MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rifle team will open the 2025-26 season as the No. 1 team in the Preseason Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) poll, the organization announced.
 
The Mountaineers claimed the program's 20^th NCAA National Championship last season while collecting the program's 17^th Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Tournament Title and 16^th GARC Regular Season crown. WVU finished with a 13-0 record, including a 5-0 mark inside the Great America Rifle Conference. It marked the 29^th time in program history WVU has finished with a perfect regular season mark.
 
Kentucky sits just behind the Mountaineers at No. 2 in the poll while TCU is third. Alaska Fairbanks comes in at No. 4 while Georgia Southern rounds out the top five in fifth.
 
Joining West Virginia and Kentucky from the GARC in the poll are No. 9 Navy, No. 10 Memphis, No. 13 Akron, and No. 14 Army.
 
WVU is set to open the season on the road on Saturday, Oct. 4, when they square off against No. 10 Memphis. West Virginia closes out the weekend road trip against No. 8 Murray State on Sunday, Oct. 5. The Mountaineers' first home match of the season is set for Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building. The start time for matches will be released in the coming weeks.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.