The NCCGA season is finally here, which means it's time to reveal the preseason rankings! There are a lot of familiar names in the top half of the leaderboard, but there are a few new squads that earned a spot in the top 25.
Preseason Top 25
1. University of Florida - North Florida
2. Grand Canyon University - Desert
3. University of Georgia - South
4. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
5. University of Alabama - South
6. University of Wisconsin - North
7. UNC Wilmington - North Carolina
8. Baylor University - Texas
9. University of Missouri - Central
10. University of Tennessee - South
11. Oklahoma State University - Ozark
12. University of Illinois - Great Lakes
13. University of Virginia - Colonial
14. Providence College - New England
15. UNC Chapel Hill - North Carolina
16. Michigan State University - Midwest
17. University of Texas - Texas
18. Missouri State University - Central
19. University of Michigan - Midwest
20. Clemson University - Southeast
21. Miami University (Ohio) - Ohio Valley
22. University of Notre Dame - Indiana
23. University of Nebraska - Twin Cities
24. Georgetown University - Capitol
25. California Polytechnic State University - Pacific
Also receiving votes
University of Delaware - Philadelphia
Georgia Institute of Technology - South
University of Arkansas - Ozark
Robert Morris University - Atlantic
DePaul University - Great Lakes
The University of Florida comes in possessing the number one ranking they held at the end of the fall semester. The bright lights don’t scare them easily as their stellar play continues to show up at the National Championship every semester (T-6 at Barefoot in the fall). Right behind Florida is the spectacular team from Grand Canyon University. The Lopes are looking to reclaim the National Championship after winning last spring and falling to runner-up in the fall. Both of these teams continue to show everyone why they are consistently championship favorites. Finishing out the top five are the powerhouses from Georgia, Minnesota, and Alabama.
Three new teams cracked the top 25 this semester. The champions of the past two National Invitationals Miami of Ohio and the University of Nebraska keep getting better and better. Are either of these teams ready to be the first ever to win both a National Invitational and National Championship? Cal-Poly from the Pacific region, led by former NCCGA President Brandon Bone, looks ready to take the next step and compete for a National Championship as well.
The region with the most teams in this semester's rankings is the South region with three (Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee). There are five regions that have representation by two teams. These regions are the Twin Cities region (Minnesota and Nebraska), the North Carolina region (UNCW and UNC Chapel Hill), the Texas region (Baylor and Texas), the Central region (Missouri and Missouri State), and the Midwest region (Michigan State and Michigan). Twelve other regions are represented.
Will this semester finally be the one that a team outside of the preseason top 25 rankings wins the National Championship, or will the hardware be taken by a team listed above? To see a video preview of the first weekend of tournaments, click here.
