CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia rising senior Ben James is ranked No. 1 on the PGA TOUR University Class of 2026 Preseason Ranking. He is joined by teammates Paul Chang (No. 18) and Bryan Lee (No. 20) in the top 25 that was released on Wednesday (July 23).
Virginia was one of three schools nationally (Texas-3, Ole Miss-4) to have three or more student-athletes included on the first PGA Tour U Preseason Ranking of 2026. The program was first instituted in 2020 and it marks the first time UVA has placed three players in the top-25 in the preseason.
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.
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.
PGA TOUR University Preseason Ranking
Class of 2026
| Rank | Name | University | Country |
| 1 | Ben James | Virginia | United States |
| 2 | Christiaan Maas | Texas | South Africa |
| 3 | Michael La Sasso | Ole Miss | United States |
| 4 | Tommy Morrison | Texas | United States |
| 5 | Jase Summy | Oklahoma | United States |
| 6 | Wells Williams | Vanderbilt | United States |
| 7 | Luke Potter | Texas | United States |
| 8 | Michael Mjaaseth | Arizona State | Norway |
| 9 | Zach Kingsland | SMU | United States |
| 10 | Mahanth Chirravuri | Pepperdine | United States |
| 11 | Filip Jakubcik | Arizona | Czech Republic |
| 12 | Frankie Harris | South Carolina | United States |
| 13 | Lance Simpson | Tennessee | United States |
| 14 | Jonathan Griz | Alabama | United States |
| 15 | William Sides | SMU | United States |
| 16 | Tom Fischer | Ole Miss | United States |
| 17 | Cameron Tankersley | Ole Miss | United States |
| 18 | Paul Chang | Virginia | China |
| 19 | Daniel Svärd | Northwestern | Sweden |
| 20 | Bryan Lee | Virginia | United States |
| 21 | Zachery Pollo | Arizona | United States |
| 22 | Benjamin Reuter | Georgia Tech | Netherlands |
| 23 | Matthew Kress | Florida | United States |
| 24 | Ethan Evans | Duke | United States |
| 25 | Cohen Trolio | Ole… |
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