NCAA women's regionals: Full fields, previews for all six sites
The NCAA announced Wednesday afternoon the 72-team field for the 2025 NCAA Division I women's golf regionals. Each of the six regionals will feature 12 teams and six individuals not on advancing teams. Among those teams are 29 conference champions and 43 at-large programs.
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The regionals will be contested May 5-7 with the top five teams from each regional advancing along with the highest finishing individual not on an advancing team.
Thirty teams will comprise the field for the NCAA Championship, which begins May 16 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Stanford is the No. 1 overall seed this year. The Cardinal, who have won six of their past eight regionals, are joined by five other top seeds – Arkansas, Florida State, South Carolina, Oregon and Texas.
Two of the six regionals do not have hosts as Kentucky was among three teams to finish under .500 (Clemson and Alabama are the others) and Texas Tech ended up as the first team out.
Here is a look at the full regional fields, plus a breakdown of each site:
Norman
Jimmie Austin OU GC, Norman, Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
1. Stanford
2. Northwestern
3. North Carolina
4. Michigan State
5. Duke
6. Oklahoma
7. Baylor
8. Oregon State (West Coast)
9. Tulsa (American)
10. Denver (Summit)
11. Furman (SoCon)
12. Southern Miss (Sun Belt)
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Riana Mission, San Francisco
Grace Jin, Sam Houston
Cynthia Zhang, Boston College
Ffion Tynan, Missouri
Amelia Guo, Sam Houston
Zoe Pinillos, Augusta (Southland)
Stanford being sent to Norman is a shocker, as it's more than double the distance of Gold Canyon from Stanford's campus (1,619 miles to 769 miles). The trade-off for not getting eighth-ranked Arizona State as a host in the No. 2 slot is sixth-seeded host Oklahoma. Not that it should matter, as the top-ranked Cardinal have won each of their last 10 stroke-play competitions, including the ACC Championship, where they were upset by Wake Forest in the semifinals. Stanford is looking to advance to its 15th straight NCAA regional. If there's a top-five seed on upset alert it could be Duke, which has dropped seven spots in the rankings since the end of the fall and was just 10th at ACCs. The Sooners are trying to qualify for nationals for the first time since 2018. Baylor squeaked into regionals with exactly a .500 winning percentage. Tulsa, under first-year head coach Mike Roters, added Romaine Masserey midseason and have climbed 35 ranking spots this spring while winning the American Athletic Conference title. The Golden Hurricane are looking for a third straight trip to nationals.
Columbus
Ohio State University GC (Scarlet), Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State)
1. Arkansas
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Kansas
5. Houston
6. SMU
7. UNLV (Mountain West)
8. Illinois
9. Kent State (MAC)
10. Illinois State (MVC)
11. Xavier (Big East)
12. Oakland (Horizon)
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Isabella McCauley, Minnesota
Vanessa Zhang, Harvard (Ivy)
Savannah de Bock, Eastern Michigan
Mara Janess, Michigan
Neeranuch Prajunpanich, Youngstown State (Horizon)
Jillian Cosler, Bradley (Missouri Valley)
The host Buckeyes should be a lock in this regional as they have won three straight tournaments on the Scarlet course, including an 11-shot victory over Michigan State earlier this spring. Ohio State also finished fourth the last time it played a regional at home, in 2017. Kent State also should feel at home as the Golden Flashes were third this spring at the Buckeyes' home event. Arkansas finished the worst of the No. 1 seeds at conference, placing sixth and losing in the semifinals at SECs. Kansas hasn't played nationals since 2014 while Houston has never advanced through regionals. Illinois is riding momentum after placing third at Big Tens, its third straight top-3 finish of the spring.
Lexington
Keene Trace GC (Champions), Lexington, Kentucky (Kentucky)
1. Florida State (ACC)
2. USC
3. TCU
4. Vanderbilt
5. Kansas State
6. Georgia Southern
7. Pepperdine
8. Louisville
9. Miami
10. Western Kentucky (CUSA)
11. Morehead State (OVC)
12. Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast)
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Emma Bunch, New Mexico State
Gabi NiCastro, Samford
Marta López Echevarría, Kentucky
Madison Dabagia, Indiana
Caroline Smith, Indiana
Jasmine Driscoll, Ball State (MAC)
Fresh off its first ACC title, Florida State is the top seed at the home of the PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship. USC has struggled this spring, dropping from fourth to ninth in the country, while one of its top players, Bailey Shoemaker, has battled a right-arm injury. TCU beat Kentucky by 12 shots on this course in the fall, and the Horned Frogs are one of the hotter teams in the country, rising eight spots to No. 15 this spring. Kansas State went from the first team out last season to a fifth seed and eyeing its first NCAA Championship berth. Georgia Southern is the highest-ranked mid-major at No. 34. Pepperdine hasn't made three straight nationals since 2007. Louisville will be the de-factor home favorite, and the Cardinals were fourth here in the fall. Western Kentucky is competing in its first regional, though it has a potential medalist in senior Catie Craig.
Charlottesville
Birdwood GC, Charlottesville, Virginia (Virginia)
1. South Carolina (SEC)
2. Virginia
3. Ole Miss
4. Florida
5. UCLA
6. UCF
7. College of Charleston (Coastal)
8. North Carolina State
9. BYU
10. Princeton (Ivy)
11. Richmond (A-10)
12. Radford (Big South)
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Pinky Chaisilprungruang, Charlotte
Nicha Kanpai, Maryland
Isabella Rawl, Clemson
Melena Barrientos, Clemson
Hannah Altman, UNC Wilmington (Coastal)
Paris Fieldings, Howard (Northeast)
When Virginia finished second on this course in the fall, it was in rainy conditions caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The Cavaliers are playing their best golf of the season right now, with three straight seconds, including at ACCs. South Carolina is coming off its first SEC title since 2002 and has been bolstered by the spring arrival of Thai freshman Eila Galitsky. Florida hasn't advanced through a regional since 2019. UCLA got over .500 at Big Tens, though just barely, in what's been a challenging season that has included losing its two best players to the pros. UCF finished ninth at Big 12s and has only finished better than fourth once this season. North Carolina State (fourth) and Richmond (12th) both have experience this season on this layout. BYU was the last team in and is looking for its first NCAA Championship berth since 2016.
Gold Canyon
Superstition Mountain G&CC, Gold Canyon, Arizona (Arizona State)
1. Oregon (Big Ten)
2. Arizona State
3. Auburn
4. Mississippi State
5. Oklahoma State
6. California
7. Virginia Tech
8. San Jose State
9. Sacramento State (Big Sky)
10. Cal State-Fullerton (Big West)
11. Navy (Patriot)
12. Quinnipiac (MAAC)
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Vivian Lu, Washington
Jasmine Leovao, Long Beach State
Janae Leovao, Long Beach State
Jensen Jalufka, Cal Poly
Daniela Campillo, ULM
Maddie Montoya, Montana State (Big Sky)
Perhaps the most wide open of the regional sites off the tee, Oregon gets to stay closer to home with Stanford being sent to Norman. The Ducks are coming off a Big Ten sweep with Kiara Romero winning the individual title. However, the Ducks are banged up and could be without Karen Tsuru (back). Arizona State has used just five players all season and now play close to home at a course where they finished second earlier this spring; San Jose State was fifth at that event. Auburn missed match play at SECs, and if Anna Davis does not contend, the Tigers could be in trouble, though this program always seems to have a flair of the dramatic this time of year. Mississippi State has dropped 10 spots to No. 20 since the departure of Julia Lopez Ramirez to the LPGA. Oklahoma State is trying to punch its fifth straight ticket to nationals. California could be a spoiler after reaching the semifinals of the ACC Championship.
Lubbock
The Rawls Course, Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech)
1. Texas
2. Wake Forest
3. Arizona (Big 12)
4. Texas A&M
5. Iowa State
6. Tennessee
7. Purdue
8. Campbell
9. UC Davis
10. Florida Gulf Coast (ASUN)
11. Tarleton State (WAC)
12. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland)
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Ryann Honea, Abilene Christian
Chantal El Chaib, Georgia
Klara Hurtova, Texas Tech
Kara Kaneshiro, Colorado State
Yvonne Chamness, Texas State
Julia McLaughlin, High Point (Big South)
Expect it to be windy, which will play into the hands of top-seeded Texas, which has finished outside the top five only twice this season, both sixth-place showings at tough events, Darius and Colonial. Wake Forest upset Stanford in the ACC semifinals and have turned back into an NCAA title contender with the addition of Chloe Kovelesky this spring. Arizona had an up-and-down first year under new coach Giovana Maymon, but the Wildcats did win three events, including Big 12s. Texas A&M also lost its best player to the LPGA in Adela Cernousek and is coming off a 10th-place finish at SECs. No. 4 seeds are the most vulnerable historically as just nine of 18 have advanced in the six-regional format. Iowa State hasn't finished better than sixth in three events in Texas or Oklahoma this season. Tennessee was fourth at Texas' event earlier this spring and made match play at SECs. Campbell was seventh on the Rawls course in the fall. UC Davis is the last at-large team in regionals. FGCU is among the regional first-timers, though the ASUN champs have fallen 17 spots in the rankings this spring.
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Advertisement Somehow, the lesson Petitti took from the 4-4-2-2-1 backlash wasn't 'people hate the idea of predetermined Playoff berths'; it's 'maybe they'd accept it if we just gave out more of them.' Rather than 'Jeez, people aren't as fired up about play-in games as I thought they'd be,' it's 'OK then, what if we just did more of them?' Whatever his motives, it's clear Petitti views college football not as a fixer-upper but a full-on teardown project. Where most of us see a wonderfully unique and charming home with room for improvement, Petitti sees an archaic structure in desperate need of a refresh. The same guy who put the final nail in the Pac-12's coffin would apparently be fine doing the same to the 120-plus-year tradition of bowl games. Bye-bye, college football. Hello, NFL Junior. To be clear, he's not on a total island. There are pockets of ADs and coaches around the country, including in the SEC, that quietly love the idea of their 8-4/7-5-type programs becoming annual CFP contenders. They likely assume there's a golden pot of TV revenue waiting for them as well. (In reality, TV doesn't want this, either.) Fortunately, there are far more people in important positions who don't want any part of this tomfoolery. Because they happen to think college football is pretty great as it is. Will you refund my subscription money? The Athletic CFB coverage is becoming an outrage click farm. Ironic that you are lambasting Michigan about lacking integrity. Surely it isn't lost on you. — Ian S. @Ian S.: Because the trending questions are all Michigan-related. Michigan has a huge fan base because it's a great school *and* the all-time winningest program, so anything Michigan-related gets eyeballs and anti-UM outrage provokes engagement. Stew's strategy is Internet Trolling 101. —Steve S. Stew's strategy is to write about the topics readers care about most. And the readers have universally told me, 'It's not the sloppy espionage and the cover-ups that interest me about this Michigan story; it's their academic reputation and all their wins from 1902.' In the last 40 years, no coach has gone more than six years between two national titles (Barry Switzer is the last coach to do so, winning his third title in 1985 after winning his second a decade earlier). Dabo Swinney last won a title in 2018. Has his window closed? — Brian I think so. But many, many people disagree. Advertisement It feels like the entire narrative around Clemson's program has shifted over the past eight months, starting with, strangely, a two-touchdown loss to Texas in the CFP first round. The Tigers head into this season with the sixth-best odds to win the national championship, and they got the second-most votes in The Athletic's staff survey predictions behind only Texas. While that wasn't my vote (I cast one of the three Penn State ballots), I did have Clemson No. 3 in my post-spring Top 25. That was because Dabo has more high-level players returning than at any time since the last Trevor Lawrence-Travis Etienne team in 2020. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, receiver Antonio Williams, defensive linemen T.J. Parker and Peter Woods and cornerback Avieon Terrell are all projected first-round picks. And new defensive coordinator Tom Allen should be a big upgrade from Wes Goodwin. But once it came time to make 'official' picks, I backed off a little. I picked the Tigers to win the ACC, but with an 11-2 record, including a home loss to LSU in the opener. Which would put them more like the low top 10. The main reason: What evidence has Clemson given us recently to suggest it can still compete at the highest level? Clemson got drilled by Georgia 34-3 to open last season. The Tigers went on to lose to two more SEC foes, South Carolina (17-14) and Texas (38-24). To their credit, the Tigers beat CFP team SMU in the ACC title game, but no one thought SMU could win the national championship. Over the past four seasons, Clemson has had one 'big' non-conference win: at home against Notre Dame in 2023. And as those struggles mounted, many others and I criticized Dabo for stubbornly steering clear of the transfer portal. He relented a little this offseason, landing a couple of possible key contributors, but his lineup will still be comprised almost entirely of homegrown guys
