Defending champion Stanford is ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Preseason Women’s College Top 25 rankings ahead of Pac-12 rival UCLA, which it beat, 3-2, in the 2017 Women’s College Cup final.
Stanford, which won its second NCAA title, returns every starter except Andi Sullivan, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.
The returnees include TiernaDavidson, who has been starting for the U.S. national team for much of the 2018 season, Brazilian-born Catarina Macario, the nation’s top freshman in 2017, as well as Alana Cook,Tegan McGrady and Jaye Boissiere.
The freshman class includes Sophia Smith, the top player on the U.S. U-20 Women’s World Cup team, which started four Cardinalplayers.
UCLA is also loaded with the return of Canadian international Jessie Fleming, Hailie Mace, who earned her first cap for the USA in the offseason, and AshleySanchez, another U.S. U-20 star.
The rest of the top five consists of Penn State, which is seeking its 19th Big Ten regular-season title in 25 years, North Carolina, the preseasonpick in the ACC, and Florida, which returns another Canadian star, Deanne Rose.
RANK TEAM (2017 RECORD)
1.Stanford (24-1-0)
2. UCLA (19-3-3)
3. Penn State (15-5-4)
4. North Carolina (17-3-2)
5. Florida (17-5-1)
6. Florida State (13-7-1)
7. Virginia (13-6-4)
8.West Virginia (16-4-3)
9. USC (15-4-1)
10. Duke (23-3-0)
11. Princeton (16-3-1)
12. Baylor (15-6-3)
13. Texas A&M (12-8-2)
14. South Carolina (21-2-1)
15.Georgetown (14-3-4)
16. California (13-6-1)
17. Santa Clara (15-7-1)
18. N.C. State (14-5-2)
19. Tennessee (11-9-1)
20. UCF (16-2-3)
21. Notre Dame (10-7-5)
22. Pepperdine (15-3-3)
23. Texas (14-4-3)
24. Washington State (10-8-4)
25. Oklahoma State (16-4-3)
Note: SoccerAmerica’s Top 25 is released each week on Tuesday during the college regular season.