We reveal our preseason Top 25 for the 2026 D-I college season, starting with #16-25!
January 14, 2026 by Ultiworld in Rankings
Ultiworld’s College Power Rankings, presented by the National Ultimate Training Camp!
We are excited to present the 2026 preseason College Power Rankings! As we head into a new season, we’ve looked at past performance, roster changes, preseason results, and more to figure out how we think the team could stack up this season. Take a look at our first rankings set of the spring college season and read up about each Top 25 team.
We will be counting down our rankings in three parts:
D-I Women’s
Contributions from Bridget Mizener, Kiana Hu, Laura Osterlund, and Edward Stephens
16. UC San Diego Dragon Coalition
2025 Finish: #10 in Power Rankings, T-9th at Nationals, 26-18 record
It isn’t totally clear how the post-Abbi Shilts era will play out for the perennial contenders. They might slump toward the bottom end of the Southwest contenders as they look for a new playmaker, or they might soar on the emerging star power of players like Sanam Rozycki-Shah, Mars Bau, and Margot Nissen.
17. Western Washington Chaos
2025 Finish: #21 in Power Rankings, 6th at Northwest Regionals, 13-10 record
Last year may have been a season of what-could-have-beens for Chaos—notching wins against Oregon and Victoria at Conferences but ultimately falling just short of the last bid out of Regionals—but they returning most of their team in 2026, with only two new additions noted on their roster. A combination of experience and star power from the likes of Amaya Krutsinger and Alexa Coca bodes well for their chances to make it out of the Northwest.
18. Virginia Hydra
2025 Finish: #23 in Power Rankings, 2nd at Atlantic Coast Regionals, 28-9 record
Sydney Mannion and 2025 AC Rookie of the Year Gabby Everett give Hydra top-end players, and Lily Zeng, a D-III All-Region honorable mention at Trinity, can help replace what they lost with Emma Cole graduating. With the chip on their shoulder of missing the mark when it came to earning a second bid for their region and the depth to show for it, their ceiling keeps getting higher.
19. Texas Melee
2025 Finish: UR in Power Rankings, 2nd at South Central Regionals, 11-9 record
Don’t look now, but Melee are swiftly returning to national prominence. Catching Colorado might be a far cry in 2026, but earning and keeping a Nationals bid for themselves appears to be well within reach. A very polished unit led by Advika Kamatar and Karalie Morrison have their sights set on Rockford.
20. Utah Spiral Jetty
2025 Finish: #16 in Power Rankings, T-15th at Nationals, 20-9 record
Kate Barry, a grad transfer from BYU, is a major get for Lily Terpstra and Spiral Jetty, but the black hole in the backfield where Carly Atwell and Sadie Cutler once operated still remains. In an always-competitive Northwest where the margins are razor thin, they’ll need Barry playing at All-American levels to punch their ticket this year.
21. UC Santa Barbara Burning Skirts
2025 Finish: #12 in Power Rankings, T-9th at Nationals, 22-12 record
A perennial powerhouse in the Southwest region, UCSB will need to turn to rising stars in Riley Raker, Gabby Wang, and Ella Khoury to offset the losses of 2025 Callahan winner Laura Blume and All-American First Teamer Devin Quinn. With the recent addition of a bid cap in the 2026 College Guidelines, UCSB may find themselves on the outside looking in.
22. Victoria Vikes
2025 Finish: #17 in Power Rankings, T-15th at Nationals, 14-23 record
We haven’t seen a roster yet, but it would appear that all of Abba Brudney, Mari Nielsen, Lauren Roberts, and Ericka Edgell have eligibility for another spring. If that’s the case, British Columbia’s second team could edge even closer in these rankings to their big siblings at UBC. Honestly, the talent is here for a decent bracket run if they can raise the level of all-around polish.
23. American Dirty Ladies
2025 Finish: UR in Power Rankings, T-5th at Atlantic Coast Regionals, 21-11 record
The way up and through the Atlantic Coast is tortuous, as the Dirty Ladies found out last season, taking a drubbing from Georgetown at regionals en route to missing the game-to-go. Call it a learning experience. Learning is, coincidentally, also what star Lily Johnson did plenty of during an excellent club season with Grit. They’ll gear up for another spring run at the mountain in 2026.
24. Notre Dame Echo
2025 Finish: #20 in Power Rankings, 2nd at Great Lakes Regionals, 21-5 record
Last season, Echo had a somewhat dominant record and was only two points away from qualifying for Nationals. So, with the final year of the Lili Hobday Experience at Notre Dame upon us, there’s a good chance it will be fruitful. With the 2025 Club Mixed Breakout Player of the Year leading the team, things look good. But can one superstar hold it down for the rest of the team? That remains to be seen.
25. Florida FUEL
2025 Finish: UR in Power Rankings, T-3rd at Southeast Regionals, 15-7 record
Star Jia Johnson had a hot hand at Classic City Classic as Florida romped past their rivals. While CCC success is no guarantee for the spring – different teams always place differing values on how to approach preseason competition – it is a great sign. Fuel might be putting together a run to dethrone Georgia late in the spring.
D-I Men’s
Contributions from Graham Gordon, Edward Stephens, Alex Rubin, and Josh Katz
16. Brown Brownian Motion
2025 Finish: #23 in Power Rankings, 5th at New England Regionals, 22-12 record
No, B-Mo did not escape New England Regionals a year ago, fading against a suddenly hot Vermont side before even reaching the game-to-go. And no, that does not mean they’re cooked: far from it. Both of their high-touch handlers, Teo Huson and Nolan McCloskey, enter the 2026 season with a year of experience under their belts. That should do wonders to free up Emmett Young and Jason Tapper to attack more downfield. Bank on Brown to be at least at the Nationals bubble, and maybe significantly higher.
17. Vermont Chill
2025 Finish: #14 in Power Rankings, T-9th at Nationals, 16-21 record
Vermont found their groove towards the end of the 2025 season and rode a wave of momentum from regionals upsets through the Nationals bracket. If Casey Thornton’s heater survived what was surely a cold winter in Burlington, Chill should have enough still left in the tank to survive the loss of do-everything talisman Zack Watson-Stevens. All working in Chill’s favor: the talent of Declan Kervick; the continued development of Dominic Chiodi, Kristof Rohaly-Medved, Jovan Strange, True Hanson, and Beorn Morrow-Caron; and the promise of rookie Walter Hipps.
18. British Columbia Thunderbirds
2025 Finish: #20 in Power Rankings, T-17th at Nationals, 21-13 record
The dynamic duo of Justin Podnar and Rex Yuen return for a repeat performance after gutting out tough points and punctuating dramatic skies last season. They’ll both need to be nearing peak performance in a crowded region full of Nationals contenders, but their experience from 2025 should serve the team well.
19. Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur
2025 Finish: UR in Power Rankings, DNF at Ohio Valley Regionals, 12-16 record
After breaking their division-leading Nationals attendance streak in 2025, Pitt looks to reload with a young roster and touted rookie class. In addition to the star power of fifth-year Peter Kotz and junior defensive star Julius Clyburn, the potential return of Micah Davis is a huge question mark that could make or break for En Sabah Nur, as he was having a breakout season before going down with an ACL injury last spring.
20. California Ursa Major
2025 Finish: #16 in Power Rankings, T-13th at Nationals, 31-16 record
The Dexter Clyburn era is over for Ursa Major, putting a significant damper on their 2026 outlook. We’ve also been saying the drop is coming for Cal for years, and they keep making it back to Nationals anyways. Maybe the floor bottoms out, or maybe Carter Lankford becomes an All-American and Cal extend the streak to five years?
21. Minnesota Ultimate
2025 Finish: UR in Power Rankings, 2nd at North Central Regionals, 14-16 record
Last season was rough for Minnesota. The team lost their beloved nickname to the controlling greed of their school’s club sports department and missed Nationals for the first time in this college generation’s experience. With the ageless Levi Dohman and a budding star in Drag’n Thrust’s Evan Snyder, Minnesota Men’s Club Ultimate has the tools to be competitive against Nationals teams, but they’ll need a bid-earning regular season to make it back to Nationals. This team can’t rely on beating a stacked Carleton CUT team like they used to.
22. Victoria Vikes
2025 Finish: #22 in Power Rankings, 6th at Northwest Regionals, 18-14 record
Max Pettenuzzo, Nyle Lebbell, Ryan Loui-Ying, and company are out for revenge. After losing a tough game-to-go in a controversial manner last season, the Vikes bring back much of the top end of a very competitive roster. Nothing is guaranteed in the division’s toughest region, but Victoria has everything they need to re-enter the Nationals picture, especially with their Team Canada centerpiece at his best.
23. Washington Sundodgers
2025 Finish: #25 in Power Rankings, 8th at Northwest Regionals, 20-13 record
The Sundodgers got squeezed out of a crowded Northwest last year at regionals. Honestly, the same thing could happen again this season – which doesn’t make them a bad team. On the contrary, with Carter Bayer set to step into a big role for his third year with the team they could catch lightning in a bottle and put the hurt on their Northwest opponents for a change.
24. Tufts E-Men
2025 Finish: #21 in Power Rankings, 4th at New England Regionals, 19-10 record
Always a well-coached team that plays with solid fundamentals and a good amount of throwing depth, Tufts will be able to compete at the Nationals level this season. While the team doesn’t have any superstar talents, the collective efforts of Tucker Livingston, Eliav Malone, and Ram Sundaram should be enough to keep the team competitive even against other elite outfits.
25. UNC Wilmington Seamen
2025 Finish: UR in Power Rankings, 13th at Atlantic Coast Regionals, 19-16 record
Stewart Kelley was the best player on a Red Tide club that rose all the way to Nationals, Christian Belus (when he played) was absolutely spectacular for Ring of Fire, and Ryan Manuel was a prime piece in the BaNC unit that nearly pulled off the upset of the century. With another year of chemistry behind them and a couple of excellent rookies in the mix, is this the year Wilmington finally makes it back to the Big Dance?
