The Women’s Golf Coaches Association released its first coaches' polls of the 2026-27 season on Friday, Sept. 25, and Wake Forest tops the Div. I women's golf poll.
Dallas Baptist leads Div. II, Emory No. 1 in Div. III and SCAD claims the top spot in the NAIA rankings.
Stanford, winners of three of the last five NCAA titles (and a runner-up along the way as well), checks in at No. 11 in the Div. I poll.
WGCA Div. I coaches poll - Sept. 25
Wake Forest enters the season atop the Div. I rankings after a dominant opening stretch that included victories at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M and the Jackson T. Stephens Cup stroke-play competition. USC received two first-place votes and sits second, while Florida, Oregon and Auburn round out the top five. Stanford checks in at No.
11 in this poll.
Others receiving votes: North Carolina (32), LSU (26), Northwestern (20), UCF (19), SMU (12), TCU (12), Virginia Tech (8), Kansas (8), Kentucky (6), Ohio State (5), Purdue (1).
WGCA Div. II coaches poll - Sept. 25
Dallas Baptist leads the Div. II rankings while Findlay is No. 2 position. Anderson is third, with Barry and North Georgia making up the rest of the top 5.
Others receiving votes: Eckerd (53), Missouri-St. Louis (41), Point Loma Nazarene (41), Rogers State (21), Southwestern Oklahoma State (18), Ferris State (15), Arkansas Tech (15), Palm Beach Atlantic (14), Central Missouri (14), Washburn (8), CSU Pueblo (7), Cal State East Bay (6), Central Oklahoma (6), Lenoir-Rhyne (4), Carson-Newman (1).
WGCA Div. III coaches poll - Sept. 25
Emory is No. 1 in Div. III with Carnegie Mellon second, New York University third, Washington University in St. Louis fourth and Middlebury rounding out the top five.
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin-Stout (48), Huntingdon (31), Macalester (29), George Fox (24), Dubuque (9), St. Catherine (6), Christopher Newport (4), DePauw (3), Aurora (2).
WGCA NAIA coaches poll - Sept. 25
SCAD tops the NAIA rankings after winning both the Wildcat Fall Invitational at Purdue and The Battle @ Black Diamond. Keiser collected two first-place votes and sits second, while Dalton State, Marian and Indiana Wesleyan make up the remainder of the top five.
Others receiving votes: Cumberland (16), Loyola (2), Ottawa-Arizona (2), Truett McConnell (1), Taylor (1).
About the WGCA
Founded in 1983, the Women's Golf Coaches Association represents more than 750 coaches across the United States and is dedicated to promoting, educating and recognizing women's collegiate golf and the student-athletes who compete in the sport.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Wake Forest is No. 1 in the first WGCA Div. I women's golf coaches poll for 2026-27
