2025 NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings – Week 3

NEW ORLEANS – Another big week of competition shook up the NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings once again. With racing from Chicago to South Bend, Louisville, and Bethlehem the top teams came to compete.

Here is the newest edition of the NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country Regional Rankings for the 2025 season, as released on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams’ strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a rank-order of squad potential. Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible to receive a ranking. Teams with provisional status within the region may be ranked.

Regional Championships Friday set for November 14. That’s when we’ll learn which two teams from each region will automatically qualify for the upcoming 2025 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 22, in Columbia, Missouri.

Great Lakes Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Notre Dame

Also in the hunt: No. 3 Butler, No. 4 Michigan State, No. 5 Michigan

Notes: The top five in the Great Lakes holds steady as the Irish defend home turf in South Bend, putting up 40 points at the Joe Paine Invitational to win the Blue race. Meanwhile out in Chicago, the Badgers 71 points won them the Lakefront Invitational.

Mid-Atlantic Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Princeton, No. 2 Georgetown

Also in the hunt: No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Navy, No. 5 Villanova

Notes: The Mid-Atlantic top-five teams stayed the same, but some positioning jousting happened. Villanova dropped to No. 5, Penn State moved up to No. 3, and Navy moved from No. 5 to No. 4. Four of the top five in the region toed the line in Gold race at the Paul Short Run. Georgetown won the team race with 128 points. Penn State, Navy and Villanova went sixth, seventh, and eighth with 192, 198, and 226 points respectively. 

Midwest Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Iowa State, No. 2 Oklahoma State

Also in the hunt: No. 3 Tulsa, No. 4 Missouri, No. 5 Loyola-Chicago

Notes: Iowa State and Oklahoma State still hold the top two spots. Tulsa and Missouri swapped spots from last week. But the biggest surprise is Loyola-Chicago, which overtook Oklahoma for the fifth spot with a second place finish behind Wisconsin, at the Lakefront Invite. Minnesota, who finished third in that same race, used that performance to vault into sixth in the region.

Mountain Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 New Mexico, No. 2 Colorado

Also in the hunt: No. 3 BYU, No. 4 NAU, No. 5 Air Force

Notes: With the top five not in action this last weekend, they remained the same. But behind them, Utah State used a second place finish in the Gold race at Paul Short to move to six. Wyoming also cashed in on a top-three finish in the Blue race at Joe Piane to move to seventh.

Northeast Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Syracuse, No. 2 Harvard

Also in the hunt: No. 3 Iona, No. 4 Yale, No. 5 Cornell

Notes: Syracuse and Harvard remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Though at Paul Short this weekend, in the Gold race, Harvard came in fourth and Syracuse came in ninth. Cornell dropped to five, and Boston College was bumped out of the top five by Yale. Who surged to four in the region after finishing 11th place as a team in that same race with Harvard and Syracuse.

South Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ole Miss

Also in the hunt: No .3 Middle Tennessee State, No. 4 Lipscomb, No. 5 Georgia 

Notes: Middle Tennessee made a major statement, vaulting into third in the region with a team victory in the Gold race at the Swags Louisville Cross Country Classic. While their victory didn’t vault them into the top two they did bump everyone else in the region down a spot.

South Central Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Tulane, No. 2 Arkansas

Also in the hunt: Texas A&M, Texas, Incarnate Word 

Notes: Arkansas and Texas went toe to toe in the McDonnell race at the Chile Pepper Invite going one-two in the meet. Texas A&M got fourth at the Gold race at Paul Short. Rest of the top five had off and kept the rest of the region holding steady. 

Southeast Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 Wake Forest

Also in the hunt: No. 3 Eastern Kentucky, No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 North Carolina

Notes: Three through five in the region made the most of their opportunities this week. Eastern Kentucky took second in the Gold race out in Louisville. While Louisville and UNC got fourth and sixth respectively out in Chicago. The Cardinals also jumped up and knocked Furman out of the top five in the region from last week.

West Region

Projected AQs: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 California Baptist

Also in the hunt: No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Washington State, No. 5 Boise State 

Notes: Boise State jumped Washington for top five in the region. While Stanford and Washington State traded spots. Boise State can thank a gutsy second place finish behind host Notre Dame out in South Bend at Joe Paine. Oregon has a chance to defend its top spot next week when they host the Dellinger Invitational on Friday.