By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
As in previous years, SwimSwam’s Power Rankings are somewhere between the CSCAA-style dual meet rankings and a pure prediction of NCAA finish order. SwimSwam’s rankings take into account how a team looks at the moment, while keeping the end of the season in mind through things like a team’s previous trajectory and NCAA scoring potential. These rankings are by nature subjective, and a jumping-off point for discussion. If you disagree with any team’s ranking, feel free to make your case in our comments section.
James Sutherland, Braden Keith, Anya Pelshaw, Terin Fordyama, and Robert Gibbs contributed to this report.
Well folks, it’s that time again, and with the NCAA season starting later this month, we officially have our pre-season power rankings.
This NCAA season will be headlined by the Virginia Cavaliers, who will be hunting their seventh-straight NCAA title with Texas as another favorite to remain in the top three.
Overall there weren’t a ton of huge movements that happened across the women’s rankings with all the teams in the top-10 retaining their spots into the first rankings of the 2025-2026 season.
#25: Purdue — (2026 NCAA Rank: T-21)
Purdue does not change positions at all from the 2026 NCAA finish. They graduated most of their individual points after last season, but still have nine returning from sophomore diver Avery Worobel. They also have a strong junior class that brought in 80+ points at the Big Ten Championships and could qualify a few swimmers to NCAAs this season including butterflyer Campbell Scofield. — M.F.
#24: South Carolina -5 (2026 NCAA Rank: 19)
The South Carolina women last season were the underdog story of the entire dual meet season, winning a few major dual meets against teams like Georgia. They graduated all 37 of their individual points from diver Sophie Verzyl, but they will have four individual NCAA qualifiers return for this season. — M.F.
#23: Miami (FL) -5 (2026 NCAA Rank: 18)
Another huge diving program, Miami brought in 48 points at last year’s NCAAs, all of which came from senior divers Chiara Pellacani and Margo O’Meara. They have some strong swimmers junior butterflyer Ashlyn Massey who will be crucial in dual meet wins for the Hurricanes this season. — M.F.
#22: Nebraska +5 (2026 NCAA Rank: 27)
Filling the hole left by Gena Jorgenson will be a major barrier for the Cornhuskers this season. They will be led by senior sprinter and school record holder Beatrix Tanko along with a strong junior class that includes diver Abigail Baxter, who scored 9 points at the 2026 NCAAs. — M.F.
#21: Auburn +4 (2026 NCAA Rank: T-25)
The Tigers are one of the few teams on this list who did not have a huge graduating class. Returning all of their individual points from 2026 in divers Juliette Landi and Emily Halifax, they also have junior Lora Komoroczy, who had some major dual meet performances last season — M.F.
#20: LSU +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: T-21)
Last season’s LSU NCAA team was made up primarily of seniors and sophomores, and while they lost a few major seniors like Michaela de Villiers and Sofia Sartori, they are returning a large portion of their NCAA roster and SEC scorers. — M.F.
#19: Kansas +6 (2026 NCAA Rank: T-25)
One more season with diver Shiyun Lai could give Kansas the bump they need to make it into the top 20 at this season’s meet. If their distance group of Gabi Dyer, Ivy Solt, and Tait Haag can continue to improve in the 500 free, they could also add an individual swimming qualifier in 2027. — M.F.
#18: Arkansas +10 (2026 NCAA Rank: 28)
With one of the top recruiting classes of 2027, Arkansas could see a big jump in 2027, especially since they are not losing any of their NCAA roster and will retain Harriet Rogers for a final season. With the additions of Hayden Gibson and Rachel McAlpin they have huge potential. — M.F.
#17: North Carolina +7 (2026 NCAA Rank: 24)
Another team with only a few graduating athletes, and no graduating scorers, North Carolina could make big jumps this year. Their senior trio of Sophia Frei, Mary Macaulay, and Taylor Bloom will lead the way as they try to break into the top 20 with the addition of Virginia transfer Raya Mellot and #5 ranked diver Juliet Radich. — M.F.
#16: Alabama -5 (2026 NCAA Rank: 11)
With one more year of Emily Jones, the Crimson Tide will look to make the most of the time that they have left. This is a team loaded with experience and will aim to use every bit of it to make a splash in both the CSL and SEC. — T.F.
#15: USC -1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 14)
The Trojans are suffering some crucial losses in Nicole Maier, Justina Kozan and Claire Tuggle, making for a big blow to their relays this season. Minna Abraham remains their top scorer, and ideally for USC, she’s closer to her 2025 point total (31) than the 15 she scored last season. Bella Brito continuing to develop in her sophomore year will be crucial, while an interesting international freshman class could also be impactful if they transition to yards well. — J.S.
#14: Minnesota +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 16)
The Golden Gophers lose one of their two star divers to graduation, making Elna Widerstrom all the more valuable as Vivi Del Angel moves on after a distinguished career. Katie McCarthy was their lone swimming scorer last season, and she’ll be joined by Canadian Mia Thomas in the distance group, who is Minnesota’s only significant addition. — J.S.
#13: Georgia +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 15)
Led by Kennedi Dobson, the Georgia women looked primed to improve on their 15th-place finish from last season if they get some production from a very solid recruiting class. Maya Schweikert and Maddie Thornton have a chance to contribute individually right away, which will take some weight off of Dobson, who’s responsible for 33 of their 36 returning points. Also, Georgia only scored in two relays at NCAAs last year, so increasing that number will be paramount. — J.S.
#12: Wisconsin +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 13)
Maggie Wanezek had an outstanding sophomore season with the Badgers and the team performed well overall under Dr. Jack Brown in its first season — A.P.
#11: Ohio State +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 12)
Ohio State finished 12th at last year’s NCAAs and could move into the top 10 at this year’s meet, but they have steep competition at the top of the rankings. They did not lose any of their relay or top performing swimmers and will be a serious threat at any meets they race, including their CSL competitions. — M.F.
#10: Louisville -2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 8)
Another CSL team, Louisville had a strong recruiting class last season, and the addition of Anastasia Gorbenko was absolutely massive for them. They lost senior sprinter Julia Dennis which will be a blow to their relays, and they did not bring in a single SwimSwam ranked recruit for the class of 2026. — M.F.
#9: Florida +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 10)
The Gators went big in international recruiting in the class of 2026, and have brought in a very deep and very talented group. It can take a year for swimmers to settle in to the Florida training and really take off collegiately, so look at the Gators to make a move toward the top 5 in the 2027-2028 season. — B.K.
#8: Stanford -6 (2026 NCAA Rank: 2)
How do you replace an Olympic gold medalist? That is the battle Stanford will be fighting this year after Torri Huske graduated following three individual event wins at the 2026 NCAA Championships. Huske was not the only graduating senior with Lucy Bell, Gigi Johnson, and Emily Moore all bringing in double digit points in their final season. The Cardinal are in a huge rebuilding year, but they have a few strong recruits coming in that will help start that process. — M.F.
#7: NC State +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 9)
Eneli Jefimova is among the biggest and brightest swimmers to watch once again this season. Only a sophomore, she will undoubtedly be one of the names that fans are circling as the season progresses to potentially hoist another individual national title in several months. — T.F.
#6: Michigan — (2026 NCAA Rank: 6)
The Michigan women look wound up for a very good year, and a good freshman class including Mckinley Scobie (48.7/1:46.5 freestyler) means they should get better. The thing is that the teams in their range like Stanford and NC State have put up blockbuster classes and in NC State’s case, are returning a ton of points. There’s a likely scenario where Michigan actually gets better and still moves down at NCAAs this season. — B.K.
#5: Indiana +2 (2026 NCAA Rank: 7)
Adding Anita Bottazzo from the portal puts the team’s medley relay into 2nd place contention, up from 7th and 9th this past season. The incoming freshman class boosts the distance group that had no NCAA qualifiers. — A.P.
#4: Tennessee +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 5)
Charlotte Crush’s arrival adds immediate depth and NCAA title potential. Camille Spink had a great season last year and is set to be one of the top sprint freestylers once again — A.P.
#3: Cal +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 4)
After an NCAA Breakthrough for Weinstein, and a very productive summer from Mary-Ambre Moluh, the Golden bears should feel some excitement for what is to come for the 2026-27 season. — T.F.
#2: Texas +1 (2026 NCAA Rank: 3)
With no seniors on their scoring roster last season, the Texas Longhorns are in position for a very strong season in 2027 that could see them move back to the top two spots on the NCAA leaderboard, though they will likely have fierce challengers in Cal and Tennessee. They will add Audrey Derivaux to their roster a year early, and she is a potential NCAA scorer in numerous events as a freshman. — M.F.
#1: Virginia — (2026 NCAA Rank: 1)
It feels like the Virginia women’s team only continues to improve with newly minted world record holder Sara Curtis, breakthrough star Anna Moesch, and 46-point transfer Teagan O’Dell. It seems like the only place Virginia might be weak this year is breaststroke after Emma Weber and Aimee Canny graduated, but Lithuanian breaststroker Smilte Plytnykaite looks fill that gap immediately as a freshman. The Cavaliers will be the team to beat and before the season they were a unanimous #1 choice for the SwimSwam staff. — M.F.
Rank Anya Robert Madeline Braden Terin James 1 Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia 2 Texas Texas Texas Texas Texas Texas 3 Tennessee Cal Cal Tennessee Cal Cal 4 Cal Tennessee Tennessee Cal Tennessee Tennessee 5 Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana 6 Michigan NC State Michigan Stanford Michigan Michigan 7 NC State Stanford NC State NC State NC State NC State 8 Stanford Michigan Stanford Michigan Stanford Stanford 9 Florida Florida Florida Florida Lousiville Florida 10 Louisville Louisville Louisville Ohio State Florida Louisville 11 Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Louisville Wisconsin Ohio State 12 Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Georgia Ohio State Wisconsin 13 Georgia Georgia Georgia Wisconsin Georgia Georgia 14 Miami (FL) Minnesota USC Arkansas USC Minnesota 15 USC USC Minnesota North Carolina Alabama Alabama 16 Minnesota Alabama Alabama LSU Minnesota USC 17 Arkansas UNC UNC Alabama UNC Arkansas 18 LSU Kansas LSU Minnesota LSU Kansas 19 UNC Arksansas Arkansas Kansas Kansas Auburn 20 Kansas Auburn Kansas USC Arkansas LSU 21 Auburn Nebraska Auburn Auburn Nebraska Nebraska 22 Alabama Miami (FL) Nebraska Nebraska Purdue South Carolina 23 South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina Nevada UCLA Purdue 24 Purdue UCLA Miami (FL) Notre Dame South Carolina Akron 25 UCLA Purdue UCLA Purdue Miami (FL) Notre DameRead the full story on SwimSwam: 2026-27 NCAA Women’s Power Rankings: Pre-Season Edition
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