2026 Women’s Soccer Top 25

[CentPA]

Here is the United Soccer Coaches pre-season poll - August's 4, 2026: https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-diii-women/

Obviously, this just shows where the teams finished in the standings at the end of the 2025 season and there will be a lot of shuffling over the first few weeks, but I can't help but feel like a kid about a week before Christmas!

Just a little over a week until the 2026 season begins!

[Ron Boerger]

Here's the SimpleCoach pre-season Top 25:

Rank   School
1   WashU
2   Emory
3   Chicago
4   Tufts
5   Messiah
6   Case Western
7   Williams
8   Wesleyan CT
9   MIT
10   Pomona-Pitzer
11   Colby
12   Johns Hopkins
13   Carnegie Mellon
14   WI La Crosse
15   Middlebury
16   Cal Lutheran
17   Calvin
18   Misericordia
19   Amherst
20   Swarthmore
21   Christopher Newport
22   NYU
23   Washington & Lee
24   Rochester NY
25   Rowan

You can see his explanation of the rankings on his YT channel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbZH-09kFk

[CentPA]

Preseason thoughts on 1-5:  Wash U

Wash U should definitely be #1 preseason, and I would agree with Simple Coach that until proven otherwise, the national championship is theirs to lose.  Having won in '24 and '25 they are going for the very rare 3-pete.  The only team to have ever done that in d3 women's soccer was UC San Diego who won three in row from 1995 through1997 (1997 would be UC San Diego's 5th and final D3 national championship because in 2000 they would switch to division 2).

For Wash U to repeat, they are going to have to fill the holes left by 2-time All American Grace Ehlert and All American Ella Koleno.  Ehlert was second in goals scored on the team (with 14) behind Olivia Clemons, the National Player Of The Year for 2025 (17 goals scored).  Meanwhile, Koleno led the team in assists last year with 11 while also scoring 9 goals (good enough for a tie for 3rd on the team).  Interestingly, Clemons won the NPOTY while mostly coming off the bench (she did start in 3 games).  I'm not sure there has ever been a NPOTY that wasn't a starter in a majority of games (baring any injury issues).

I would expect nothing else then Coach Conlon will have players ready to step into those roles and so Wash U is the team to beat in D3 Women's Soccer.

[CentPA]

Preseason thoughts on 1-5:  Emory/University of Chicago

Here (fwiw) I would put Chicago as the #2 and then Emory as the #3.

Who can forget the incredible final four game last year between Wash U and U of Chicago!  In my opinion, that game was the best game in all D3 for 2025.  It was finally decided in the 14th round of penalty kicks and Wash U came out on top after Chicago had three chances to end the game if they were able to convert their penalty kick!
 
Chicago definitely played Wash U tougher than Emory, tying them at that end of the regular season (albeit Wash U had already locked up the UAA championship) and then pushed them to the absolute brink in Salem VA.  That is really my only rationale for putting them ahead of Emory preseason.

Chicago lost 6 players to graduation and Emory lost 7, but Emory did retain all their top scorers from last season.  However, they (Emory) lost their All American center back and All American goalkeeper.  For Chicago they have to replace their All American midfielder Kerrigan who was second on the team in goals scored with 8 and their senior goalkeeper Sasaki.

[CentPA]

Preseason thought on 1-5:  Tufts/Messiah

Here (again fwiw) I would put Messiah at #4 and Tufts at #5

The only reason I move Tufts below Messiah is because Tufts have such huge cleats to fill with Elsi Aires graduating!  She is a 3-time All American and led the Tufts in goals scored for the past three years (she was tied for 1st in goals last year with Reese Birch who is returning as a senior).

BUT, the exciting news here is that we will find out who should be ahead of who in the rankings in just 2 weeks!  On September 5th, Messiah will play Tufts at a neutral site (Purchase College in Purchase, NY).  It will be Messiah's second game of the season and Tufts first game of the season.  This is by far the must see game of week 1 in division 3 women's soccer!

Messiah is going to start their season with an away game against Penn State – Harrisburg (too many interesting story lines to this game to list here) who made it to the sweet 16 last year, then they face Tufts at a neutral site, and then go to Shoemaker field for their home opener against Johns Hopkins.  Talk about having to come out the gate fast!

[DagarmanSpartan]

I hope that the CWRU ladies produce a serious contender this season.  Last year's second round loss was hugely disappointing.

It looks like we have a great goalkeeper and a few graduate students that can light it up!

[CentPA]

I hope that the CWRU ladies produce a serious contender this season.  Last year's second round loss was hugely disappointing.

It looks like we have a great goalkeeper and a few graduate students that can light it up!

I totally get being disappointed that they got knocked out in the second round of the tournament, but they were really quite a strong team last year! 

Both of their losses (each by one goal) and one of their ties came against 3 teams that were all in the final four last year.  Unfortunately, they had the bad penalty kick result against Swarthmore, but it would not be a big shock if they end up in Columbus this year.

[CentPA]

Can't believe we are down to one week until the season begins! 

Next Tuesday (by my quick count), there will be 162 games played in D3 Women's Soccer to kick off the 2026 season.  I don't think there are any "live" games before September 1st (next Tuesday), I think any games scheduled before that are scrimmages, but I could be wrong on that.

[CentPA]

T minus 4 days!

(everything below is based on the USC/IWSOC National - Pre-season Poll - August 4, 2026: https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-diii-women/)

Here are the teams in the top 25 that begin their season on Tuesday, September 1st:

#21 Carnegie Mellon @ St Francis  4pm
#3 University of Chicago vs Kalamazoo  5pm
#25 Christopher Newport vs Methodist  5pm
#11 Case Western vs John Carroll  5pm
#12 Mary Washington @ Randolph-Macon  6pm
#5 Messiah @ #23 Penn State - Harrisburg  7pm ***
#15 Johns Hopkins vs Catholic  7pm
#8 MIT vs Gordon  7pm
#19 University of Rochester vs Houghton  7pm
#17 Calvin @ Wheaton (IL)  7pm
#20 Misericordia @ Susquehanna  7pm
#7 Washington & Lee @ Southern Va.  7pm
#1 Wash U vs Greenville  8pm
#6 Pomona-Pitzer @ Redlands  10:30pm **


**  conference game
*** only game on September 1st with two top 25 teams playing each other

[CentPA]

Below are the remaining 10 teams in the top 25 that do not begin their season on September 1st (and the date of their first game of the season):

#14 California Lutheran vs Concordia (TX)  9/3
#2 Emory @ Transylvania  9/4
#13 Swarthmore vs Skidmore  9/4
#24 Colby @ Bowdoin  9/4  **
#4 Tufts vs #5 Messiah (neutral site)  9/5  ***
#9 Middlebury @ Wesleyan (CT)  9/5  **
#10 Williams vs Bates  9/5  **
#16 Carleton @ North Central (IL)  9/5
#18 Rowan vs Pratt  9/5
#22 Amherst vs Connecticut Col.  9/5  **

** conference game
*** second game of the year with two top 25 teams playing each other and the highest rated matchup of week 1

[CentPA]

T minus 3 days!

So at the beginning of the 2026 season, according to the preseason poll, here are the conferences (and the number of teams in each conference) that are represented in the top 25:

UAA  (6)
NESCAC  (5)
Centennial  (2)
SCIAC  (2)
C2C  (2)
MAC-Commonwealth  (1)
MAC-Freedom  (1)
ODAC  (1)
NEWMAC  (1)
MIAC  (1)
MIAA  (1)
NJAC  (1)
United East  (1)

Something to think about - in the 2026 final regular season USC poll, what is a conference that wasn't included above that will make it into the top 25?

I would guess Liberty League.  The top teams in that league play some quality games outside their conference and with Vassar, William Smith, RIT, and Skidmore one of these teams may be able to get into the top 25 by the end of the regular season.