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TSR's 2026 NAIA XC Top 25 Team Rankings (Women): First Edition
Written by Eleni Lovgren, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
It's the best time of the year! The trees are barely beginning to turn colors, the cool breeze in the air is hanging around for just a little bit longer than usual and distance athletes are taking to the grass to begin their next season of competition.
In fact, the 2026 collegiate cross country season has already officially started, and a few small rust-busters are already completed. That is why we are opting to make this the "First Edition" of our NAIA top-25 cross country team rankings for this season.
Due to time constraints, we will be employing our "three sentences or less" rule for analysis. And for those wondering, yes, we will be updating this list as the season goes on.
25. Morningside Mustangs
With Morningside’s long-time veteran and All-American, Courtney Sporrer, out of eligibility, there’s ground to be covered if the Mustangs wants to toe the line at the cross country national meet again. Fortunately for them, four returners have already gained experience at the national meet, one of which is Sporrer’s sister, Madison Sporrer. And in our eyes, this generally young team should have a fairly high ceiling going into this season.
24. Aquinas Saints
With only two runners in the top-200 at last year's NAIA XC Championships returning to Aquinas, it's fair to have reservations about this group. However, a five-person freshman class, as well as one transfer, are bound to produce solid contributors to the Saints lineup. The Aquinas women were led by All-American Madison Rempalski last fall, but the top returner is junior Amber Koole who, on her best day, can absolutely be an All-American.
23. SCAD Savannah Bees
The SCAD Savannah Bees return the entirety of their national meet lineup...except for 11th place All-American, Talia Sullivan. Though led to a 21st place team finish by Sullivan last year, this once top-heavy team has potential to remain at the same caliber if they are able to rally around six returners with championship experience.
22. Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes
Returning All-American Kirstin Hackney will likely be the Coyotes anchor for the 2026 season. With the loss of most of Kansas Wesleyan's national meet lineup, not only will Hackney need to replicate her job as a low-stick again, but the rest of the team will need to shorten their top-five time-spread if they want to crack the top-15 once more.
21. Eastern Oregon Mountaineers
Although the loss of All-American Riley Morris will be felt, senior Kaleah Hines has shown top-40 potential which could replace Morris’ low-stick role with the Mountaineers. The rest of Eastern Oregon’s national meet lineup is also set to return, but the backend portion of this scoring squad will need improvement if they are going to be anywhere near the top-15 of the team standings in November.
20. Montreat Cavaliers
Retaining a superstar in Heather Murphy will undoubtedly help the Montreat women this fall, as will Macy Parks, a near-All-American in her own right from last fall. In fact, every single scorer from this lineup will return in the fall of 2026! The challenge, however, is that no Cavalier behind Carlyn Bobo (126th) cracked the top-230 at last year's NAIA XC Championships, leaving us with real concerns about Montreat's lack of depth.
19. Grace College Lancers
Unlike Grace College's veteran-heavy squad from last year, there are multiple spots available for both incoming freshmen and returners after losing a crucial number of middle-lineup scorers. Incoming rookies Chloe Gibson and Esther Crane will certainly be beneficial to this inexperienced group, although the return of All-American ace Cece Mitchell will give this team a spark. Admittedly, falling to the Rio Grande women at the IWU Wildcat Twilight Invite wasn't ideal, but that was likely the result of a good race from the RedStorm rather than a poor outing from the Lancers.
18. Lewis-Clark State Warriors
Damaris Kibiwot returns to the Warriors as the 19th place finisher at last year’s NAIA XC Championships, and is now joined by newcomer Kelsey Plymale, who was a 21st place All-American last fall. However, Lewis-Clark’s success on the national stage may be a matter of how much weight the 3-4-5 runners on this team hold. That's important to keep in mind as the Warriors are losing two middle-lineup runners from a team that was already thin on depth last fall.
17. Rio Grande RedStorm
Rio Grande is set to be led by junior Laura Hamm and sophomore Brandy Shular, two women who already posted sneaky-good finishes of 2nd place and 3rd place (respectively) at the IWU Wildcat Twilight meet. However, it was the shockingly great performance from rookie Vera Henderly (6th) that vaulted the RedStorm women into a better ranking position than we were initially expecting.
16. Olivet Nazarene (IL) Tigers
Even without the return of national standout Heidi Heldt, the Tigers may be in a position to better than last year when they earned a 17th place national meet finish. The team lacks a true low-stick in the absence of Heldt, but they have the unique ability to pack-run thanks to the reliability and consistency of their supporting cast. There's also reason to believe that Isabella Wojciechowski can be a low-stick after placing 68th at the NAIA XC Championships last fall.
15. Saint Mary (KS) Spires
The Spires suffer massive losses with the graduation of experienced veterans Josie Tyrrell, Abigail White and Carly Holadia. That trio led the team to a 9th place finish at last year's national meet, leaving the St. Mary looking for more of a scoring identity in 2026. That said, Serenity Larson and Liv Lohf look like promising names while history says that this team could be closer to the top-10 than we currently think.
14. Oklahoma City Stars
The Stars are a young team with nothing to lose, and their 13th place finish at last year's national meet showed us that they have the talent necessary to be nationally competitive despite their lack of experience. Although the loss of 28th place All-American Erika Pena is significant, Kenzi Readnour is on the rise. The Oklahoma City sophomore not only qualified for the indoor and outdoor national meets, but is already a two-time All-American.
13. Carroll (MT) Fighting Saints
Carroll (MT) is a team that flies under the radar because of the lack of standout stars, but they perform well when it comes to fielding a complete top-five. The Fighting Saints bring back multiple underclassmen who gained valuable championship experience last year and will have the opportunity to build upon that momentum. With a tight-knit group of high-upside youngsters, there is a lot to like about this squad going forward.
12. Benedictine (KS) Ravens
Benedictine’s strength is in their tight-knit 1-2-3 scoring punch, who all finished within three seconds of each other at last year’s national meet. That trio is led by Cecilia Campos, a woman who is coming off of a stellar middle distance campaign, culminating with finishing 3rd over 800 meters at the NAIA Outdoor Championships. Even so, with their fourth and fifth scorers from last year's national meet now gone, the need for more stable depth could be glaring come the postseason.
11. Cornerstone Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles enter the 2026 cross country season without All-American Emma Moore, but it seems that there may already be a replacement for her via senior, Jacie Remtema. The Cornerstone veteran placed 48th at the national meet last year, just eight spots away from finishing with All-American honors. However, finding a replacement for 77th place national meet finisher, Adelin Patterson, may be just as important if the Golden Eagles are going to avoid backend scoring challenges this fall.
10. The Master’s Mustangs
There is likely no team in the top-10 portion of our rankings that is affected more by graduating seniors than the Mustangs. Last year’s 4th place podium team included five seniors, four of whom were the team's top-four scorers at the NAIA XC Championships. And yet, the Mustangs are a known cross country power in the NAIA; they will almost certainly find a way to stay nationally competitive this fall.
9. Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats
The 10-person recruiting class that Indiana Wesleyan has added features a slew of low-19:00 (5k XC) runners who will certainly contribute to maintaining the nationally competitive level that the Wildcats have shown in the past. Yes, the loss of two crucial veterans in Sydney Liddle and Elizabeth Barrett leaves this group with very little known firepower going into this fall. Even so, the trio of Ashlyn Kephart, Hayes Willard and Katie Morrison were outstanding at the IWU Wildcat Twilight Invite earlier this month, giving their team a major win over a number of top teams.
8. Cumberlands (KY) Patriots
Lea Kunstmann proved throughout the season that she is a consistent championship-caliber runners, although the loss of All-American ace Patrober Jepchirchir admittedly makes it hard to rank Cumberlands (KY) better than this. The two sophomores are joined by the rest of the Patriots’ 2025 national meet lineup, as well as Faith Cherotich, an incoming Kenyan who could give this team a powerful injection of firepower this fall. Tack on promising rookie Jule Krauss (6th at the IWU Wildcat Twilight Invite, a meet where the Patriots did not run a full lineup) and Heather Durrant (who wasn't at her best at IWU) and you get a lineup that could absolutely reach the podium, but only if everything breaks in their favor.
7. Southern Oregon Raiders
The Raiders are greatly benefitting from a slew of returners from last year’s national meet lineup. Alyssa Johnson, a standout runner on the individual level, will come back as an All-American ace and the supporting cast behind her should only improve, specifically names such as Sophia Stubblefield, Alaina Casady and Emily Picard. If Southern Oregon can extend/improve the quality of their depth, then they could be a serious threat if they gain enough momentum.
6. Embry-Riddle (AZ) Eagles
Embry-Riddle Arizona is a team to watch for a top-six spot at the national meet this year with the addition of a powerhouse freshman squad. Izzy Villarreal and Reese Murphy join the Eagles with 5000-meter cross country PRs of 18:20 and 18:21, respectively. Vanicia Thomas, a 17:40 (5k) addition, may hold low-stick potential which could pair beautifully with a 7th place All-American in Sophia Noriega.
5. Marian (IN) Knights
Marian seemed to be firing on all cylinders during the indoor track season, bringing home a DMR national title, a 1-2 finish over 1000 meters, and silver in the mile along with their team national title. Even though last year’s top runner, Katie Woods, is out of eligibility, Marian demonstrated the crucial ability to perform when it matters during throughout the last academic year. And with four top-100 finishers set to return as well as make noticeable improvements, the Knights could be better than some people realize.
4. Milligan Buffalos
Although Milligan returns promising sophomore Annabelle Stewart, the loss of low-sticks Alyssa Bearzi, national meet runner-up Ellen-Mary Kearney and 47th place national meet finisher Patricia Barrera will certainly be a major blow to this team. Despite the departure of those experienced veterans, a TSR #4 ranking is more reflective of the ceiling that this team holds. Milligan is young and many of their returners made fantastic progress on the track this past spring, leaving us optimistic that this powerhouse will find a way to return to the podium.
3. College of Idaho 'Yotes
The Coyotes exceeded all expectations with a 5th place national meet finish last year, and it is hard to imagine a scenario where they don’t perform to that level again. With three returning All-Americans, the COI women have all of the firepower in the world. If already-talented rising sophomores Ainsley Bowen and Paiten Braseth can close the gap on their star teammates, then the 'Yotes may be locks for the podium.
2. Dordt Defenders
Dordt showcased their high upside after taking home 3rd place at the NAIA XC Championships last year with a team composed almost entirely of underclassmen. Not only does their entire national meet lineup return, but Dordt continues to add firepower with what is likely the best recruiting class in the NAIA. This 14-person recruiting class is highlighted by high school teammates Natalie Smith and Bailey Vandergreind, who bring invaluable championship team experience to Dordt, as shown by their role in Sioux Falls Christian earning a 6th place finish at the prestigious Nike Cross Nationals.
1. Taylor Trojans
If Taylor’s national title win and statement-making 2025 fall campaign wasn’t enough to earn them a TSR #1 spot for this fall, then their lineup as currently constructed would've been more than enough. The already star-studded team not only returns All-Americans Samantha Patterson, Catey Campbell and Malarie Pinwar, but also 6000-meter national record holder and two-time cross country national champion, Jaynie Halterman. They didn't run a full lineup at the IWU Wildcat Twilight Invite, and until proven otherwise, the Trojans deserve to sit at TSR #1.
