2025-26 Women’s NCAA Power Rankings: Final Edition

As in previous years, SwimSwam’s Power Rankings account for 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. 

Braden Keith, James Sutherland, Anya Pelshaw, Madeline Folsom, and Terin Frodyma contributed to this report. 

The final edition of our Women’s NCAA Power Rankings is here, as we give our final predictions for the team standings at this week’s meet.

To no one’s surprise, Virginia held the top spot and enters NCAAs on track for a sixth straight team title. Stanford remained second, while Michigan jumped three spots from sixth to third following a strong Big Ten performance.

Texas slipped one spot to fourth, California climbed two places from seventh to fifth, and Louisville and Tennessee both moved up to share sixth. Indiana dropped four spots from fourth to eighth, NC State slipped one to ninth, and Ohio State jumped four places from 14th to tenth.

While most of the #11-25 range remained stable, solidified NCAA diving qualifiers caused notable movement for both Purdue and Miami (FL).

Nebraska joined the rankings for the first time this season at #25.

Previous Rankings: 

• Early-season
• Pre-invites
• Post-invites
• Pre-conferences

Swimulator:

• 3/16 Simulation

Honorable Mentions: South Carolina Gamecocks, Arizona Wildcats, Washington State Cougars

#25: Nebraska Cornhuskers — (Previous Rank: Unranked)

Genevieve Jorgenseon is this year’s NCAA Cinderella story. The Big Ten Champion and 4th seed in the women’s 1650 free will battle with the big names on the opening night of the NCAA Championships. – B.K.

#24. Fresno State Bulldogs — (Previous Rank: 24)

Mackenzie Lung is the star swimmer here for Fresno State and swam huge personal bests at last year’s meet. – A.P.

#23. UCLA Bruins -1 (Previous Rank: 22)

Senior Rosie Murphy is seeded to make an ‘A’ final and score in her other two events, and with freshman Jaden Duncan on the cusp of scoring in the 100 fly and divers Eden Chang and Molly Brascia looking strong, a top-25 finish seems imminent. – S.G.

#22: Kansas Jayhawks -1 (Previous Rank: 21)

Junior diver Shiyun Lai alone should propel the Jayhawks into the top 25. – S.G.

#21. Miami (FL) Hurricanes -3 (Previous Rank: 18)

#20. Auburn Tigers — (Previous Rank: 20)

Graduate student Elizaveta Klevanovich is the only Tiger swimmer seeded to score individually, projected for four points in the 50 free, though Missouri is ranked in the top 16 in two relays and has three divers qualified for the meet. – S.G. 

#19. Purdue Boilermakers +4 (Previous Rank: 23)

Purdue scored 177 diving points at the Big Ten Championships. That’s more than the number of individual swimming points (135) and almost as many as the number of relay points (185) they scored. Platform ace Daryn Wright and springboard specialist Avery Worobel are likely to carry the Boilermakers to another top 25 finish – even with only one qualified swimmer (Reagan Mattice). – B.K.

#18: Pittsburgh Panthers +1 (Previous Rank: 19)

Chase Kreitler continues to be the man and led the Pitt women to their highest finish ever at ACCs. Claire Jansen has plenty of NCAA experience and will look to take the lead. – A.P.

#17: LSU Tigers — (Previous Rank: 17)

The Tigers have four women seeded to score individually, totaling 12 points, and are projected to score 38 points across three relays. – M.F.

#16: Wisconsin Badgers — (Previous Rank: 16)

Wisconsin earned a top-12 finish last year, and they have had a very strong season with first year head coach Dr. Jack Brown. Maggie Wanezek will be a huge scorer for the team that will be fighting for their 2nd straight top-12 spot. – M.F.

#15: Duke Blue Devils — (Previous Rank: 15)

Kaelyn Gridley is one of my swimmers to watch, especially in the 200 breast, that event has some chances for fireworks, and she could be fighting for another spot high up on the podium. – T.F.

#14: Georgia Bulldogs -1 (Previous Rank: 13)

This will be a building year for a Georgia team that lost all three of its 2025 NCAA scorers in the offseason. Of the four swimmers they’ve got entered in this year’s meet, two are freshmen and one is a sophomore, which is a positive sign for the future. Leading the way is Kennedi Dobson, who’s coming off a sensational SEC Championship performance where she placed 2nd to Jillian Cox in the 500 and 1650 free while adding a 3rd-place finish in the 200 free. The key for the Bulldogs to move up from their 15th seed on the psych sheet will be scoring more than the 22 relay points they’re seeded for. – J.S.

#13: Florida Gators -3 (Previous Rank: 10)

Florida has a few major weapons working in their favor this year as they start rebuilding following a large graduating class. Freshman Grace Rabb scored the most points for the team at SECs with three top 8 finishes. The Gators also have diver Camyla Monroy and Sophomore Anita Bottazzo, who will likely be huge scorers. – M.F.

#12: Alabama Crimson Tide — (Previous Rank: 12)

The Alabama women have a deep top tier. They’re seeded to score the 10th most relay points at 68 and are seeded to score 21 points across individual events. Considering that World Championship silver medalist Tessa Giele is only a couple of months into her first season with the team, another meet to get the hang of short course yards can’t hurt. – S.G.

#11: USC Trojans — (Previous Rank: 11)

Minna Abraham not swimming at Big Tens has me a bit higher on USC as I feel she especially could move up in the 100 free and help in the relays. – A.P.

#10. Ohio State Buckeyes +4 (Previous Rank: 14)

Ohio State is known for their conference-level depth, but this year the team is arguably better built for success at the NCAA meet. Their relays aren’t the strongest, but with 50.5 projected individual points (and still 34 in relays), paired with five divers entered in the meet, a top-ten finish is well within reach. – S.G.

#9. NC State Wolfpack -1 (Previous Rank: 8)

Leah Shackley is one of the swimmers I am keeping a sharp eye on. She brings final experience into this year’s championships, but has all the makings to earn one (or multiple) finals swims and really give the Wolfpack a major points boost. – T.F.

#8: Indiana Hoosiers -4 (Previous Rank: 4)

Alex Shackell and Miranda Grana have been pretty stellar all season, and their NCAA hype train is about to pull into the station. Clark also has had a historic freshman campaign and could have a big payoff at NCAAs. – T.F. 

=#6.Tennessee Volunteers +3 (Previous Rank: 9)

Mizuki Hirai, Camille Spink, Mackenzie Siroky, Ella Jansen, Emily Brown, the list goes on. The Vols are deep at the top, and they showed it at SECs. – T.F.

=#6. Louisville Cardinals -1 (Previous Rank: 5)

The addition of Anastasia Gorbenko immediately brought the Cardinals up to a new level in January and that continued at the ACC Championships, where she scored 83 points—22 more than Louisville’ next-highest scorer—while contributing on four relays. The former world champion is seeded to score 52 points at NCAAs, offsetting the loss of Gabi Albiero (and then some) to pencil Louisville in for a repeat 7th-place finish based on psych sheet scoring. The biggest key for the Cardinals, however, could be having the likes of Mia Cheatwood, Thilda Haell and Caroline Larsen score double-digit points, which they’re seeded to do, but Cheatwood and Larsen combined for 2.5 last year. – J.S.

#5. California Golden Bears +2 (Previous Rank: 7)

It’s hard to believe Mia West was a relay-only swimmer last year. The Canadian sophomore has come into her own this season, and now finds herself as the 2nd seed in the 200 IM while also owning a top-eight rank in the 200 free, ahead of teammate Claire Weinstein no less. The addition of Weinstein, along with fellow freshmen Teagan O’Dell, Annie Jia, Elle Scott and Silje Syngstadli should help push the Golden Bears to their best finish in five years, but the development of West, along with the improvements from Mary-Ambre Moluh, cannot be overlooked. – J.S.

#4: Texas Longhorns -1 (Previous Rank: 3)

The Texas women might fall out of the top three this year for the first time since 2019. They are projected to score points in all but two individual swimming events (the 100 back and 200 breast), but their relays will be a major setback. – M.F.

#3: Michigan Wolverines +3 (Previous Rank: 6)

The Michigan women absolutely dominated Big Tens. Hannah Bellard stepped up big time and the team overall seeems to be on a roll. – A.P.

#2: Stanford Cardinal — (Previous Rank: 2)

Torri Huske, Lucy Bell, Gigi Johnson, Annam Olasewere…this Stanford team has so much talent at the top, and with their events translating well across all five relays, it’s hard to see past the Cardinal for a top two finish. It will be interesting to see how junior Caroline Bricker performs; the defending champion in the 400 IM has looked a bit off her best compared to years past, though it remains to be seen whether she’s simply saving her best for a big NCAAs. – S.G.

#1. Virginia Cavaliers — (Previous Rank: 1)

The Cavaliers have stayed atop the power rankings all season across the board, and heading into NCAAs, that does not change. Curzan is on the hunt for multiple records and should have one of the showdowns of the meet with Torri Huske in the 100 fly. Aimee Canny is also among the most improved swimmers in the country this season, and her lineup sets her up for a potential career-defining showing here. – T.F.

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