Pac-12) - 1 win

#12 Illinois - 1 win

#27 Northwestern - 1 win

#38 *Oregon (Pac-12)

#43 *Southern California (Pac-12) - 1 win

The Big 12 had the most movement in this conference realignment rodeo. Newcomer Arizona State is one of two programs in the country with both men’s and women’s teams ranked inside the top 10, and they top both sides of the conference.

Arizona, who recently tapped Giovana Maymon (below) to lead the women’s team, also found success early this season with an opening victory at the Folds of Honor Collegiate and then at the Old Course for the St. Andrews Links Collegiate. 

Women’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#7 *Arizona State (Pac-12) - 1 win

#8 *Arizona (Pac-12) - 1 win

#21 Oklahoma State

#23 TCU - 2 wins

#24 Kansas - 3 wins

#25 *Houston (AAC) - 1 win

#27 Baylor

#30 Kansas State - 1 win

#32 Iowa State 

#36 *UCF (AAC)

#46 *BYU (AAC)

The Arizona men also secured a pair of wins, and also sit just barely outside the top 10. The biggest surprise among the newcomers has to be BYU coming in to shake things up by becoming the first team outside the state of Texas to win the Big 12 Match Play trophy in the six year history of that event. 

Men’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#2 *Arizona State (Pac-12) - 1 win

#9 Oklahoma State - 1 win

#11 *Arizona (Pac-12) - 2 wins

#17 *Utah (Pac-12) - 2 wins

#21 Texas Tech

#34 *Colorado (Pac-12) - 1 win

#36 *BYU (AAC) - 1 win

#45 *Houston (AAC)

#49 TCU

Texas, the other program with both men’s and women’s teams ranked inside the top 10, is a conference newcomer along with Oklahoma. Laura Ianello is another head coach finding early success with a new team, leading the Longhorn women to two early victories.

On the women's side, Arkansas (below) leads the way in the SEC, ending the Fall ranked second overall after capturing the Jackson T Stephens Cup for its third win in a row. Ole Miss has both of its teams in the top 20 and is the only program in the top 50 with teams that each recorded multiple wins this Fall.

Women’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#2 Arkansas - 3 wins

#3 South Carolina - 1 win

#5 *Texas (Big 12) - 2 wins

#10 Mississippi State

#15 Vanderbilt - 1 win

#16 LSU

#17 Texas A&M

#19 Ole Miss - 2 wins

#20 Auburn - 1 win

#26 Florida - 1 win

#34 Kentucky

#40 Tennessee

#44 *Oklahoma (Big 12)

On the men’s side, Texas is one of four SEC teams ranked inside the top 5 nationally. The Longhorns sit just behind Oklahoma (below), which has three strong wins already. Ultimately everyone is chasing Ole Miss who has two victories and two runner-up finishes to Oklahoma and LSU. New LSU men’s coach Jake Amos, coming from ETSU, stacked wins at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate and The Blessings (below).

Men’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#1 Ole Miss - 2 wins

#3 Auburn

#4 *Oklahoma (Big 12) - 3 wins

#5 *Texas (Big 12)

#7 LSU - 2 wins

#14 Florida

#15 Vanderbilt

#18 South Carolina

#20 Mississippi State 

#25 Alabama - 1 win

#26 Tennessee

#28 Texas A&M - 1 win

#30 Georgia

There are of course a number of strong programs outside of the Power Four conferences. In fact, the Pac-12 is attempting to make a comeback by adding several of these teams starting July 2026, including: Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Boise State. For now, though, these programs make strong contenders in the Mountain West Conference (MWC).

On the women’s side it’s Georgia Southern (below) leading the way having already notched two team victories. Speaking of a multitude of victories, Campbell coach John Crooks reached the century mark with their win at the Golfweek Fall Challenge, joining legendary Duke coach Dan Brooks as a triple digit titan in women’s college golf.

Women’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#37 Georgia Southern (Sun Belt) - 2 wins

#38 UNLV (MWC) - 1 win

#39 San Jose State (MWC)

#41 UC Davis (Big West) - 1 win

#47 Campbell (Coastal) - 1 win

#48 Pepperdine (WCC)

#50 Long Beach State (Big West) - 1 win

New Colorado State men’s head coach Jack Kennedy, who moved inland from San Francisco, thrilled Rams fans with three opening victories in a row. CSU and Pacific are two of only a handful of teams in the top 50 in the country that have three team wins already this year. 

Men’s teams ranked inside the top 50:

#19 Pepperdine (WCC)

#23 South Florida (AAC) - 1 win

#29 *Charlotte (AAC)

#32 San Diego State (MWC)

#35 Charleston (Coastal) - 1 win

#39 Long Beach State (Big West)

#40 Colorado State (MWC) - 3 wins

#41 U of Arkansas at Little Rock - 1 win

#44 UNLV (MWC) - 1 win

#47 Marquette (Big East) - 1 win

#48 Kennesaw State (CUSA) - 2 wins

#50 Pacific (MWC) - 2 wins

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