GREENVILLE, S.C. – The first men's and women's soccer NCAA NPI rankings were released on Monday and Conference Carolinas is well represented in both rankings.

NCAA NPI INFORMATION

The NCAA Power Index, or NPI, is a ranking system used in Division II and Division III to evaluate team performance. NPI considers game results and the strength of opponents to calculate a team's NPI value and ranking. This metric will determine the NCAA Division II Championship fields in 2026-27.

The NCAA championship field will be filled with each conference's automatic qualifier, followed by the next highest-ranked teams in NPI.

WOMEN'S SOCCER NPI

Conference Carolinas has four teams ranked in the top 10 of the Southeast Region in NPI as eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in the Southeast Region.

UNC Pembroke leads the Conference Carolinas contingent as they are ranked fifth in the region, followed by Francis Marion University at sixth, Belmont Abbey College at eighth and Lees-McRae College at 10th.

MEN'S SOCCER NPI

In men's soccer, 10 teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship in Super Region 2 which combines the South and Southeast Regions. Conference Carolinas has three teams ranked in the top 12, led by Francis Marion University at third. Lees-McRae College follows at sixth and Young Harris College is ninth.

Both sets of rankings will be released again on Monday, October 19 before being updated daily from October 26 though the selections on November 9.