Best College Soccer Teams: Top 50 Current NCAA Men’s Programs (2022 Edition)

SoccerWire has provided an updated edition of the highest-ranked men’s college soccer programs in the United States.

With the 2022 NCAA soccer season quickly approaching, we take a look below at the best 50 programs in NCAA men’s soccer over the past 5 full seasons (not including 2020’s abbreviated “Covid” results), based on their average position in the end-of-season rankings. Rankings are based on a combination of final United Soccer Coaches Polls and Rating Percentage Index (RPI) from each season, with bonuses awarded for NCAA Tournament qualification and College Cup victories.

One of the predominant ranking mechanisms used by the NCAA across various sports, RPI measures each team’s performance weighted against their strength of schedule, with wins over quality opponents playing a key role. Utilizing RPI data across multiple seasons, SoccerWire’s top 50 rankings heavily reward programs that consistently produce a high number of quality wins from year-to-year.

Headlining the list of the top 50 men’s soccer programs is Indiana, followed by Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Washington and Stanford, comprising the top five.

See below for the full Top 50 rankings.


1		Indiana
2		Wake Forest
3		Notre Dame
4		Washington
5		Stanford
6		Maryland
7		Louisville
8		Georgetown
9		Virginia Tech
10		Clemson
11		North Carolina
12		Virginia
13		New Hampshire
14		Kentucky
15		Akron
16		UNC Charlotte
17		Providence
18		Syracuse
19		Duke
20		Denver
21		SMU
22		UCLA
23		Michigan State
24		Creighton
25		Seattle
26		Coastal Carolina
27		West Virginia
28		Michigan
29		Oregon State
30		Butler
31		Portland
32		Saint Mary’s (CA)
33		Central Florida
34		Florida International
35		Boston College
36		Pittsburgh
37		Pacific
38		Penn State
39		Marshall
40		James Madison
41		St. John’s
42		UAlbany
43		Missouri State
44		NC State
45		South Florida
46		Tulsa
47		Air Force
48		Vermont
49		Saint Louis
50		UC Santa Barbara