2025 NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll – Preseason

NEW ORLEANS – Cross country is back.

Here is the 2025 preseason edition of the NCAA DIII Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday. USTFCCCA polls and rankings are presented by AthleticNET.

NCAA Division III — Men's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
UW-La Crosse
Wartburg
SUNY Geneseo
Johns Hopkins
Pomona-Pitzer
1
UW-La Crosse
2
Wartburg
3
SUNY Geneseo
4
Johns Hopkins
5
Pomona-Pitzer
Cross Country Polls & Rankings

Defending champion UW-La Crosse starts the year at the same place it ended the 2024 campaign – on top. The Eagles, who were unanimously chosen as the nation’s top squad, return six of their seven runners from that squad, including four All-Americans: Grant Matthai (third), Aidan Matthai (fifth), Joey Sullivan (16th), and Jayden Zywicki (20th). This is just the second time in program history that UW-La Crosse is ranked No. 1 in the preseason.

Wartburg holds down the No. 2 spot, just as it did throughout the 2024 season. The Knights, who finished national runner-up in two of the past three years, welcome back three All-America athletes – Isaiah Hammerand (seventh), Jacob Green (15th), and Lance Sobaski (37th). This matches Wartburg’s best preseason ranking in program history. Hammerand lowered his PRs on the track to 14:18.34 for 5k and 30:00.83 for 10k.

SUNY Geneseo is ranked third to begin the season, tying its best preseason ranking since 2017. The Knights, who finished sixth last year, return several talented runners, namely Empire 8 champion Ryan Hagan and All-Region performer Pierce Young. Both Hagan and Young set multiple PRs during the outdoor season, as well as placing top-five in their respective events at the NCAA Championships (Hagan in the 1500; Young in the steeplechase).

Expectations are high for Johns Hopkins, as it comes in ranked fourth – its best rank in program history, regardless of poll date. The Blue Jays, who finished 14th nationally in back-to-back years, welcome back six of seven runners from last year’s squad, highlighted by star Emmanuel Leblond, who finished sixth at the 2024 NCAA Championships and later took top-three honors in both NCAA Championship 5ks on the track.

Pomona-Pitzer comes into the season ranked fifth, which is its lowest preseason billing since 2019. That’s not a bad thing, though, as the Sagehens won its first of three national title six years ago. Graduation hit Pomona-Pitzer hard, yet the squad had capable depth waiting in the wings. The Sagehens return three of their top-seven runners from 2024 and transfer Amir Barkan should make an immediate impact for the three-time national champions.

North Central (Ill.) and St. Olaf are tied at sixth in the preseason, while RPI, Williams, and UW-Whitewater round out the top-ten teams.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 22, because that’s when the 2025 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be held at the Roger Millikin Cross Country Course in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Athletic.net
Presenting sponsor of USTFCCCA Polls and Rankings

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III
Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll

2025 Preseason - August 27th

RANK TEAM & INFOPTS2024
FINAL
1 uw-la-crosse UW-LA CROSSE
North Region (1)
WIAC
Derek Stanley (14th)
300
(10 fpv)
1
2 wartburg WARTBURG
Midwest Region (1)
American Rivers
Ryan Chapman (10th)
290 2
3 suny-geneseo SUNY GENESEO
Niagara Region (1)
Empire 8
Dan Moore (11th)
275 6
4 johns-hopkins JOHNS HOPKINS
Mid-Atlantic Region (1)
Centennial
Bobby Van Allen (26th)
266 14
5 pomona-pitzer POMONA-PITZER
West Region (1)
SCIAC
Emma DeLira (2nd)
263 3
6 north-central-ill NORTH CENTRAL (ILL.)
Midwest Region (2)
CCIW
Matt Sinnott (4th)
242 7
6 st-olaf ST. OLAF
North Region (2)
MIAC
Brian Power (6th)
242 8
8 rpi RPI
Mideast Region (1)
Liberty League
John Lynch (15th)
232 9
9 williams WILLIAMS
Mideast Region (2)
NESCAC
Dusty López (3rd)
212 10
10 uw-whitewater UW-WHITEWATER
North Region (3)
WIAC
Jeff Miller (44th)
203 4
11 mit MIT
East Region (1)
NEWMAC
Riley Macon (4th)
192 13
12 nyu NYU
Niagara Region (2)
UAA
Tyler Deck Shipley (5th)
187 5
13 uw-stevens-point UW-STEVENS POINT
North Region (4)
WIAC
Thomas Bambach (4th)
172 16
14 washington-and-lee WASHINGTON AND LEE
South Region (1)
ODAC
Brandon Spalding (13th)
170 21
15 amherst AMHERST
Mideast Region (3)
NESCAC
Hannah Chappell-Dick (3rd)
152 20
15 tufts TUFTS
East Region (2)
NESCAC
Jamie Norton (2nd)
152 17
17 claremont-mudd-scripps CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS
West Region (2)
SCIAC
Marina Muncan (6th)
147 26
18 carnegie-mellon CARNEGIE MELLON
Mid-Atlantic Region (2)
UAA
Tim Connelly (11th)
146 11
19 chicago CHICAGO
Midwest Region (3)
UAA
Chris Hall (25th)
112 ---
20 lynchburg LYNCHBURG
South Region (2)
ODAC
Sam Llaneza (1st)
106 12
21 wesleyan-conn WESLEYAN (CONN.)
Mideast Region (4)
NESCAC
Leo Mayo (5th)
97 23
22 uw-platteville UW-PLATTEVILLE
North Region (5)
WIAC
James Akita (3rd)
92 ---
23 colorado-college COLORADO COLLEGE
West Region (3)
SCAC
Alex Nichols (6th)
89 ---
23 hope HOPE
Great Lakes Region (1)
MIAA
Mark Northuis (38th)
89 29
25 middlebury MIDDLEBURY
Mideast Region (5)
NESCAC
Nicole Wilkerson (15th)
37 25
26 lebanon-valley LEBANON VALLEY
Mid-Atlantic Region (3)
MAC
James O'Brien (18th)
34 ---
27 moravian MORAVIAN
Metro Region (1)
Landmark
Jesse Baumann (15th)
32 22
28 john-carroll JOHN CARROLL
Great Lakes Region (2)
NCAC
Steve Fuelling (2nd)
31 30
29 loras LORAS
Midwest Region (4)
American Rivers
Ethan Adlfinger (2nd)
29 27
30 uc-santa-cruz UC SANTA CRUZ
West Region (4)
C2C
David Klech (9th)
24 ---

Also Receiving Votes: Emory 16, Washington (Mo.) 13, Calvin 5, George Fox 1



Week-by-Week Ranking

TeamPreseasonWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4
UW-La Crosse11111
Wartburg22222
Johns Hopkins45553
NYU121215134
Pomona-Pitzer54445
North Central (Ill.)66666
SUNY Geneseo33337
Williams99898
Tufts1511779
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps17179810
RPI88101011
Amherst1523232512
UW-Platteville2222242413
Chicago1919191814
Carnegie Mellon1814141515
Hope2314121216
UW-Stevens Point1313171716
Washington and Lee1418161618
Washington (Mo.)RV28222019
Lynchburg2020212219
Lebanon Valley2626283021
St. Olaf67111122
MIT1116181923
UC Santa Cruz30RVRV2324
Loras2930272925
Wesleyan (Conn.)2120202126
Case Western Reserve27262727
Middlebury2529RV28
Colorado College2324252629
OtterbeinRVRVRV30
UW-Whitewater10101314RV
Mount UnionRV
UW-OshkoshRV
TCNJ2828
UW-Eau Claire30RV
Moravian2725RVRV
MSOERVRV
EmoryRVRVRV
John Carroll28
CalvinRV
George FoxRV

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Cross Country

2025 Rankings & Polls Calendar
Weeks Regional RankingsNational Coaches' Poll KEY DATES
PreseasonTue 8/26
MEN | WOMEN
Wed 8/27
MEN | WOMEN
Week 1Tue 9/16
MEN | WOMEN
Wed 9/17
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Tue 9/23
MEN | WOMEN
Wed 9/24
MEN | WOMEN
Week 3Tue 9/30
MEN | WOMEN
Wed 10/1
MEN | WOMEN
Week 4Tue 10/7
MEN | WOMEN
Wed 10/8
MEN | WOMEN
Week 5Tue 10/14
Wed 10/15
Week 6Tue 10/21
Wed 10/22
Week 7Tue 11/4
Wed 11/5
Week 8Tue 11/18
Wed 11/19
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Sat 11/22
Sun 11/23