2025-26 NCAA Women’s Power Rankings: Early-Season Edition ...Middle East

By Sean Griffin 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, Madeline Folsom, Robert Gibbs, Sophie Kaufman, Anya Pelshaw, and Terin Frodyma contributed to this report.   

After a memorable summer of swimming in Singapore, we’re ready to dive into the 2025-26 NCAA season. We’ve got some big names returning to the NCAA, including Torri Huske, Claire Curzan, Bella Sims, and several key freshmen such as Claire Weinstein, Alex Shackell, and Teagan O’Dell. However, there are some notable graduations, including perhaps the greatest yards swimmer in history, Gretchen Walsh, along with her sister Alex and Texas’ Emma Sticklen.

Despite a busy offseason, the top of the standings in the women’s NCAA hasn’t changed all that much. Virginia has all the pieces it needs to win a sixth-straight NCAA title, and Stanford and Texas look ensconced in the top three for now. The majority of teams have risen or fallen a few places, reflecting swings in power as programs either graduate or bring in key pieces. Of course, there are a couple exceptions to that statement. Key losses for one team that finished in the top 12 last season have driven our writers to rank them nearly outside the top 25 to begin the season—a 13-place drop—while two teams are currently predicted to rise double digits.

#25: Wisconsin -13 (2025 NCAA Rank: 12)

A Bacon-sized hole for Wisconsin will be tough to fill. What can the Delmas sisters do after deferring their freshmen years and transferring from Indiana? – A.P. 

#24. Auburn +11 (2025 NCAA Rank: 35)

The Tigers bring in a 10-strong freshman class and a few transfers, and return NCAA diving scorer Emily Hallifax, who took 13th in platform diving last season. – B.K. 

#23. Minnesota +4 (2025 NCAA Rank: 27)

Senior diver Viviana Del Angel is back for the Gophers after scoring 18 points at last year’s NCAAs, nearly lifting the team into a top-25 finish. She grabbed bronze on platform, 15th on 1-meter, and 22nd on 3-meter, making her a threat in all three events. Two scoring performances will likely be enough to push Minnesota into the top 25, while three boards plus a breakthrough swim from someone like junior Katie McCarthy or senior Ava Yablonski could vault them into the lower 20s. – S.G.

#22. Kansas +3 (2025 NCAA Rank: 25)

Kansas has a phenomenal diver Shiyun Lai, who carried the Jayhawks to 25th place at last year’s NCAA Championship meet as a sophomore. She was the team’s only NCAA qualifier last season. – S.K.

#21. South Carolina +3 (2025 NCAA Rank: 24)

Earlier this week, South Carolina defeated Georgia in a dual meet for the first time since 1985. The Gamecocks bring back two of their three NCAA scorers from last season: senior diver Sophie Verzyl and senior Amr Riordan, who placed 15th in the 200 back. They’ve taken a holistic approach to rebuilding, bringing in impact transfers, divers, and internationals while hitting on 1-2 strong American recruits each year—especially this season with Tori Abruzzo and Molly Yacoviello. It’s a blueprint for building a sustainable program as a non-traditional swimming power: pulling pieces from each group rather than over-investing in any one bucket. – S.G. 

#20. Princeton +18 (2025 NCAA Rank: 38)

Princeton had one of the top recruiting classes of 2025 with four BOTR recruits and one ranked recruit in #16 Chloe Kim coming in under the NCAA cutline in multiple events. They destroyed the rest of the teams in the Ivy League last year and have a very strong chance of performing well this season – M.F.

#19. Virginia Tech +1 (2025 NCAA Rank: 20)

The Hokies have one more year with star swimmer Carmel Weiler Sastre, who scored all 25 of their individual points last season and helped lead them to a pair of 14th-place relay finishes (which was all of their remaining points). Emily Claesson proved to be a clutch relay contributor and could take the next step and score this season, but there is a gap to be filled with the departure of Emma Atkinson. – J.S.

#18. Purdue — (2025 NCAA Rank: 18)

Purdue relied entirely on their divers for points at the 2025 NCAAs. Two of their four NCAA qualifiers have graduated, taking 22 points with them, but the Boilermakers return 31 points and add Junior Pan American qualifier Amelia Rinehart to the mix. Given Purdue’s track record of developing divers, expect a similar points outcome come March. – S.G.

#17. Alabama -2 (2025 NCAA Rank: 15)

The Crimson Tide are dealing with the loss of stalwart breaststroker Avery Wiseman, but leading the returners is last year’s top scorer for the team at NCAAs, Cadence Vincent, who put up 18 at NCAAs and drives the bus on the sprint relays. Emily Jones also scored at NCAAs last season and looks fantastic early in the season, and the likes of Gaby Van Brunt and Kailyn Winter will be crucial in taking a step to boost the team’s relays while ideally scoring individually as well. – J.S.

#16. Duke +5 (2025 NCAA Rank: 21)

The Blue Devils return their top ACC and NCAA scorer Kaelyn Gridley and bring in three BOTR recruits (Heather White, Sidney Arcella, and Tierney Lenahan) plus Cal transfer Annika McEnroe. Sprint freestylers White (22.69/48.90) and Arcella (22.91/49.08) will provide immediate relay help, with Arcella’s 1:46.46 in the 200 free filling a crucial gap as Duke’s fastest in that event. Lenahan adds backstroke depth (52.62/1:55.51) and relay firepower with her 48.55 100 free, which would have ranked second on the team last year. McEnroe, an NCAA qualifier her first two years at Cal, hasn’t raced since 2023, leaving some uncertainty about her immediate impact. With Ali Pfaff holding both school backstroke records and entering her junior year, Duke has the pieces to improve on last year’s 21st-place finish. – S.G. 

#15. Miami (FL) -2 (2025 NCAA Rank: 13)

The Hurricanes had three swimming qualifiers for NCAAs last year, and two of them aren’t on the roster this year (All-American Giulia Carvalho, who was listed as a senior last year, and South African Simone Moll, who was listed as a freshman last year). Still, they bring back NCAA 1-meter champion Chiara Pellacani, which helps their cause – though she doesn’t dive platform so it limits her scoring. – S.G.

#14. Georgia +2 (2025 NCAA Rank: 16)

Georgia is still a deep team that picks up lots of relay points at NCAAs, but they lack the starpower from their heyday. Still, they’ve improved holistically in each of the last two years. Incoming freshman Kennedi Dobson, though, seems like a perfect fit for the Bulldogs and could bring back the big guns that the Bulldogs need to climb back toward the top 10. – B.K.

#13. UNC +4 (2025 NCAA Rank: 17)

The Tar Heels will be dealing with the crucial loss of star diver Aranza Vazquez, but return double-digit scoring diver Lanie Gutch and have a solid recruiting base coming in led by Kamryn Meskill and Lexie Ward. Sophia Frei and Mary Macaulay look to build on last year’s NCAAs where they both chipped in a point. – J.S.

#12. Ohio State +2 (2025 NCAA Rank: 14)

Ohio State is heavily bolstered by their sophomore class of Mila Nikanorov and Sienna Angove, and they are bringing in a very large international class for the season, that could help push the team back into the top 12 at NCAAs and to another Big Ten title – M.F.

#11. USC — (2025 NCAA Rank: 11)

Much of USC’s 2025 success came from its veteran core that has since graduated. Kaitlyn Dobler, Caroline Famous, and Vasilissa Buinaia were key relay contributors, accounting for 78 points—nearly 60% of the team’s total. USC’s top star this season will likely be junior Minna Abraham, whose individual performances helped keep the Trojans in the hunt for a top-10 finish last year. She scored 31 points from just two individual events while also swimming on five relays. – S.G.  

#10. Florida -4 (2025 NCAA Rank: 6)

Florida has an incoming freshman class that, on paper, is electric. But Lilla Bognar hasn’t raced in 2025 and Lynsey Bowen hasn’t dropped much time in two years. If these freshmen find a new gear, this team has top 5 potential. The transfer of Bella Sims to Michigan not only hurts in terms of individual points, but is detrimental to four relays. – B.K.

#9. Louisville -2 (2025 NCAA Rank: 7)

The Cardinals’ relay power will likely be on full display once again this season. Despite the loss of Gabi Albiero, they bring in freestyler/backstroker Julie Mishler with a 21.62 50 free personal best; that could give them an outside chance to upset Virginia and secure the 200 free relay NCAA title, if everyone fires at once and finds another gear from last March. – S.G.  

#8. Michigan +1 (2025 NCAA Rank: 9)

The addition of Sims is a monumental boost for a Michigan program entering its third year under head coach Matt Bowe. At Florida, Sims split 1:39.5 on the second leg of the Gators’ 800 free relay at the SEC Championships in February, the third-fastest split in history. She owns SEC records in the 200 free, 100 back, and 200 back, and captured the 2024 NCAA titles in both the 200 back and 100 back. With lifetime bests of 1:51 and 3:56 in the IMs, Sims certainly has options. – S.G.

#7. NC State +3 (2025 NCAA Rank: 10)

The duo of Erika Pelaez and Leah Shackley are back for the Wolfpack this year along with a few exceptional recruits who will make huge impacts, including the fastest 100 freestyler in the class, Lily King and breaststroker Eneli Jefimova, who fills one of the only gaps on the roster – M.F.

#6. Tennessee -1 (2025 NCAA Rank: 5)

Gaining Mizuki Hirai is big for Tennessee, but overlooked is the return of scoring breaststroker Emelie Fast, who missed the 2025 postseason due to injury. – J.S. 

#5. Indiana -1 (2025 NCAA Rank: 4)

I think the Hoosiers may struggle a lot more than people think with so many crucial losses. I’m interested to see the impact Alex Shackell joining in the spring has on the group, and if they can field competitive relays. – J.S.

#4. Cal +4 (2025 NCAA Rank: 8)

Cal’s freshman class is exceptional and will bolster an already improving program that finished 8th at last year’s NCAAs. They also didn’t lose an exceptionally large number of seniors and many of their gaps will be filled this year. – M.F.

#3. Texas — (2025 NCAA Rank: 3)

Despite the graduation of Emma Sticklen, Texas brings in World Junior Record holder Eva Okaro and 3x European champion and 5x World Junior champion Nikolett Padar. Junior Campbell Stoll kicked off the season on fire, posting a trio of wins at Texas’ intrasquad meet in the 200 fly (1:53.35), 200 IM (1:56.44), and 100 fly (51.38)—the latter marking a personal best. Reigning NCAA champion Jillian Cox (500 and 1650 free) hasn’t skipped a beat, and the team has depth with the likes of Erin Gemmell, Lillie Nesty, Campbell Chase, and Piper Enge. – S.G. 

#2. Stanford — (2025 NCAA Rank: 2)

The Cardinal women, coming off their best overall season since their title run from 2017–2019, are in the midst of adjusting to a complete coaching staff overhaul. With Torri Huske back for her senior season as a heavy favorite to secure three individual wins and contribute to four relays, along with the ever-improving junior Caroline Bricker and senior Lucy Bell—both of whom secured individual titles last year—the team is in a strong position to maintain its runner-up finish from a year ago. – S.G. 

#1. Virginia — (2025 NCAA Rank: 1)

“Though much is taken, much abides.”  The Cavaliers don’t quite have the star power they’ve enjoyed over the last five years, but the talent that remains ensures that it doesn’t seem likely that Virginia will yield the title this year.” – R.G.

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