NCAA golf spring preview: Breaking down Power 4 conferences, top mid-majors

College golf is back, and to ring in the new semester, it’s time to preview each of the Power 4 conferences in men’s and women’s golf, looking at the top teams, players and storylines, while also highlighting the top mid-majors:

ACC

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Championship info: April 23-27, Shark’s Tooth GC, Panama City, Florida

Recent champions: Virginia (2025), North Carolina (2024), Georgia Tech (2023), Wake Forest (2022), Clemson (2021), Georgia Tech (2019), Georgia Tech (2018), Duke (2017), Clemson (2016), Georgia Tech (2015), Georgia Tech (2014)

Team rankings: Virginia (1), North Carolina (14), Georgia Tech (18), Notre Dame (23), Duke (25), Wake Forest (26), Louisville (28), Clemson (34), Stanford (35), Florida State (39), SMU (47), North Carolina State (77), California (85), Virginia Tech (107), Boston College (170)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Ben James, Sr., Virginia (1); Bryan Kim, Jr., Duke (2); Bryan Lee, Sr., Virginia (7); Niall Sheils Donegan, Jr., North Carolina (25); Jacob Modleski, Jr., Notre Dame (36). Second team – William Sides, Sr., SMU (37); Calen Sanderson, Sr., Notre Dame (39); Nate Stevens, Sr., Notre Dame (40); Carson Bertagnole, Fr., North Carolina (45); Joey Lenane, Sr., North Carolina State (50)

What to watch: While a loss to Florida in the East Lake Cup final had Virginia ending its fall on a sour note, the truth is the Cavaliers only lost to one team in stroke play this fall. Also, freshman Michael Lee’s late rise means Virginia has found a five guy to go alongside top-ranked Ben James and three others who helped their squad to the NCAA final last spring. … North Carolina joined Virginia in a four-way tie for the win at Colonial, and its worst finish of the fall, a sixth at Sahalee, came without top player Niall Sheils Donegan, who was at the Walker Cup. Freshman Carson Bertagnole won at Notre Dame and senior transfer Andrew Riley had three top-13s, but on the flip side, the Tar Heels are hoping for a lot more out of guys like Keaton Vo and Hampton Roberts, the latter of whom is ranked outside the top 900. … While it was a challenging schedule, Georgia Tech didn’t finish better than fourth in the fall, but if junior Kale Fontenot and senior Benjamin Reuter (one combined top-20) can get back on track, perhaps the Yellow Jackets can send head coach Bruce Heppler out with his first NCAA title. … Notre Dame played the same five-event fall slate for the second straight year, and junior Jacob Modleski again didn’t finish worse than T-11; in fact, he was T-8 or better in all five starts. With Calen Sanderson and Nate Stevens behind Modleski, the Irish should be able to get back to the NCAA Championship for the second time in three seasons after previously not making nationals since 1966. … Bryan Kim paced Duke with two wins in the fall, but with three starters ranked 273^rd or worse, the Blue Devils have work to do if they want to avoid missing nationals for the fifth time in six years. … Though Wake Forest won twice and placed second twice more in the fall, it wasn’t exactly the toughest schedule. The good news is the .500 rule won’t be a factor this spring, unlike Stanford, which is 21-30. … Clemson, a victim last season to the .500 rule, is also in much better shape, and it will get a healthier Jackson Byrd this spring after the highly touted freshman only played once in the fall. … After a sluggish start, Louisville capped its fall with a T-3 at the Williams Cup, though the Cardinals have just one player, No. 91 Cooper Claycomb, ranked in the top 100. … Life after Luke Clanton has been difficult for Florida State, but there is some hope considering Tyler Weaver only played twice in the fall. The Seminoles have not missed nationals since 2019. … SMU’s lineup is top heavy as well, but William Sides is trending massively after his Jones Cup victory.

Pick to win: Virginia

WOMEN

Championship info: April 16-19, Porters Neck CC, Wilmington, North Carolina

Recent champions: Stanford (2025), Wake Forest (2024), Clemson (2023), Wake Forest (2022), Duke (2021), Wake Forest (2019), Duke (2018), Duke (2017), Virginia (2016), Virginia (2015), Duke (2014)

Team rankings: Stanford (1), Wake Forest (5), North Carolina (14), Duke (16), Florida State (28), SMU (31), Virginia Tech (37), Virginia (38), North Carolina State (39), Clemson (40), Cal (51), Boston College (59), Miami (67), Louisville (74), Notre Dame (79)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Megha Ganne, Sr., Stanford (4); Andrea Revuelta, Soph., Stanford (6); Paula Martin Sampedro, Jr., Stanford (8); Chloe Kovelesky, Soph., Wake Forest (10); Marie Madsen, Soph., North Carolina State (12). Second team – Macy Pate, Jr., Wake Forest (20); Meja Ortengren, Soph., Stanford (22); Morgan Ketchum, Sr., Wake Forest (23); Kelly Xu, Sr., Stanford (29); Megan Streicher, Sr., North Carolina (34)

What to watch: While Stanford won’t go undefeated thanks to Wake Forest beating the Cardinal in stroke play and match play at the Stephens Cup, it is still the overwhelming NCAA favorite as it won its other two tournaments by a combined 40 shots. Senior Megha Ganne has maintained momentum from last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur victory while Stanford players make up Nos. 2-5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. … Wake Forest slowed a little after the Stephens Cup, as did Chloe Kovelesky following her win-second start. But transfer Morgan Ketchum was T-13 or better in all four events before placing fifth at The Sally. If fellow transfer Casey Weidenfeld can settle into the five spot, the Deacs are capable of another upset of Stanford, whether at ACCs or later. … Megan Streicher deciding to return to school instead of playing LPGA Final Qualifying was huge for North Carolina, which capped its fall with a win at the Landfall Tradition, where Streicher was second after missing the Tar Heels’ home event (they ended up sixth). … Shockingly, freshman sensation Rianne Malixi did not finish better than T-17 in three fall starts, and that mostly explains why Duke finished sixth or worse twice. But if Malixi can become a top-10 player like she recently was in WAGR, the Blue Devils, who last spring notched their worst NCAA regional finish in school history (11th), suddenly become a top-10 team as well. … With no juniors or seniors on the roster following the big departures of Lottie Woad and Mirabel Ting, Florida State did pretty well to end the fall in the top 30. Sophomore Sophia Fullbrook was T-13 or better in all three of her fall events, so she’s poised to be the next standout Seminole.

Pick to win: Stanford

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Big Ten

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Championship info: May 1-3, Pumpkin Ridge GC, North Plains, Oregon

Recent champions: UCLA (2025), Northwestern (2024), Illinois (2023), Illinois (2022), Illinois (2021), Illinois (2019), Illinois (2018), Illinois (2017), Illinois (2016), Illinois (2015), Minnesota (2014)

Team rankings: Illinois (12), UCLA (21), USC (24), Purdue (36), Washington (41), Northwestern (43), Michigan (57), Rutgers (63), Michigan State (66), Ohio State (68), Nebraska (70), Iowa (88), Oregon (93), Indiana (95), Minnesota (96), Wisconsin (103), Maryland (133), Penn State (134)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Max Herendeen, Jr., Illinois (12); Trey Marrion, Soph., Illinois (60); Daniel Svard, Sr., Northwestern (65); Sebastian Desoisa, Fr., Oregon (72); Rowan Sullivan, Jr., Northwestern (88). Second team – Lucas Politano, Fr., Rutgers (93); Baylor Larrabee, Soph., UCLA (96); Ryan Voois, Sr., Illinois (111); Dane Huddleston, Jr., Illinois (115); Kyle An, Sr., UCLA (124)

What to watch: Not only did Illinois snap its eight-year streak of winning Big Tens two years ago, but the Illini then lost a second straight Big Ten Championship, the first time that’s happened since 2007-08. But with UCLA struggling to replace grads Omar Morales and Pablo Ereno, Illinois is again the clear team to beat in the conference. Illini did lose to Xavier by three at the Moraine Intercollegiate, though it’s been solid otherwise, especially with the emergence of sophomore Trey Marrion, who had two top-10s. As Illinois shakes off the winter rust, there is the depth and firepower for this team to make NCAA match play. … The Bruins were feast or famine in the fall, with a win at the Fighting Irish Classic but also two 10th-place showings. … Mark Hankins continues to turn around USC, which finished the season two years ago ranked No. 104 in the country. The Trojans won twice in the fall, and sophomore Jaden Dumdumaya (four top-20s) is turning into a star. Depth is a concern, but for once, the .500 rule is not. … Purdue built on reaching nationals in Andrew Sapp’s first year as a head coach by playing a whopping six tournaments last fall. It struggled at Olympia Fields, beating just two teams, but it also won its home event. The Boilermakers lack a top-200 player, which could become problematic later in the spring. … Among the rest of the conference, Northwestern might be the best poised to contend in the Big Ten, as it boasts top-100 players in Daniel Svard and Rowan Sullivan, a Vanderbilt transfer who has helped soften the blow of Niall Sheils Donegan’s transfer to UNC.

Pick to win: Illinois

WOMEN

Championship info: April 24-26, Oakmont CC, Glendale, California

Recent champions: Oregon (2025), Indiana (2024), Illinois (2023), Michigan (2022), Michigan State (2021), Ohio State (2019), Michigan State (2018), Michigan State (2017), Northwestern/Ohio State (2016), Northwestern/Ohio State (2015), Michigan State/Ohio State (2014)

Team rankings: USC (2), Oregon (3), Northwestern (20), UCLA (23), Indiana (36), Michigan (45), Ohio State (49), Illinois (50), Michigan State (55), Purdue (57), Minnesota (64), Penn State (71), Maryland (78), Rutgers (83), Wisconsin (84), Washington (97), Iowa (102), Nebraska (107)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Kiara Romero, Jr., Oregon (3); Jasmine Koo, Soph., USC (9); Catherine Park, Sr., USC (14); Elise Lee, Soph., USC (16); Kylie Chong, Soph., USC (44). Second team – Madison Dabagia, Jr., Indiana (46); Tong An, Soph., Oregon (54); Jeonghyun Lee, Soph., UCLA (63); Lauren Sung, Sr., Michigan (81); Maye Huang, Soph., UCLA (85)

What to watch: USC achieved its No. 2 ranking despite Bailey Shoemaker missing the entire fall with an arm injury and only two top-10s combined from stars Catherine Park and Jasmine Koo. Freshman Sarah Hammett showed some flashes, but the big story was the emergence of sophomore Kylie Chong, who won her first college event, though she was inconsistent otherwise. … Helping the Trojans’ prospects in the Big Ten is the fact that its main challengers both lost key players. Oregon’s Suvichaya Vinijchaitham turned pro to compete in LPGA Final Qualifying while Northwestern freshman Arianna Lau left the program this winter to return home to Hong Kong. The Ducks still have plenty in the tank, mainly No. 1 amateur Kiara Romero (three top-3s in fall), but the Wildcats, the reigning NCAA champs, are left with only four ranked players, including just two in the top 200. … UCLA was the team that was hit hard by midseason departures a year ago, and yet the Bruins finished 12th at the NCAA Championship. They had a steady fall while leaning on the sophomore duo of Jeonghyun Lee and Maye Huang, who each won a tournament in the fall. … Indiana has missed regionals in four of the past five seasons since qualifying for the NCAA Championship in 2019, but it has its best chance to get back since, especially with the breakout of Madison Dabagia, who had a win and three other top-10s in the fall. … Ohio State remains in position for the postseason, though star Kary Hollenbaugh, who won four times last season is ranked 137th with just one top-10.

Pick to win: USC

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Big 12

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Championship info: April 27-29, Prairie Dunes CC, Hutchinson, Kansas

Recent champions: Oklahoma State (2025), Texas (2024), Oklahoma (2023), Oklahoma (2022), Oklahoma State (2021), Oklahoma State (2019), Oklahoma (2018), Texas (2017), Texas (2016), Texas (2015), Texas (2014)

Team rankings: Arizona State (7), Oklahoma State (8), Texas Tech (16), Utah (19), BYU (27), Arizona (30), West Virginia (32), Cincinnati (38), TCU (42), Colorado (45), Kansas (46), Houston (49), Kansas State (62), Iowa State (90), Baylor (105), UCF (135)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Ethan Fang, Jr., Oklahoma State (4); Gabriel Palacios, Jr., Utah (5); Connor Graham, Soph., Texas Tech (6); Adam Bresnu, Jr., Texas Tech (10); Connor Williams, Jr., Arizona State (13). Second team – Michael Mjaaseth, Sr., Arizona State (20); Tim Wiedemeyer, Jr., Texas Tech (22); Gaven Lane, Jr., Oklahoma State (23); Preston Stout, Jr., Oklahoma State (32); Filip Jakubcik, Sr., Arizona (42)

What to watch: Arizona State stormed out of the gates with back-to-back wins and three straight top-13s by Connor Williams, though eventually the graduations of Preston Summerhays and Josele Ballester caught up to the Sun Devils, who are young on the back end. Arizona State capped the fall with a 12th at Colonial, where Williams was outside the top 40 and Fifa Laopakdee, right before winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur, signed for a wrong score in the first round. That said, the Sun Devils remain NCAA title contenders after winning stroke play at La Costa last spring. … However, Arizona State is arguably the underdog in its own conference as Oklahoma State returned everyone from last year’s NCAA Championship squad. The Cowboys won one and placed second twice, with its only blemish coming at Notre Dame’s event, where they finished 10th while missing Ethan Fang and Preston Stout because of the World Amateur Team Championship. … Texas Tech’s fall proved that it is strong at the top with Connor Graham, Adam Bresnu and Tim Wiedemeyer (combined eight top-13s), but with no other players ranked in the top 600, it badly needs some back-end help. … Utah debuted at No. 1 last fall before slipping. Gabriel Palacios has been a real standout, though, with four top-10s, including a win at The Tindall. … BYU was a potential dark horse to start the season, and while it notched two team wins in the fall and freshman Kihei Akina lived up to the hype (three top-10s), the Cougars’ 14th at The Bryson killed their ranking. … Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik entered the fall as a top-10 amateur in the world, so just one top-10 wasn’t what many expected. Zach Pollo didn’t have a top-10 at all, as the Wildcats will be trying to get their two studs going this spring.

Pick to win: Oklahoma State

WOMEN

Championship info: April 23-25, Dallas Athletic Club, Dallas

Recent champions: Arizona (2025), Texas (2024), Oklahoma State (2023),
Texas (2022), Oklahoma State (2021), Texas (2019), Texas (2018), Texas (2017), Oklahoma State (2016), Baylor (2015), Oklahoma (2014)

Team rankings: UCF (12), Arizona State (13), Oklahoma State (19), Baylor (21), Arizona (22), Kansas State (27), Iowa State (29), Houston (33), TCU (41), Kansas (42), Colorado (43), Texas Tech (48), BYU (85), Cincinnati (108)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Pammy Chookaew, Sr., Iowa State (17); Patience Rhodes, Jr., Arizona State (19); Charlotte Back, Jr., Arizona (21); Yurang Li, Jr., Baylor (35); Natalie Saint Germain, Sr., Houston (45). Second team – Kinsley Ni, Fr., Arizona (51); Mila Jurine, Soph., UCF (53); Pimpisa Sisutham, Sr., UCF (59); Ellie Bushnell, Jr., Oklahoma State (60); Camille Min-Gaultier, Soph., TCU (66)

What to watch: UCF’s 18-shot win at Medinah proves that the Knights are for real. Sophomore Mila Jurine won that event, then tied teammate Pimpisa Sisutham for third as the Knights were second at Landfall. Really the only thing standing in UCF’s way is the hump of getting past regionals. UCF has three top-7s at regionals since last getting to the NCAA Championship in 2019. … Arizona State is trending after starting the fall with a 10th at the Annika, and that’s with seniors Beth Coulter and Paula Schulz-Hanssen combining for just one top-15. Now, the Sun Devils will add Thai freshman Pimpisa Rubrong to the fold this spring, which probably propels them past UCF as Big 12 favorites. … Oklahoma State hasn’t missed a beat under new head coach Annie Young as three players are ranked 80th or better, though an 11th at Stanford still shows there is work to do for the Cowgirls to be considered a threat to make NCAA match play. … Illinois transfer Yurang Li has immediately slotted in as Baylor’s best player, and she closed the fall finishing second-win-win. The Bears added a win and second after opening the fall with a second at Folds of Honor, though the story with Baylor has been nationals, where it has advanced to five straight but failed to finish better than 14th. … Arizona went from winning the Big 12 to not getting out of regionals last season in head coach Giovana Maymon’s first year. Freshman Kinsley Ni had a couple top-16s against elite fields while Charlotte Back led the way with two top-5s, though as a team, the Wildcats didn’t place better than fourth in a stroke-play event and will need some of that depth to materialize this spring. … Kudos to Kansas State for remaining a top-30 program despite the graduation of Carla Bernat. The Wildcats finished strong in the fall, going second-win and climbing 10 ranking spots. … Iowa State is also a top-30 program on the back of senior Pammy Chookaew, who had a win and two other top-5s in the fall. If fellow senior Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn, a former top-50 amateur, can bounce back after finishing outside the top 50 three times in the fall, then the Cyclones could make noise in the Big 12.

Pick to win: Arizona State

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SEC

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Championship info: April 22-26, Sea Island GC (Seaside), St. Simons Island, Georgia

Recent champions: Florida (2025), Auburn (2024), Florida (2023), Vanderbilt (2022), Vanderbilt (2021), Arkansas (2019), Auburn (2018), Vanderbilt (2017), Georgia (2016), LSU (2015), Alabama (2014)

Team rankings: LSU (2), Vanderbilt (3), Auburn (4), Texas (5), Florida (6), Arkansas (9), Ole Miss (10), Alabama (11), Oklahoma (13), Tennessee (20), Texas A&M (31), Georgia (33), South Carolina (48), Kentucky (50), Mississippi State (54), Missouri (76)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Wells Williams, Sr., Vanderbilt (8); Josiah Gilbert, Jr., Auburn (9); William Jennings, Soph., Alabama (11); Jackson Koivun, Jr., Auburn (14); Arni Sveinsson, Soph., LSU (15). Second team – Ryder Cowan, Jr., Oklahoma (16); Cameron Tankersley, Sr., Ole Miss (17); Jase Summy, Sr., Oklahoma (18); Lance Simpson, Sr., Tennessee (19); Luke Potter, Sr., Texas (21)

What to watch: A year after entering the spring with five teams in the top 10, the SEC now has seven heading into this semester – and eight of the top 11. LSU is the best of the bunch thanks to three wins and a second in the fall. Arni Sveinsson posted four top-11s, including a win, as he looks like a potential player of the year. But perhaps the biggest keys for head coach Jake Amos have been Noah McWilliams, who had three top-8s in the fall, and Matty Dodd-Berry, who has rallied with two top-10s following a junior season in which he barely cracked the top 200 in the rankings. Plus, there is the extra motivation from last year’s NCAA Amherst Regional, where the Tigers failed to advance as the top seed. … Vanderbilt is back among the elites after a frustrating season a year ago. The Commodores won three times in the fall, as not only has senior Wells Williams looked like a first-team All-American (four top-10s) but freshman Jon Ed Steed has been a nice surprise as a steady presence at the back end. The only question is can Pacific transfer Carlos Astiazaran find his game and make an impact this spring. … After back-to-back finishes of eighth or worse, Auburn got back on track to cap the fall by winning the Clerico. Josiah Gilbert won there and at the season-opening event at the Honors Course, though he also was 48th or worse twice. Jackson Koivun wasn’t a model of greatness in the fall either, with a T-17 at Colonial and no finishes better than T-5. All that means, though, is there is room to improve, especially if freshman Logan Reilly gets it going. … Texas won at Colonial and was second twice in the fall, and the Longhorns boast the best WAGR average among its top five players (29.8). Now, they just need to get Christiaan Maas to deliver more consistently – he won the WATC and was recently top 10 on the DPWT in Dubai, but he had two showings outside the top 40 in the fall. … Here’s a promising stat for Florida: The Gators were 10th at Sahalee to start the fall, and the last time they had finished 10th or worse in a tournament was Fall 2022; the Gators, of course, won it all that spring. This season’s Gators have four players inside the top 100, and No. 102 Parker Bell is trending massively after two top-12s and a huge East Lake performance to cap the fall. He also tied teammate Luke Poulter for fourth at the Jones Cup. … Arkansas is ranked 80 spots better than it was entering last spring thanks to a big home win at the Blessings and fourth at Fallen Oak. John Daly II has continued to build off his strong summer, winning at Blessings and placing runner-up at Cincy’s event. If Louisiana Tech transfer Niilo Maki-Petaja can find his groove, there is no reason the Razorbacks can’t get back to nationals for the first time since 2023. … Ole Miss’ road back to the NCAA semifinals just got much tougher following the departure of two-time first-team All-American Michael La Sasso to LIV Golf. … William Jennings was one of the stories of the fall, as the Alabama sophomore won twice, a season after he shot 92 in the first round of last spring’s Watersound Invitational. He leads a Tide squad that has shockingly only made nationals once since a national runner-up finish in 2018. … Oklahoma ended a bit of a skid by winning the Ka’anapali Classic. Jase Summy won the Carmel Cup but was a little banged up while Clark Van Gaalen didn’t quite take the leap that was expected, posting only one top-10. Head coach Ryan Hybl has some work to do to round out his starting five in time for the postseason, but if anyone can get these Sooners ready to win an NCAA title, it’s Hybl. … Tennessee didn’t finish better than sixth after winning its home tournament to open the fall. Besides Lance Simpson (one win, two other top-10s), no other Vol is ranked in the top 100, and that includes the Fridge, Jackson Herrington, who was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur but capped his fall with three straight showings outside the top 25.
Arkansas is ranked 80 spots better than this time last year.

Pick to win: Florida

WOMEN

Championship info: April 17-21, Pelican GC, Belleair, Florida

Recent champions: South Carolina (2025), Mississippi State (2024), Texas A&M (2023), LSU (2022), Auburn (2021), Ole Miss (2019), Arkansas (2018), Florida (2017), Alabama (2016), Texas A&M (2015), Vanderbilt (2014)

Team rankings: Arkansas (4), Texas A&M (6), Auburn (7), Florida (8), Vanderbilt (10), Texas (11), Ole Miss (15), South Carolina (17), Mississippi State (18), Tennessee (25), Oklahoma (26), Kentucky (30), LSU (32), Missouri (35), Alabama (58), Georgia (62)

Midseason All-Conference teams: First team – Avery Weed, Jr., Mississippi State (1); Maria Jose Marin, Jr., Arkansas (2); Farah O’Keefe, Jr., Texas (5); Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Jr., Texas A&M (11); Eila Galitsky, Soph., South Carolina (15). Second team – Reagan Zibilski, Sr., Arkansas (18); Anna Davis, Jr., Auburn (24); Cindy Hsu, Sr., Texas (26); Vanessa Borovilos, Soph., Texas A&M (27); Balma Davalos, Soph., Auburn (30)

What to watch: Not even the Broadie Bumpers could deny Arkansas the title of top-ranked team in the SEC after the fall. Despite missing out on some points for winning their home event by too much, the Razorbacks lost to just four other teams all fall, though three of those were SEC squads. Maria Jose Marin has finished fourth or better in six straight college events dating to last spring while junior Abbey Schutte won her first college title at The Ally and is nearly ranked inside the top 30 after being No. 211 to close last season. And to top it all off, Arkansas adds freshmen Sarah Brentcheneff and Sofia Cherif Essakili for this spring. Brentcheneff is ranked No. 29 in WAGR while Cherif Essakili is No. 550. … At this time last year, Texas A&M was wondering how it would recover from losing NCAA champ Adela Cernousek to the pros midseason. This spring, the Aggies already have four team titles after bolstering its lineup with talented freshmen and a transfer. While Scarlett Schremmer left the team after a couple events, Texas A&m has plenty of firepower, led by Cata Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Vanessa Borovilos, who combined for six top-10s in the fall. Louise Reau, who starred for Georgia Southern last season, only played two stroke-play events, and if she can bounce back, the Aggies can challenge anyone. … Auburn stumbled out of the gates with a ninth at the Cougar Classic, though it won twice after that while Anna Davis capped her fall with back-to-back titles. Sophomores Balma Davalos and Anne Fernandez were the real stories, though, as they combined five top-4 finishes. Auburn is more motivated than ever after finishing sixth at regionals twice in the last three seasons, though there is some bad news: Davalos is missing the spring opener with injury and could be out a while. … Florida had a bizarre return to the NCAA Championship last season for the first time since 2019, as its top player, Paula Francisco, was penalized for almost missing her tee time after she got on a shuttle to the wrong starting hole. Florida later narrowly missed the 54-hole cut. The Gators, however, have seemed to have already moved on with two wins last fall, including a five-shot win over Arkansad at The Ally. Even better, they’ve found more help for Francisco, especially Virginia transfer Megan Propeck, who had a win and two other top-8s. … Two wins highlighted Vandy’s fall as the Commodores also have a win against Arkansas. There is lots of depth, too, as Vandy boasts seven players ranked No. 187 or better, including four at No. 76 or better. One of those players is freshman Elizabeth Rudisill, who already has a win among three top-10s following a T-27 at the 48-player Carmel Cup to start her college career. … Texas might be the most disappointing team so far this season considering how loaded the Longhorns are. They didn’t finish better than fourth in the fall as no one stepped up behind their Big 3 of Farah O’Keefe, Lauren Kim and Cindy Hsu. Even Kim, at No. 41 in the nation, had just one top-10. … Kajsalotta Svarvar was a big reason why Ole Miss won twice in the fall as she had three top-10s. Georgia Southern transfer Mary Miller added two top-10s of her own, though the Rebels probably need one of their four players ranked in the mid-100s to take a leap if they want to contend with the best in the SEC. … It was always going to be tough for South Carolina to replace Louise Rydqvist and Hannah Darling, especially from a leadership standpoint. Eila Galitsky won the Annika and has been mostly stellar, but the rest of the lineup has been way too inconsistent. … Mississippi State’s fall was highlighted by a runner-up at Vandy’s event and a spectacular fall by Avery Weed, who didn’t finish outside the top four in four fall starts.

Pick to win: Arkansas

Mid-majors

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Top teams: Pepperdine (15), New Mexico (17), Charlotte (22), San Diego State (30), Arkansas State (37), Long Beach State (40), Little Rock (44), Florida Gulf Coast (51), Rice (52), Pacific (53), South Alabama (55), Loyola Marymount (56), Georgia Southern (58), San Diego (59), UNLV (60)

Top individuals: Mahanth Chirravuri, Sr., Pepperdine (3); Brady Siravo, Sr., Pepperdine (26); Mesa Falleur, Sr., New Mexico (27); Ryan Abuan, Jr., UNLV (30); Thomas Schmidt, Sr., Arkansas State (33); Yixiang Wang, Jr., Memphis (38); Justin Matthews, Sr., Charlotte (48)

WOMEN

Top teams: Pepperdine (9), Kent State (24), Eastern Michigan (34), Cal State-Fullerton (46), Princeton (47), Tulsa (42), College of Charleston (53), San Jose State (54), Texas State (56), Northern Arizona (60)

Top individuals: Veronika Kedronova, Jr., Kent State (7); Kylee Choi, Fr., Pepperdine (13); Eunseo Choi, Soph., Pepperdine (36); Anna Behnsen, Soph., South Alabama