The second Women’s Golf Coaches Association coaches polls for the 2026 fall campaign are out and Wake Forest is the top team in Div. I. The Demon Deacons collected 13 of the 17 first-place votes to retain its spot atop the poll.
Wake Forest finished fourth at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational. USC, Auburn, Virginia and Stanford round out the top 5.
WGCA Div. I coaches poll for Oct. 23, 2026
| Rank | University | First-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake Forest | 13 | 417 |
| 2 | USC | 1 | 398 |
| 3 | Auburn | 1 | 392 |
| 4 | Virginia | — | 370 |
| 5 | Stanford | 2 | 339 |
| 6 | Oregon | — | 328 |
| T-7 | South Carolina | — | 323 |
| T-7 | Duke | — | 323 |
| 9 | Florida | — | 255 |
| 10 | Tennessee | — | 253 |
| 11 | Mississippi | — | 246 |
| 12 | Texas | — | 243 |
| 13 | UCLA | — | 240 |
| 14 | Miami | — | 225 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | — | 194 |
| 16 | Arizona State | — | 170 |
| 17 | Florida State | — | 132 |
| 18 | Mississippi State | — | 122 |
| 19 | Iowa State | — | 112 |
| 20 | Alabama | — | 101 |
| 21 | Arkansas | — | 94 |
| 22 | Princeton | — | 82 |
| 23 | Purdue | — | 47 |
| 24 | Virginia Tech | — | 29 |
| T-25 | Kansas | — | 23 |
| T-25 | Oklahoma State | — | 23 |
Other receiving votes: Kentucky (21), Vanderbilt (8), LSU (5), Oklahoma (4), Ohio State (3), Pepperdine (2), Baylor (1).
WGCA Div. II coaches poll for Oct. 23, 2026
Dallas Baptist is also a repeat No. 1 team as they hold the top spot in Div. II again this timeaorund. DBU earned wins at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial and Midwestern State Invitational. DBU secured 18 of the 19 first-place votes with Findlay earning the other one.
| Rank | University | First-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Baptist | 18 | 474 |
| 2 | Barry | — | 448 |
| 3 | Findlay | 1 | 437 |
| 4 | St. Mary’s Texas | — | 418 |
| 5 | Anderson | — | 402 |
| 6 | Flagler College | — | 357 |
| 7 | Texas at Tyler | — | 344 |
| 8 | North Georgia | — | 333 |
| 9 | Lincoln Memorial | — | 324 |
| 10 | Cal State San Marcos | — | 294 |
| 11 | Rollins College | — | 293 |
| 12 | Saint Leo | — | 261 |
| 13 | Lander | — | 255 |
| 14 | Nova Southeastern | — | 226 |
| 15 | Lee | — | 222 |
| 16 | West Texas A&M | — | 179 |
| T-17 | Grand Valley State | — | 149 |
| T-17 | Missouri-St. Louis | — | 149 |
| 19 | Erskine College | — | 136 |
| 20 | Eckerd College | — | 87 |
| 21 | Columbus State | — | 86 |
| 22 | Midwestern State | — | 54 |
| 23 | Wingate | — | 51 |
| 24 | California State-Los Angeles | — | 48 |
| 25 | Ashland | — | 37 |
Other receiving votes: Lynn (32), Nebraska Kearney (31), Catawba (29), Lenoir-Rhyne (11), Rogers State (4), Washburn (4).
WGCA Div. III coaches poll for Oct. 23, 2026
In Div. III, there's another repeat No. 1 in Emory, a unanimous vote this time around. Emory won the Tartan Invitational, Hollins Cup and 2026 Women’s NCAA Fall Preview at Kingsmill.
| Rank | University | First-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emory | 23 | 550 |
| 2 | New York | — | 525 |
| 3 | Carnegie Mellon | — | 495 |
| 4 | Washington University in St. Louis | — | 431 |
| 5 | Middlebury College | — | 424 |
| 6 | Williams College | — | 410 |
| 7 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | — | 362 |
| 8 | Amherst College | — | 353 |
| 9 | Bowdoin College | — | 352 |
| 10 | Pomona-Pitzer | — | 310 |
| 11 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | — | 309 |
| 12 | Randolph-Macon College | — | 302 |
| 13 | Hamilton College | — | 292 |
| 14 | Washington and Lee | — | 285 |
| 15 | Illinois Wesleyan | — | 236 |
| T-16 | Trinity Texas | — | 190 |
| T-16 | Wellesley College | — | 190 |
| 18 | UC-Santa Cruz | — | 180 |
| 19 | Wesleyan | — | 145 |
| 20 | Huntingdon College | — | 132 |
| 21 | University of the South | — | 128 |
| 22 | Babson College | — | 120 |
| 23 | Grinnell College | — | 116 |
| 24 | Macalester College | — | 67 |
| 25 | George Fox | — | 63 |
Other receiving votes: Wisconsin-Stout (59), Aurora (51), St. Catherine (44), Denison (10), Redlands (10), Trinity College (5), Centre (4).
WGCA NAIA coaches poll for Oct. 23, 2026
There's a new top team in NAIA, with Keiser taking over the No. 1 position after finishing second at the Jupiter Collegiate Invitational.
| Rank | University | First-place votes | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keiser | 4 | 91 |
| 2 | British Columbia | 5 | 75 |
| 3 | Lindsey Wilson | — | 73 |
| 4 | SCAD | 1 | 68 |
| 5 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Arizona | — | 55 |
| 6 | Indiana Wesleyan | — | 50 |
| 7 | Marian | — | 47 |
| 8 | Dalton State College | — | 39 |
| 9 | Southeastern | — | 37 |
| 10 | Texas Wesleyan | — | 7 |
Other receiving votes: Oregon Institute of Technology (5), Lewis-Clark State College (3).
The third and final WGCA coaches polls for the 2026 fall will be announced Friday, Nov. 13.
About the Women’s Golf Coaches Association
The Women’s Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a nonprofit organization representing women’s collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage women's college golf in support of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents more than 750 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Wake Forest, Dallas Baptist, Emory, Keiser lead latest WGCA coaches polls