The 2019-20 college golf season is upon us, and with that comes Golfweek’s Division I Women’s Preseason rankings.
One team appears to be absolutely loaded. Another is reloading as it aims to defend its national title.
Duke won last year’s title, its seventh in program history, and the Blue Devils welcome a pair of USGA champs into the fold.
Here’s how we see the top 30 teams stacking up as the college golf season tees off (2018-19 finish in parentheses).
MORE: Men’s college golf preseason rankings
Preseason top 10
1. USC (1)
Trojans arguably deepest team in women’s college golf.
2. Duke (2)
Could Blue Devils be first women’s team to defend NCAA title in match-play era?
3. Stanford (5)
Senior trio of Lee, Valenzuela and Wang could be enough to propel Cardinal to the top.
4. Texas (4)
Experienced squad spent several weeks last year ranked No. 1.
5. UCLA (14)
Expect the Bruins to compete with the best with new talent in the lineup.
6. Florida State (10)
Top-ranked Frida Kinhult leads loaded FSU lineup.
7. Kent State (11)
Despite losing head coach Greg Robertson to Oklahoma State, Golden Flashes return plenty of firepower.
8. Vanderbilt (8)
Five-time winner a year ago, including NCAA regional, returns four of the top five.
9. Wake Forest (3)
Post-Kupcho era begins, however Wake Forest returns four of top five from last year.
10. Arizona State (15)
Senior Mehaffey and freshman Grant give Sun Devils strong one-two punch.
Preseason teams 11-30
11. South Carolina (13)
12. Florida (9)
13. Auburn (12)
14. Arizona (7)
15. Purdue (22)
16. Illinois (19)
17. Oregon (23)
18. Michigan State (20)
19. Georgia (40)
20. Northwestern (16)
21. Oklahoma (21)
22. TCU (24)
23. Mississippi (31)
24. Campbell (25)
25. Pepperdine (3)
26. Arkansas (6)
27. Washington (18)
28. Tennessee (34)
29. Texas Tech (30)
30. Clemson (32)
