The key word in the title there is "TODAY". That doesn't necessarily mean this year only. This list does not reflect this year's rankings (preseason rankings, current rankings, or expected rankings). Or any one's projected/predicted rankings by the end of this year. This simply reflects the entire program (coaching, recruiting/talent, development, consistency, even facilities). This list doesn't always necessarily include the entire past decade, but it certainly excludes anything over 10 years ago. And especially winning (including when it matters most, in the NCAA tournament) is very important. Top 25 Programs 1.) Stanford (move over UNC, you're no longer the #1 program. this is the most consistent program each yr.) 2.) UCLA (they jump to #2 by the hiring of Cromwell, their 2013 & 2014 teams, Fleming, Pugh, Sanchez, etc) 3.) Florida State (they make the College Cup almost every year it seems, plus the National Title in 2014) 4.) Virginia (no national title yet is what prevents them from jumping into the Top 3) 5.) UNC (they have fallen all the way down to #5, and about to fall even further as the current wind blows) 6.) Notre Dame (National Title in 2010 and lots of College Cup appearances in the past decade) 7.) Penn State (last year's National Title helped, but they still slightly trail Notre Dame as an overall program) 8.) Duke (College Cup in 2011, National Runner-up in 2015, and multiple Sweet 16 appearances recently) 9.) West Virginia (they still can't make it to a College Cup, and this is why they are here, and not above here) 10.) Santa Clara (the tradition, coaching, & professional talent they develop is stellar. Johnston, Huerta, etc). 11.) Florida (it's crazy to think they're not in the Top 10 on this list, but NCAA tournament success matters) 12.) Texas A&M (they've made more College Cups than Florida in the past decade but insane pro talent at UF) 13.) USC (they won the Title in 2007, and have been a solid program, but now back to being a very good one) 14.) Cal (the home of Alex Morgan, and a team that is consistently good each year. lots of individual talent) 15.) BYU (a very consistent program, but no College Cup appearances yet. 2012 helps them on this list) 16.) Boston College (consistent program, multiple Sweet 16 appearances in the past decade, 2010 College Cup) 17.) Michigan (they have found their way to yielding multiple Sweet 16 appearances themselves as well) 18.) Georgetown (consistent regular season program, and they have also made multiple Sweet 16's as well) 19.) Portland (the tradition and fan-base alone keeps them in the Top 20, despite hard times lately) 20.) Virginia Tech (they've had some success and a College Cup appearance, but need more consistency) 21.) UCF (Tiffany Roberts has this program going places, and they've had some nice wins in the tournament) 22.) UCONN (once upon a time were a Top 5 program, but still consistent. need to win in the NCAA's) 23.) Ohio State (similar story to BC above in Sweet 16's and 2010 College Cup, but less pro talent than BC) 24.) Clemson (they need to walk the walk in the NCAA tournament. if so, they will get their credibility) 25.) Rutgers (last year helped them, but they had a down period for a couple of seasons before that) *Wake Forest has completely jumped off of this list. A few years ago, they would have been ranked a Top 10 program on this list. *South Carolina is having a great season, but they need to win in the NCAA tournament. Not having enough pro and international players has also hurt them (the difference between them and UF) *Baylor is similar to South Carolina. Just not enough pro talent, and not enough NCAA success