Golfweek's preseason poll puts Stanford atop women's college golf

Golfweek released its preseason rankings for the 2026-27 women's college golf season, keeping defending national champion Stanford at No. 1 ahead of runner-up USC and Texas.

Why is Stanford still on top?

Stanford beat USC in last year's match-play final to win its fourth national title and third in the past five years, extending a run of six straight seasons leading stroke play at NCAAs. The Cardinal return three of the top six players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, including Nos. 1 and 2, Paula Martin Sampedro and Andrea Revuelta, though depth beyond the top of the lineup is an open question. The 2027 NCAA Women's Golf Championship returns to Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, for a fourth straight year.

Golfweek's women's college golf preseason top 10

Who are the top individual storylines?

Arkansas senior Maria Jose Marin won the 2025 NCAA individual title and the 2026 Augusta National Women's Amateur, and headlines a Razorbacks team also adding transfer Ebba Liljeberg. Texas returns individual champion Farah O'Keefe alongside transfer Isla McDonald-O'Brien and freshman Charlotte Naughton. Auburn senior Anna Davis, who won the Augusta National Women's Amateur nearly five years ago, is the lone senior on a roster with six underclassmen.

Oklahoma State reached match play at NCAAs for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2021, powered by second-team All-American Marta Silchenko, and returns its four leading scorers from last season. Vanderbilt returns eight players from last year's roster, including Elizabeth Rudisill and Ava Merrill, and is chasing its first trip to match play since the format began in 2015.