PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA TOUR University has released its preseason ranking in advance of the 2025-26 college golf season, and the University of Virginia’s Ben James is No. 1 on the first ranking of seniors in the Class of 2026. Texas has two players in the preseason top five – No. 2 Christiaan Maas and No. 4 Tommy Morrison – while Michael La Sasso, the reigning NCAA individual champion from Ole Miss, is No. 3, and Oklahoma’s Jase Summy rounds out the top five.

James is one of three Cavaliers in the top 25, as he’s joined by teammates Paul Chang (No. 18) and Bryan Lee (No. 20). Texas also has three top-25 players, with Luke Potter (No. 7) joining Maas and Morrison. Ole Miss leads all schools with four players in the top 25, with Tom Fischer (No. 16), Cameron Tankersley (No. 17) and Cohen Trolio (No. 25) joining La Sasso.

In all, 16 schools and seven countries (China, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, United States) are represented in the Class of 2026 preseason ranking.

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 2026 NCAA Championship.

The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking next June will earn PGA TOUR membership, while players Nos. 2-10 will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2026 and players Nos. 11-25 will earn exempt membership for PGA TOUR Americas Segment II in 2026. Finishers Nos. 2-5 will be exempt into Final Stage of Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, while Nos. 6-25 will be exempt into Second Stage.

Eligible players in the class of 2026 must register to be included in the PGA TOUR University Ranking. Player registration is open, and the complete class of 2026 ranking will be released in September, prior to the start of the fall college golf season.

1. Ben James (Virginia)

James is a three-time PING All-America First Team honoree with six victories in 35 collegiate starts, and he helped the Cavaliers to a national runner-up finish at the 2025 NCAA Championship. Currently ranked No. 2 in WAGR, James has represented the United States twice at the Arnold Palmer Cup (2023, 2024) and will make his second appearance at the Walker Cup in September. He has made nine starts on the PGA TOUR, including the last two U.S. Opens, and finished T33 at the Valero Texas Open in April.

2. Christiaan Maas (Texas)

In 2024-25, Maas led the Longhorns with 18 rounds in the 60s and posted eight top-10s, including a victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational. A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Maas has four made cuts in seven starts on the DP World Tour, including a fourth-place finish at the Investec South African Open Championship in March 2025. Ranked No. 7 in WAGR, Maas’ best result of the summer to date was a T6 at the St. Andrews Links Trophy.

3. Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss)

In May, La Sasso became the second player from Ole Miss to win the NCAA individual title, joining Braden Thornberry (2017). In 12 starts during his junior season, La Sasso tallied three victories and compiled the lowest scoring average (69.48) in program history en route to being named a First Team All-American. Currently No. 8 in WAGR, he is making his fifth PGA TOUR start of the summer at this week’s 3M Open, and in September he will join James on the U.S. Team at the Walker Cup.

4. Tommy Morrison (Texas)

Morrison posted 10 top-20 finishes during his junior season at Texas, including his first collegiate victory at the Amer Ari Invitational. In June 2024, he became the first American to win the European Amateur and earned an exemption into the 2024 Open Championship, where he made the cut and finished T60. Currently No. 5 in WAGR, Morrison has advanced to match play at The Amateur Championship the last two years, and he was one of 16 players invited to the Walker Cup practice session in November 2024.

5. Jase Summy (Oklahoma)

Summy’s junior season included seven top-10s and a victory at the Maridoe Intercollegiate, and he led the Sooners with 20 rounds in the 60s and a 70.35 scoring average. His 2024 summer was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur, and this summer he has a T12 at the Northeast Amateur and T3 at the Southern Amateur. Oklahoma is the only school that has produced a PGA TOUR University product each of the first five years (2021-25), and the Sooners lead all schools with eight PGA TOUR University alumni.

PGA TOUR University Preseason Ranking

Class of 2026

In the first five years of PGA TOUR University, 104 players from 47 schools have earned performance benefits, and 25 alumni have combined for 39 professional victories. Florida State’s John Pak (2021) and Texas’ Pierceson Coody (2022) earned Korn Ferry Tour membership as the No. 1 players in their class, while Texas Tech’s Ludvig Åberg (2023), Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen (2024) and North Carolina’s David Ford (2025) finished No. 1 and earned PGA TOUR membership.

Eight PGA TOUR University alumni are currently ranked in the top 100 of the OWGR: Åberg (No. 11), Chris Gotterup (No. 27), Davis Thompson (No. 68), Kevin Yu (No. 69), Jacob Bridgeman (No. 70), Joe Highsmith (No. 78), Austin Eckroat (No. 80) and Johnny Keefer (No. 86).