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The Girls XV Nationals Committee has published its first high school ranking. The list includes high school clubs and single-school teams that are playing 15s, and features rugby programs both building to nationals (May 15-16, 2026, Salt Lake City) as well as those that stick to their state and regional competitions. The top-25 rankings (plus honorable mentions) will update every 3-4 weeks based on the match forms submitted by the teams themselves.
RELATED: Background on HS Rankings
The Girls XV Nationals Committee comprises current and former girls’ high school rugby coaches and administrators from across the country, and they band together to host the annual high school and high school club 15s national tournaments. These volunteers are uniquely positioned to drive the high school rankings, since they are already tracking nationwide activity and connected to the community. With that said, the committee is relying on the participation of teams themselves; i.e., teams must submit match forms in a timely manner (the Tuesday after a match is the deadline). So the rankings are only as accurate and inclusive as the rugby community makes them.
For the inaugural ranking, however, the committee first looked at the known data from last year, pulling results from nationals and the last girls’ ranking available, which were compiled by Goff Rugby Report last spring.
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“Then, the committee compiled pre-season ranks for teams from each of their respective regions, which provided a nice overview of high school girls’ rugby across the country in both club and school divisions,” explained Girls XV Nationals Committee member Alicia Tice. “We are fortunate to have committee members who are not only plugged into their local competition, but also seek high-level play and are willing to travel. These unique opportunities allow us to keep an eye on matches where teams who might not face each other in regular season play [and provide] context outside of their region.”
Some key tournaments provided such context, including Carolina Ruggerfest, the West Region Circuit, EGRL Southern Showcase and the Friendship Cup. The latter occurred in Tennessee and featured United from Utah, an exciting opportunity to compare a western against other regions. United posted shutouts against Pendleton (Indiana), Father Ryan (Tennessee), Charlotte Cardinals (N.C.) and Woodlands (Texas). Also of note, United beat the Majestics 29-24 in in-state play this month.
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“While we’re not fans of using the transitive property in rankings, it does validate just how strong rugby in the West continues to be,” Tice said.
Belmont Shore is #1 and the standard. (“We’ll be talking about the Belmont vs. Majestics 2025 Nationals Finals for years.”). United and Majestics follow, and two-time reigning single-school national champion Eagle out of Idaho comes in fourth.
“Idaho is an interesting region to watch,” Tice noted. “Rocky Mountain and Meridian are making Eagle work for the top spot, and we won’t be surprised to see some movement between the three.”
No. 5 Doylestown is the team to beat both in Pennsylvania and the Elite Girls Rugby League (EGRL). Although not a factor in the rankings, the Dragons also performed well at the Portugal Rugby Festival.
“Overall, EGRL teams continue to look strong,” Tice praised the regional competition. “And we love everything they’re doing to up the ante on the East Coast. With the Northeast beginning the start of their season, we expect to see movement from perennial powerhouses, even if those teams appear to be facing a rebuilding year.”
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The committee noted that North Carolina appears to be in a rebuilding year generally.
“We know Raleigh Cobras have strong talent, but we don’t have much data on regular season play,” Tice highlighted some early challenges. “They had an impressive showing at Carolina Ruggerfest, edging out the Cardinals in head-to-head play. Shortly after, they have a forfeit on the books due to injury.”
The Atlanta Valkyries also impressed at Ruggerfest, winning the elite division, “but appear to be functioning as an all-star team, which is why we can’t consider them for rankings,” Tice clarified.
Reigning Montana champ Flathead Valley, geographically isolated Kahuku, teams in regions that have to start league play due to weather — they’re all being tracked carefully.
“The initial ranking will allow us to have a better gauge on movement up and down as we continue to gather information on what happens each weekend,” Tice closed. “Only a handful of SYROs keep accurate up-to-date data on match results and provide no context to any extenuating factors. It is critical that teams continue to submit their scores via the form so that we are able to accurately consider all teams and provide updated rankings.”
GIRLS’ HS RANKING #1
1. Belmont Shore (CA)
2. United (UT)
3. Majestics (UT)
4. Eagle (ID)
5. Doylestown (PA)
6. Rocky Mountain (ID)
7. Divine Savior Holy Angels (WI)
8. SacAir Amazons (CA)
9. Wolverines (CA)
10. Meridian (ID)
11. Sacramento Harlequins (CA)
12. West Lake Drua (UT)
13. Salt Lake Venom (UT)
14. Downingtown (PA)
15. Kahuku (HI)
16. Flathead Valley (MT)
17. Herriman (UT)
18. Hydra (MT)
19. City Honors (NY)
20. Raleigh Cobras (NC)
21. Yellowstone (MT)
22. Summit (OR)
23. Wasatch (UT)
24. Catholic Memorial (WI)
25. Corning (NY)
Honorable Mention
Aspetuck (CT)
Charlotte Cardinals (NC)
Liberty (WA)
Morris (NJ)
North Bay Outcasts (MD)
Rockford (IL)
West Carroll (MD)
Westside (IN)
For more information, e-mail girlsrugbynationalsxvs@gmail.com and visit @girlsrugbyxvsnationals on Instagram.