Defending national champion Oklahoma will start its 2026 campaign at the top of the rankings, securing the No. 1 spot in the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) preseason coaches poll released Tuesday.
The Sooners’ top spot marks the fourth consecutive year the program has earned the No. 1 preseason ranking from the WCGA. Oklahoma received 39 of the 55 first-place votes and 1,960 total points in the annual poll.
The announcement follows College Gym News’ preseason poll, released on Nov. 28, which also projected Oklahoma as the nation’s top team.
The Sooners lead a highly competitive top five. LSU follows at No. 2 with 1,859 points and five first-place votes. Florida is ranked third with four first-place votes, followed by UCLA at No. 4, which also earned four first-place votes. Utah rounds out the top five at No. 5 with one first-place vote.
Missouri was the only other team to receive first-place votes in the poll, earning two votes en route to a No. 7 ranking. The remainder of the top 10 includes Michigan State at No. 6, Alabama at No. 8, Kentucky at No. 9, and Arkansas at No. 10.
2026 WCGA Preseason Coaches Poll
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Oklahoma (1960 points, 39 first-place votes)
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LSU (1859 points, 5 first-place votes)
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Florida (1804 points, 4 first-place votes)
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UCLA (1784 points, 4 first-place votes)
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Utah (1751 points, 1 first-place vote)
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Michigan State (1638 points)
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Missouri (1589 points, 2 first-place votes)
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Alabama (1518 points)
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Kentucky (1434 points)
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Arkansas (1433 points)
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Auburn (1367 points)
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Georgia (1332 points)
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Stanford (1256 points)
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Michigan (1200 points)
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Minnesota (1199 points)
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Denver (1132 points)
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Oregon State (1004 points)
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Arizona (990 points)
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Clemson (985 points)
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California (880 points)
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Ohio State (871 points)
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Iowa (779 points)
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North Carolina State (739 points)
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North Carolina (634 points)
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Arizona State (627 points)
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Penn State (627 points)
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Nebraska (598 points)
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Maryland (567 points)
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Southern Utah (532 points)
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BYU (443 points)
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Illinois (429 points)
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Boise State (354 points)
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Utah State (248 points)
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Washington (240 points)
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West Virginia (145 points)
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Rutgers (131 points)
Also receiving votes: Iowa State (120 points), Towson (94 points), Pittsburgh (63 points), UC Davis (61 points), Central Michigan (36 points), George Washington (36 points), San Jose State (32 points), Ball State (31 points), Kent State (29 points), Temple (11 points), Western Michigan (9 points), Pennsylvania (8 points), New Hampshire (7 points), Illinois State (5 points), Sacramento State (4 points), Texas Woman’s (3 points), Air Force (1 point), Fisk (1 point).
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Article by Elizabeth Grimsley
