The first college rankings of the 2026 season!
January 28, 2026 by Ultiworld in Rankings
Ultiworld’s College Power Rankings, presented by the National Ultimate Training Camp. NUTC is celebrating its 26th Anniversary this summer!
While our College Power Rankings can always be found on our permanent rankings page, every week during the season we will post the current edition here on the front page to facilitate discussion in the comments and serve as a permalink for each week’s rankings.
D-I Women’s Division Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropped from rankings: Florida (25) | |||
| 1 | Carleton | +1 | 2 |
| 2 | British Columbia | -1 | 1 |
| 3 | Washington | - | 3 |
| 4 | UC Santa Cruz | +7 | 11 |
| 5 | Stanford | - | 5 |
| 6 | Colorado | +1 | 7 |
| 7 | North Carolina | -1 | 6 |
| 8 | Vermont | - | 8 |
| 9 | Tufts | - | 9 |
| 10 | Victoria | +12 | 22 |
| 11 | UC San Diego | +5 | 16 |
| 12 | Oregon | -8 | 4 |
| 13 | Michigan | -1 | 12 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | -1 | 13 |
| 15 | UCLA | - | |
| 16 | Cal Poly SLO | -6 | 10 |
| 17 | Georgia | -3 | 14 |
| 18 | Western Washington | -1 | 17 |
| 19 | Virginia | -1 | 18 |
| 20 | UC Davis | -5 | 15 |
| 21 | Texas | -2 | 19 |
| 22 | UC Santa Barbara | -1 | 21 |
| 23 | American | - | 23 |
| 24 | Notre Dame | - | 24 |
| 25 | Utah | -5 | 20 |
D-I Women’s Division Discussion
- The week’s biggest change is only a one-spot flip: Carleton takes the new #1 from UBC after defeating them 12-10 in the Santa Barbara Invite final. They rampaged through the rest of the field before playing a great final. The duo are setting a brutal pace for the rest of the division.
- Welcome Victoria to the top 10, a first time status for the Canadian club. Wins over SLO and San Diego have them looking like a threat in the Northwest.
- Oregon played shorthanded, but even so, disappointed with a 2-5 weekend that included a 10-goal drubbing against UC Santa Cruz. Could this be one of their worst performances in program history?
- The Southwest saw ups and downs. UC Santa Cruz shot up into the top 5, another program reaching new heights in the rankings. A run to semifinals is a brilliant start to their 2026 campaign. Meanwhile, Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis both slid with four-loss weekends where they were eliminated by quarters.
D-I Men’s Division Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropped from rankings: California (20), Washington (23) | |||
| 1 | Carleton | - | 1 |
| 2 | Colorado | - | 2 |
| 3 | Oregon | - | 3 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | - | 4 |
| 5 | North Carolina | - | 5 |
| 6 | Oregon State | +3 | 9 |
| 7 | Western Washington | - | 7 |
| 8 | Texas | +2 | 10 |
| 9 | Victoria | +13 | 22 |
| 10 | UC Santa Cruz | +2 | 12 |
| 11 | Georgia Tech | +3 | 14 |
| 12 | Michigan | -1 | 11 |
| 13 | Penn State | - | 13 |
| 14 | Utah | +1 | 15 |
| 15 | British Columbia | +3 | 18 |
| 16 | Cal Poly SLO | -10 | 6 |
| 17 | Brown | -1 | 16 |
| 18 | Vermont | -1 | 17 |
| 19 | BYU | -11 | 8 |
| 20 | Stanford | - | |
| 21 | Pittsburgh | -2 | 19 |
| 22 | Minnesota | -1 | 21 |
| 23 | Tufts | +1 | 24 |
| 24 | UNC Wilmington | +1 | 25 |
| 25 | Northeastern | - | |
D-I Men’s Division Discussion
- The top 10 welcomes two new teams: Victoria, jumping to #9, and UC Santa Cruz, arriving at #10. UVic’s SBI victory sets a new tone for the program, fitting their program high ranking, after a 6-0 tournament. UC Santa Cruz’s lone loss came to UVic in semis, 12-10, and otherwise they looked like the class of the Southwest and on pace for a banner season.
- On the flip side of UC Santa Cruz’s Southwest rise was Cal Poly SLO’s tumble. Their shocking loss to Stanford — jumping in at #20 — was one thing, could be written off. But they dropped both of their following games, a rocky start for a team with their top end talent.
- There was preseason optimism for BYU, but they stumbled out of the gates with a 2-3 showing in their traditional abbreviated SBI appearance. With some key new young pieces, like Everett Saunders and Mitchell Burt, perhaps they are slow-cooking in Provo. They travel across the country for Florida Warm Up this weekend, so another taste test is coming extremely quickly.
D-III Women’s Division Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesleyan | - | 1 |
| 2 | Middlebury | - | 2 |
| 3 | Haverford and Bryn Mawr | - | 3 |
| 4 | Davenport | - | 4 |
| 5 | Whitman | - | 5 |
| 6 | Mount Holyoke | - | 6 |
| 7 | Rochester | - | 7 |
| 8 | Macalester | - | 8 |
| 9 | St. Olaf | - | 9 |
| 10 | Kenyon | - | 10 |
| 11 | Carleton Eclipse | - | 11 |
| 12 | Williams | - | 12 |
| 13 | Lewis & Clark | - | 13 |
| 14 | Rice | - | 14 |
| 15 | Colorado College | - | 15 |
| 16 | Portland | - | 16 |
| 17 | Michigan Tech | - | 17 |
| 18 | Union | - | 18 |
| 19 | Puget Sound | - | 19 |
| 20 | Oberlin | - | 20 |
| 21 | Richmond | - | 21 |
| 22 | Claremont | - | 22 |
| 23 | Grinnell | - | 23 |
| 24 | Lehigh | - | 24 |
| 25 | Trinity | - | 25 |
D-III Women’s Division Discussion
- No changes this week.
D-III Men’s Division Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropped from rankings: Missouri S&T (25) | |||
| 1 | Middlebury | - | 1 |
| 2 | Carleton CHOP | - | 2 |
| 3 | Elon | - | 3 |
| 4 | Lewis & Clark | - | 4 |
| 5 | Ave Maria | - | 5 |
| 6 | Oklahoma Christian | - | 6 |
| 7 | Whitman | - | 7 |
| 8 | St. Olaf | - | 8 |
| 9 | Franciscan | - | 9 |
| 10 | Claremont | - | 10 |
| 11 | Williams | - | 11 |
| 12 | Bowdoin | - | 12 |
| 13 | Richmond | - | 13 |
| 14 | Wesleyan | - | 14 |
| 15 | Colorado College | - | 15 |
| 16 | Rochester | - | 16 |
| 17 | Macalester | - | 17 |
| 18 | UNC Asheville | - | 18 |
| 19 | Puget Sound | - | 19 |
| 20 | Davidson | - | 20 |
| 21 | Berry | - | 21 |
| 22 | Brandeis | - | 22 |
| 23 | Hillsdale | - | 23 |
| 24 | Lipscomb | - | 24 |
| 25 | Colorado School of Mines | - | |
D-III Men’s Division Discussion
- The only change is the arrival of Colorado School of Mines scooping the last slot. They didn’t win New Years fest, but they did beat Arizona State, who did go on to to take down the event.
