The Big Three return to their rightful places atop the Women’s Division II preseason rankings for 2026, as the rest of the field has yet to prove that they can contend with the likes of Coast Guard, Vassar, and Wisconsin-Eau Claire when the calendar turns to November and December. But each season, the gap gets smaller and smaller between the division’s upper crust and the programs vying for a seat at the table. Could 2026 be the year we see a new name emerge as a legitimate contender in Houston? Not if the Coast Guard Bears have a say in the matter.
2025 was an excellent year for the Coasties as they celebrated the 25th anniversary of their program by winning a CRC 7s title in the Spring before capturing its first-ever XV’s National Championship title in the fall with a 51-12 win over Eau Claire. The Bears went undefeated in regular season play and were finally able to get over the hump against Vassar in the semifinal round of the playoffs despite the fact that DII Player of the Year Kate Boggs was rehabbing from a broken leg for most of the campaign.
Boggs is now a Boston Banshee, plying her trade in the WER women’s professional league, and her presence will certainly be missed. The senior factored heavily into the team’s “Jackal City: Population Coast Guard” approach on defense that stymied both Vassar and Eau Claire in the postseason. All-American front-rower Meirabella Rouane also graduated in 2026, as did playmaker Hazel Mitrick.
But the squad proved on a number of occasions that it could win games even without its stars, and the list of players that have been retained heading into 2026 is what has kept the Bears locked in at the top of the contender list. That list begins with speedy winger Avery Soca, who makes the 80-meter breakaway try look like a brisk jog in the park. Soca led the team with eight postseason scores in her first year with the Guard. Jasmine Mendez and All-American Carlee Woolum are also back in 2026 to fill out the team’s experienced core that will be supported by whichever young rugby prodigy, or prodigies, that head coach Sarah Price can churn out next.
On par with Coast Guard’s loss of Boggs is the loss of All-Everything scrumhalf Sophia Bailey for Vassar. Throughout her four-year career Bailey was the focal point of the offense for the Brewers. Her team-high 29 tries in 2025 pushed her to 119 for her career, shattering the school’s previous scoring record of 99.
The team will certainly miss Bailey’s presence, along with that of Bailey’s fellow All-American Jude Robinson and tackling machine Yasmeen Kassem-Scott, but the cupboard is by no means bare moving forward for longtime head coach Tony Brown. The Brewers will bring back veteran contributors like Leah Dourmashkin, Nadya LaMarr, and Emma Niehaus, along with Maisy Richardson, who had a breakout First Year campaign last season. Vassar will be pushed by conference mates Fairfield (#4) and Marist (#10) throughout the season, but the fact that they can no longer rely on Bailey to make some magic might help the Brewers develop a more diverse offense for their inevitable late-season playoff push.
If I played for the #3 team on the list, Wisconsin Eau-Claire, I’d be pretty mad at me, too. The Blugolds have been in the National Championship game every year for the last four years, winning two, and yet every August they wake up to find that I’ve put them somewhere other than the top spot on the contender list.
Eau Claire got its revenge for being tagged as #4 on the preseason list right away in 2025 by beating DI-AA powerhouse UNI on Friday Night Rugby for all the world to see. The team went on to breeze through its first three playoff matches by a combined score of 162-45, before the wheels fell off against a highly-motivated Coast Guard team in the final. The 51-12 drubbing by the Bears was not held against the Blugolds in this year’s ranking, however, as postseason rugby is often a war of attrition, and if a few key injuries hadn’t happened for Eau Claire on the way to the Coast Guard matchup the scoreline would not have been as lopsided.
What has been held against Eau Claire is the departure of All-American Calla Dexheimer as well as experienced contributor Caitlynn Skattebo. The Blugolds were a surprisingly young team in 2025, though, and will be bringing back a majority of the roster that finished second-best in the nation. All-American Madison “Corn” Cornell will return for 2026 after picking up some high-performance experience on a trip to Algarve 7s this summer along with teammate Maggie Kane. The pair will lead what was already a threatening backline featuring prolific scorers like Margaret Behnke, Breanna Bauer, and Autumn Noel.
The crown jewel of Eau Claire’s returning class, however, is the incomparable Olivia George, who unlocks so much for the Blugolds with her deadly combination of speed and power at the hooker position. The team will also benefit from a full year of the services of Frostburg State transfer Scout Spadoni, who spent time in the USA U23 15s developmental camp this summer alongside George. Methinks Eau Claire will not remain at #3 on this list for long.
The fact that the Fairfield Stags (#4) are once again ranked at the top of the preseason table is a testament to the depth of the roster and the high floor of the talent across the board. Not one All-American in 2025, yet Fairfield bested a competitive Roger Williams side in the first round of the playoffs before nearly upsetting Coast Guard while the Bears were on their way to a National Championship.
While the team will be without the services of veterans like Tatiana Stanton and Ava Hiel in 2026, the All-Conference half-back pairing of Kate Robertson at 9 and Jill Koppy at 10 will once again anchor the team. The Stags should also expect the uber-talented Molly Muller to provide a scoring threat on the wing. Playing one of the harder conference schedules in the division means that the regular season records might not always be as flashy for Fairfield, but running that gauntlet means that the team is always battle ready by win-or-go-home time.
Rounding out the top five is SUNY Binghamton, who made a deep postseason run in 2025 thanks in large part to the play of All-American and Player of the Year candidate Elizabeth Crawford. The feisty flyhalf will be back with Binghamton for one final season, and should once again push for POY honors. The 2026 version of the team will also lean heavily on All-Star Kennedy Ridzi – along with fellow forwards Leah Ford and Rosie Krieger, who is an absolute problem for opposing teams at the no. 8 spot – while hoping a young backline can take another step forward in its development. The arrow is pointing up for the She-Devils, and the program should once again be among the top finishers this fall.
Another up and coming team in Coastal Carolina leads the rest of the best, slotting in at #6. The Chanticleers FEASTED on the South Atlantic Rugby Conference in 2025, putting up gaudy scorelines like 41-5, 74-12, and 83-5 on their way to a conference championship. The music abruptly stopped playing once they hit the national playoffs, however, as they were ushered out of contention by Vassar with a 66-0 thrashing.
The dominant regular season effort, though, was led by players like All-American Sierra Kraemer along with captains Brooke Brantley and Kennedy Raboin, all of whom return in 2026 with another year of experience under their belt. The team will also once again get to deploy the ultimate scoring threat, and College Rugby Show favorite, Curriyah Scott on the wing.
Bowling Green (#7) will look to All-American Grace Anderson, along with All-Stars Jordyn Barr and Vivian Novak and dynamic center Samantha Tripi, to try and improve on a trip to the Regional Finals in 2025, while UNH (#8) hopes that budding superstar Sarah White can help the Wildcats earn a playoff berth in 2026. All-American Syd Weiss will be the focal point for #10 Marist’s fall campaign as the Foxes deal with the loss of the talented Allison Radcliffe at fullback.
Other teams to keep an eye on outside of this ranking: RPI and All-American Leanna Wells plus Reese Williams and Colorado Mesa. Norwich and Towson are also generally in the mix and should never be counted out.
Written by Zach Lanning