NCAA Rifle Individual Rankings and Championship Outlook

The landscape of NCAA rifle competition has undergone a significant shift, marked by an unprecedented surge in perfect scores. The 2025-26 season has witnessed a remarkable number of perfect 600 scores in air rifle, a feat once considered extraordinary, now almost routine. This article delves into the individual rankings, team standings, and overall championship outlook for the upcoming NCAA Rifle Championship.

The Rise of Perfect Scores

This season, the prevalence of perfect 600 scores in air rifle has been a defining characteristic. An impressive 13 perfect scores have been achieved by nine different athletes from seven programs. This contrasts sharply with the historical data, where only 32 student-athletes have accomplished this feat a combined 49 times in the modern 60-shot scoring era. The current season accounts for over a quarter of all perfect air rifle scores in NCAA history, highlighting the escalating talent and precision within the sport.

Championship Details and Qualified Teams

The Ohio State will host the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship at Covelli Center on March 13-14, with smallbore three-position on Friday and air rifle on Saturday. Eight teams and eight individual qualifiers will compete across the two days. The qualified teams, in seeding order, are Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas Christian University, West Virginia University, Ole Miss, Alaska-Fairbanks, the Naval Academy and Georgia Southern. West Virginia University won a record 20th NCAA Rifle Championship title in 2025 at Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum. The Mountaineers return to the 2026 field seeded fourth, chasing a 21st crown at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on March 13-14. The top eight teams in both the smallbore three-position and air rifle events were selected based on the average of the three highest regular-season aggregate scores with no more than one match at any given site. A total of 48 competitors will compete in the championships, with 40 competitors coming from the top eight teams selected. Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 13, and individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 14. Individual finals will be held at the conclusion of each day’s relays. For complete NCAA Rifle Championship information, visit ncaa.com.

Individual Standouts

Several athletes have distinguished themselves as frontrunners in the individual rankings. Junior Braden Peiser of Kentucky leads the country in aggregate average at 1193.30, with a 595.30 in smallbore and 598.00 in air rifle, making him the clear individual frontrunner heading into March. Three of this season’s 13 perfect 600 air rifle scores belong to Navy’s Tyler Wee, who leads the nation with a 598.73 air rifle average. Nebraska’s Emma Rhode and Kentucky’s Elizabeth Probst each fired the perfect score twice. The concentration of talent at the top of the field is striking. Six of the top eight individual aggregate averages in the country belong to athletes on NCAA championship-qualified teams, one from each of six different programs. Ole Miss sophomore Audrey Gogniat during the air rifle final at the 2025 NCAA Rifle Championship, where she fired a perfect 600 in regulation and claimed the individual title on a tiebreaker shot. The Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist entered last year’s final with 600-58X, two Xs short of a flawless score unprecedented in championship history, and returns to the 2026 field ranked fourth nationally.

Team Overviews and Strengths

Kentucky Wildcats

No. 1-ranked Kentucky enters as the top seed with a 9500 combined qualifying score, anchored by a 4762 team aggregate that Head Coach Harry Mullins’s program is calling an NCAA record. The Wildcats are making their 32nd championship appearance and carry four national titles (2011, 2018, 2021 and 2022) along with seven runner-up finishes and 24 top-five finishes. Sophomore Elizabeth Probst has been equally dangerous in air rifle, firing two perfect 600 scores this season, including one at the NCAA qualifier match. Elisa Boozer, a freshman and a nine-time Oklahoma state champion, adds further depth with a 593.67 air rifle average. Braden Peiser of the Kentucky rifle team sits at the top of the heap in NCAA individual competition this season with a 1193.30 average aggregate score.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

No. Nebraska is seeded second at 9495.33, and posted a season aggregate average of 4740.57, the highest of any program. Senior Emma Rhode, making her fourth championship appearance, has been the catalyst. She averages 591.23 in smallbore and 597.75 in air rifle for a 1188.98 aggregate, fifth nationally, and has fired two perfect 600s in air rifle this season. Sophomore Maddy Moyer returns for her second championship after qualifying individually in 2025. Nebraska has already defeated five of the seven other qualified teams this season: Kentucky, TCU, Ole Miss, Alaska-Fairbanks and Navy.

Texas Christian University Horned Frogs

No. Texas Christian University is seeded third at 9490.33 and making its 20th consecutive championship appearance, a streak that underscores the sustained strength of the program. This season, TCU ranks second nationally in both team aggregate average (4737.93) and smallbore average (2354.60), plus third in air rifle (2383.33). TCU senior Katie Zaun ranks third on this season’s aggregate leaderboard with a 1189.50 average. Senior Katie Zaun is TCU’s anchor, ranking third nationally in aggregate average at 1189.50 with 592.14 in smallbore and 597.36 in air rifle. The TCU rifle team roster has the depth to compete across both disciplines on both days. Sophomore Rylie Passmore ranks in the top 20 individually at 1182.87 and freshman Alexandra Rosenlew is one of the strongest newcomers in the country at 1181.52.

West Virginia University Mountaineers

No. Defending national champion West Virginia University is seeded fourth at 9485.67, an unusually low qualifying position for the most decorated program in NCAA rifle history. The Mountaineers own a nation-best 20 national championships and have qualified in each of the last 18 seasons under Head Coach Jon Hammond. Junior Griffin Lake ranks second nationally in aggregate average at 1190.07, with a 592.44 in smallbore and 597.63 in air rifle. He fired one of the 13 perfect 600 air rifle scores this season. Sophomore Jennifer Kocher (1183.17), freshman Océanne Muller (1181.60), sophomore Camryn Camp (1181.25) and junior Lauri Syrja (1181.20) give the Mountaineers five shooters averaging above 1181. WVU’s season air rifle average of 2385.50 trails Kentucky by just 0.27 points, but their smallbore average of 2351.58 sits fourth nationally.

Ole Miss Rebels

No. Ole Miss is seeded fifth at 9483 and making its sixth consecutive championship appearance, seventh overall. The Rebels went 10-2 in the regular season and finished second at the Patriot Rifle Conference Tournament. Audrey Gogniat is the centerpiece. The sophomore from Le Noirmont, Switzerland, is the reigning NCAA air rifle individual champion and the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in 10-meter air rifle. She averages 598.09 in air rifle (second nationally) and 591.36 in smallbore for a 1189.46 aggregate, fourth in the country. Gracie Dinh, also a sophomore, ranks ninth nationally in aggregate average at 1185.17 and fired a perfect 600 and a 596 in smallbore against Murray State for a 1196 individual aggregate, the second-best mark in program history behind Gogniat’s 1197. The Rebels set program records this season in air rifle (2390 and 2388), smallbore (2368) and tied their best aggregate (4746). Last year Ole Miss finished fourth overall and second in air rifle at the championship, with Gogniat claiming the individual air rifle title as the program’s first national champion.

Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks

Alaska-Fairbanks and Navy are tied at 9472 in the sixth and seventh positions. The Nanooks are the second-most decorated program in the field behind WVU, having won nine NCAA national championships between 1994 and 2008. The Alaska-Fairbanks rifle team celebrates on the podium after winning the 2025 NCAA smallbore team championship at Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum, edging the host Wildcats by a single point with a score of 2355-147X.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

Naval Academy Midshipmen

Alaska-Fairbanks and Navy are tied at 9472 in the sixth and seventh positions. Navy brings Tyler Wee, whose three perfect 600 air rifle scores and nation-leading 598.73 air rifle average make him arguably the hottest individual shooter in the discipline.

Individual Qualifiers

Eight individual qualifiers round out the 48-athlete field. In smallbore, the qualifiers are Addison Antwiler of Army West Point, Katrina Demerle of Memphis and Carlotta Salafia and Lea Soulé of Murray State. In air rifle, Lily Wytko and Lily Miller of Air Force, Caroline Martin of Murray State and Kameron Wells of UTEP earned their spots.

Historical Context and Championship Legacy

West Virginia University won a record 20th NCAA Rifle Championship title in 2025 at Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum. In 2025, West Virginia University claimed its sixth national championship since 2010, edging out University of Kentucky with a score of 4,732. The Mountaineers own a nation-best 20 national championships and have qualified in each of the last 18 seasons under Head Coach Jon Hammond. Seven of those 20 titles belong to Hammond, including five consecutive from 2013 to 2017. The Nanooks, owners of nine national titles and the second-most decorated program in the field, return to the 2026 championship seeded sixth. Kentucky are making their 32nd championship appearance and carry four national titles (2011, 2018, 2021 and 2022) along with seven runner-up finishes and 24 top-five finishes.

The Competitive Landscape

“This is probably the most competitive regular season we have had as the field is wide open and any of the eight teams can win it,” Mullins said in an article published at ukathletics.com. Nebraska has already defeated five of the seven other qualified teams this season: Kentucky, TCU, Ole Miss, Alaska-Fairbanks and Navy.

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