Defending national champion Claremont Mudd Scripps will begin the 2026 to 2027 men’s college golf season at No. 1 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches Poll.
The Stags received nine first place votes and 387 points in the preseason rankings released September 4 by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Claremont Mudd Scripps enters the season after winning its second NCAA Division III national championship in May. The Stags closed the championship with a 15 under 273 in the final round and are scheduled to begin their title defense at the CA State Intercollegiate on September 14 and 15.
Claremont Mudd Scripps Leads the Top Five
Huntingdon opens at No. 2 after receiving five first place votes and 355 points. Carnegie Mellon follows at No. 3 with one first place vote and 345 points.
Illinois Wesleyan received one first place vote and begins the season at No. 4, while Methodist rounds out the top five.
Emory, Sewanee, Washington and Lee, Kenyon and Aurora complete the preseason top 10.
Preseason Top 25
First place votes are shown in parentheses.
- Claremont Mudd Scripps (9): 387 points
- Huntingdon (5): 355 points
- Carnegie Mellon (1): 345 points
- Illinois Wesleyan (1): 332 points
- Methodist: 325 points
- Emory: 323 points
- Sewanee: 310 points
- Washington and Lee: 278 points
- Kenyon: 263 points
- Aurora: 245 points
- Mary Hardin Baylor: 223 points
- Oglethorpe: 217 points
- LeTourneau: 189 points
- Piedmont: 164 points
- Trinity (TX): 151 points
- Transylvania: 143 points
- Rochester: 139 points
- Willamette: 120 points
- Southwestern (TX): 110 points
- Babson: 94 points
- Lynchburg: 87 points
- Guilford: 68 points
T23. Gustavus Adolphus: 46 points
T23. Whitman: 46 points
25. Pomona Pitzer: 44 points
More Teams Receive Votes
Another 23 programs received votes outside the Top 25.
Dubuque led that group with 27 points, followed by Carleton with 26. Bethel and UW Eau Claire each received 16 points, while John Carroll collected 14.
Hampden Sydney, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Greensboro, Wittenberg, Bowdoin, Drew, Nebraska Wesleyan, Amherst, Swarthmore, Williams, NYU, Berry, Tufts, Grinnell, Redlands, Bridgewater and Linfield also received votes.
Claremont Mudd Scripps now enters the new season with the No. 1 ranking as the Stags begin their pursuit of consecutive Division III national championships.