UC Santa Cruz Finishes in 87th in the 2025-26 Learfield Directors' Cup
6/26/2026 6:00:00 AM | General, Men's Track and Field, Men's Volleyball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Swim and Dive, Women's Track and Field, Men's Cross Country, Men's Swim and Dive
This year, the Banana Slugs were represented well in the fall by men's and women's cross country while UC Santa Cruz had four teams compete at the NCAA Championships in the winter with men's and women's swim and dive along with men's and women's track and field. In the spring, UC Santa Cruz was represented on the national stage once more by men's and women's track and field.
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The Banana Slugs started off the fall with a 31st place finish in women's cross country and a 33rd place finish in men's cross country, bringing in 43 points and 32 points, respectively, putting UCSC in 67th place with 75 points overall after the fall.
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In the winter, UC Santa Cruz made their biggest jump, earning 125 points (200 total), to move into 54th place in all of NCAA Division III. The winter's top scoring team for the Banana Slugs was men's swim and dive as they earned a 17th place finish at the NCAA Division III Swim and Dive Championships to bring in 57 points for the Directors' Cup. Lillian Wolfinger became the first female swimmer to score at the national meet in over 20 years, earning a Second Team All-American finish to place 44th as a team and earn 18 points. Men's and women's track and field also made a strong impact in the winter as Evan Hofstetter, Nia Kim, and Elena Stanciu all earned All-American honors, giving UCSC a 46th place finish and 47th place finish to earn an additional 50 points in the Directors' Cup.
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The spring saw Evan Hofstetter earn another First Team All-American honor to take 41st as a team at the NCAA Championships, bringing UC Santa Cruz's overall total to 231 to end the year.
Overall, the Banana Slugs saw 14 student-athletes highlight the year with All-American honors. Please see below for his year's complete list of All-Americans:
Luke Holland - Men's Cross Country, the third All-American in Men's Cross Country program history.
Kyle Ownbey -Â Men's Volleyball, his second consecutive All-American honor after another outstanding season, finishing second in the nation in hitting percentage.
Andrew Koika, Kyle Reitan, Charlie Hussain, JJ Stoen, Greyson Davies, PJ Fortune, Bryson Schmid, and Massimo Reyna -Â Men's Swim and Dive, the group responsible for a 17th place finish at the NCAA Division III Swim and Dive Championships, turning heads on every day of competition with Banana Slugs well represented with second swims on the nations biggest stage.Â
Lillian Wolfinger - Women's Swim and Dive, the first Women's Swim and Dive All-American since 2008.
Evan Hofstetter - Men's Track and Field, earned a sixth place finish in the Heptathlon and a fourth place finish in the Decathlon to secure two First Team All-American honors
Nia Kim and Elena Stanciu - Women's Track and Field, the duo both earned All-American honors indoor with Stanciu earning a sixth place finish in the mile while Kim earned Second Team All-American honors in the pentathlon and heptathlon.Â
Learfield Directors' Cup Scoring
Overall, 18 sports are counted in the final DIII standings, four of which must be men's and women's soccer and men's and
women's basketball. The next highest (14 max.) sports scored for each institution, regardless of gender, are used in the standings.
For more on the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup click here.
Team Scoring Breakdown:
Men's Swimming and Diving – 17th, 57 Points
Women's Cross Country – 31st, 43 Points
Men's Cross Country – 33rd, 32 Points
Men's Outdoor Track and Field – 41st, 31 Points
Men's Indoor Track and Field – 46th, 26 Points
Women's Indoor Track and Field – 47th, 24 Points
Women's Swimming and Diving – 44th, 18 Points
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Year by Year Finishes:
25-26: 87th
24-25: 98th
23-24: 91st
22-23: 86th
21-22: 224th
20-21: COVID
19-20: COVID
18-19: 168th
17-18: 153rd
16-17: 179th
15-16: 131st
14-15: 133rd
13-14: 175th
12-13: 124th
11-12: 87th
10-11: 222nd
09-10: 147th
08-09: 90th
07-08: 73rd
06-07: 25th
05-06: 79th
04-05: 40th
03-04: 66th
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