James Claims No. 1 Spot, Three Hoos on Initial PGA Tour U Rankings

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) within the prime 25 that was launched on Wednesday (July 23).

Virginia was certainly one of three faculties nationally (Texas-3, Ole Miss-4) to have three or extra student-athletes included on the primary PGA Tour U Preseason Ranking of 2026. The program was first instituted in 2020 and it marks the primary time UVA has positioned three gamers within the top-25 within the preseason.

The No. 1 participant within the remaining PGA TOUR University Ranking subsequent June will earn PGA TOUR membership, whereas gamers Nos. 2-10 will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2026 and gamers Nos. 11-25 will earn exempt membership for PGA TOUR Americas Segment II in 2026. Finishers Nos. 2-5 will likely be exempt into Final Stage of Q-School introduced by Korn Ferry, whereas Nos. 6-25 will likely be exempt into Second Stage.

In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), PGA TOUR University ranks gamers based mostly on the final two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible Tournaments embrace NCAA Division I males’s workforce competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and choose DP World Tour occasions. The Ranking Period for the Class of 2026 started Week 23/2024 and concludes June 1, 2026, following the ultimate spherical of stroke play on 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 Miss	United States

No. 1 Ben James (Milford, Conn.)

James is UVA’s first three-time PING All-America First Team honoree with six victories in 35 collegiate begins, and he helped the Cavaliers to a nationwide runner-up end on the 2025 NCAA Championship. Currently ranked No. 2 in WAGR, James has represented the United States twice on the Arnold Palmer Cup (2023, 2024) and can make his second look on the Walker Cup in September. He has made 9 begins on the PGA TOUR, together with the final two U.S. Opens, and completed T33 on the Valero Texas Open in April.

No. 18 Paul Chang (Tianjin, China)

Chang put collectively a banner season for the nationwide runner-up Cavaliers in 2024-25. In his simply second 12 months with this system, Chang earned honorable point out All-America distinctions from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and was an All-ACC choice for the primary time. Chang was UVA’s hottest golfer down the stretch, taking dwelling medalist honors on the NCAA Reno Regional, with a 10-under 206. He turned simply the second Cavalier in program historical past to win a person NCAA Regional title. Chang additionally went 4-1 in match play competitors that included two wins at ACC Championships. He is at present ranked No. 46 in WAGR.

No. 20 Bryan Lee (Fairfax, Va.)

Lee is a two-time All-ACC and two-time PING East All-Region honoree in his three seasons as a Cavalier. He made his PGA Tour debut final month on the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Lee has one win (2024 Puerto Rico Classic) and 12 top-10 finishes as a collegian. At the 2025 ACC Championships, Lee was the opening spherical chief after capturing a 5-under, 67 and completed T-6 in particular person competitors. He served because the anchor for all three match play rounds at ACC Championship, successful his semifinal match on the twenty first gap to defeat Clemson and rallied to win 4 of his final 5 holes to clinch UVA’s first ever ACC Championship on the 18th gap. Lee holds the No. 22 spot on the newest WAGR.