PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – With less than three months remaining in the 2025-26 college golf season, the PGA TOUR University Ranking is taking shape as the top seniors vie for a spot in the top 25 and membership on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned tour this summer.

As players compete for conference championships and ultimately a national championship, college golf’s top seniors are also competing for jobs on the PGA TOUR (No. 1), Korn Ferry Tour (Nos. 2-10) and PGA TOUR Americas (Nos. 11-25). As such, the spring storylines focus on those critical thresholds in the PGA TOUR University Ranking, supported by Official Sponsor Huntington Bank, that will determine where players begin their paths to the PGA TOUR.

James' lead over Maas narrows

Virginia’s Ben James has not relinquished the No. 1 ranking since being named preseason No. 1 last July, and he looks to join John Pak (2021) as the only players to go wire-to-wire No. 1 in PGA TOUR University. James’ senior season includes top-five finishes in all six of his starts, and he paces the No. 2-ranked Cavaliers with a 69.33 scoring average and just two rounds over-par this season.

Despite James’ solid form, No. 2-ranked Christiaan Maas has tightened the race for the PGA TOUR card that goes to the No. 1 player in the final ranking. The Texas senior from South Africa started 2026 with a T10 finish at the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January, and six weeks later he won the Southern Highlands Collegiate, his third collegiate victory. In all, Maas’ two-year PGA TOUR U record includes two wins and 14 top 10s. And since the start of the calendar year, his deficit behind James has been reduced from 105 points to just 45.

Vanderbilt’s Wells Williams has had a standout senior campaign, as well, posting five top 10s in six starts to improve three spots from No. 6 to No. 3. The move into the top five is significant, as players who finish Nos. 2-5 in the final ranking earn an exemption into Final Stage of 2026 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry later this year (finishers Nos. 6-25 are exempt into Second Stage). Oklahoma’s Jase Summy and Texas’ Tommy Morrison round out the top five and currently hold the final positions that earn exemptions into Final Stage.

James, Maas and Williams are three of the seven PGA TOUR U players who were named to the Haskins Award Spring Watch List, and they are joined by No. 6 Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine), No. 7 Luke Potter (Texas), No. 8 Michael Alexander Mjaaseth (Arizona State) and No. 14 Bryan Lee (Virginia).

The first two No. 1 players in PGA TOUR University were Florida State’s John Pak (2021) and Texas’ Pierceson Coody (2022). In 2023, Texas Tech’s Ludvig Åberg was the first to earn his PGA TOUR card by finishing No. 1 in PGA TOUR University, and he was followed by Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen (2024) and North Carolina’s David Ford (2025).

Battle for the top 10

The competition for the No. 10 spot is another race to watch, as players who finish No. 2-10 in the final ranking earn Korn Ferry Tour membership this summer. One player has moved into the top 10 so far this season is Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik, who picked up his third collegiate victory at the Arizona NIT this spring and has improved to No. 9, up three spots since January.

South Carolina’s Frankie Harris has also put himself into contention, with a victory at the Puerto Rico Classic helping him improve five spots, from No. 16 in January to No. 11 this week. Tennessee’s Lance Simpson has posted four top fives this season, and he currently occupies the No. 10 spot in the ranking.

In 2024, Stanford’s Karl Vilips finished T8 at the NCAA Championship to improve four spots to No. 10, and he parlayed his Korn Ferry Tour membership into a victory that summer and a top-30 finish on the Points List to earn his PGA TOUR card for 2025.

Eye on No. 25

Illinois’ Ryan Voois debuted at No. 29 in the fall, and this week he checks in at No. 23 thanks to a senior campaign that features four top-15 finishes, including co-medalist honors at the Hal Williams Collegiate. Also in contention for a top-25 finish are Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai (No. 26), the 2024 NCAA individual champion, and Arkansas’ John Daly II (No. 28), who won the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in the fall and recently contended at the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open.

In 2024, Johnny Keefer closed his career at Baylor with a T11 finish at the NCAA Championship to move to No. 25 in the final ranking. As the final PGA TOUR U player to earn PGA TOUR Americas membership, he went on to finish No. 1 on both the PGA TOUR Americas Points List (2024) and Korn Ferry Tour Points List (2025), and he is now a PGA TOUR member and ranked in the OWGR top 75.

The road to the NCAA Championship

After conference championships, 81 teams and 45 individuals will qualify for the postseason and compete in one of six Regionals (May 18-20). From there, 30 teams and six individuals will advance to the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship, played May 29-June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. After the final round of stroke play on Monday, June 1, the top 25 players in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn membership on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned tour.

PGA TOUR University Ranking 2026, Week 11

In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), PGA TOUR University ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible Tournaments include NCAA Division I men’s team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The Ranking Period for the Class of 2026 began Week 23/2024 and concludes June 1, 2026, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship.

As PGA TOUR Americas Q-Schools are contested this spring, player eligibility and the PGA TOUR University Ranking will be updated on a weekly basis in accordance with PGA TOUR University Rules and Regulations.