Volume I: Twenty-Five Years of Amherst Athletics Ranked

Have you ever wondered which sports team on campus is the best, or maybe, the worst? Covering sports for over a year now, I’ve been deeply interested in the answers to these questions. Over the next two weeks, I will seek to answer them, starting with the bottom 15 Amherst College teams. I will present the teams’ conference championships, national championships, overall records, and all-time honors to determine the college’s finest athletic group. The teams are ranked from worst to best according to the categories previously listed, alongside my opinion. I will only use data from the past 25 years. 

A few important notes for this article include the following: Swimming & diving and track & field do not include overall seasonal records, and are instead replaced by a category of individual national champions for that team. Golf and cross country don’t include seasonal records either, but they don’t apply to the individual national champions category, and there will only be three statistical categories to judge.

Each team will be judged in four categories and ranked by how they score relative to other teams, with the exceptions of golf and cross country. I then took all the scores for each category and averaged them to find each team’s composite score. For example, a hypothetical men’s table tennis team ranks 18th in NESCACs, eighth in national titles, 18th in overall record, and 26th in all-time honors. I would then add up 18, eight, 18, and 26, divide by four for the four categories to find the mean average score, which would be 17.50. The lower the composite score, the more successful the team is, and vice versa.

Something to consider with the composite score is how certain categories are higher valued than others. Take all-time honors, for example: if a team has none, they will place at 25th. It’s valuable to be first in all-time honors since it can go all the way to 25th for last place, which isn’t true for all categories, like national titles, which can only go all the way down to eighth for last place. Since there is less range in national titles, the team placing first in the category isn’t as rewarded for placing first as the team that places first in all-time honors.

With all that information out of the way, let’s see the bottom 15 Amherst athletic teams in the past 25 years.

25. Men’s Squash

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 141-143, 49.65 win percentage — 17th

All-Time Honors: NONE — 25th

Composite Score: 17.00 — 25th

Reasoning — A sport in which Trinity College has won every single NESCAC championship, squash was never going to place well on this list. Men’s squash has no NESCAC championship, no national title, no all-time honors, and ranks dead-last in overall record — the only Amherst team with an overall losing record. The team is 25th in the composite score ranking and places 25th on my list.

24. Women’s Squash

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 181-108, 62.63 win percentage — 13th

All-Time Honors: Three (two ROTY and one COTY) — T-23rd

Composite Score: 15.50 — 24th

Reasoning — Despite women’s squash having a better overall record, it still suffers from the same problems as the men’s team. Trinity utterly dominates their shared conference, and the team has no national success. It has a respectable overall record and three all-time honors, but the team still falls short compared to the other non-NESCAC and non-national title-winning teams on this list. Once again, the composite score and I agree — women’s squash ranks 24th.

23. Men’s Lacrosse

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 243-140, 63.45 win percentage — 12th

All-Time Honors: 13 (five POTY, six ROTY, two COTY) — 9th

Composite Score: 11.75 — T-15th

Reasoning — Men’s lacrosse is a battle of a select few schools; unfortunately, Amherst is not one of the few that can claim conference victory. Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Williams have all won at least one NESCAC Championship, and Tufts has dominated the conference for the past 15 years. Nationally, Wesleyan has won once, Middlebury has won thrice, and Tufts has a whopping five titles, while Amherst has been the runner-up once.  Amherst’s win percentage is solid, but it’s not a good look when you mention four NESCAC schools that have either won a conference or national title, and Amherst isn’t one of them. Men’s lacrosse places 23rd.

22. Field Hockey

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 249-134, 65.01 win percentage — 11th

All-Time Honors: Four (one POTY, two ROTY, one COTY) — 22nd

Composite Score: 14.75 — 23rd

Reasoning — Unfortunately, field hockey is another Amherst team without a conference or national title. The team has reached the NESCAC Championship game just once in 2001, ultimately losing to Williams. What puts field hockey above men’s lacrosse in this ranking is its win percentage, winning six more games. Valuing field hockey’s six more wins over men’s lacrosse’s nine more all-time honors may seem like a stretch to some, but I’d rather be the higher-winning team if neither group has any conference or national titles. Field hockey comes in at 22nd.

21. Men’s Track & Field

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

National Champions: One (2011) — 4th

All-Time Honors: Five (four ROTY and one COTY) — T-19th

Composite Score: 12.25 — 20th

Reasoning — The team is last in individual national champions, only having one in 2011. No conference or national title, and only five all-time honors, drag down its ranking. While the track & field team is undoubtedly not a bad group, it doesn’t have the success to prove it. Men’s track & field falls to 21st on my list.

20. Women’s Track & Field

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

National Champions: Thirteen (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2014) — 2nd

All-Time Honors: Five (one POTY and four ROTY) — T-19th

Composite Score: 11.75 — T-15th

Reasoning — Directly following the men’s team, women’s track & field has no NESCACs or national titles. However, the team has far more individual national champions than the men’s team, a whopping 13 to the men’s one, which ends up giving the women’s team the edge in the ranking — it places 20th.

19. Men’s Swimming & Diving

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

National Champions: Ten (2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015) — 3rd

All-Time Honors: Nineteen (atypical categories) — T-2nd

Composite Score: 7.75 — 10th

Reasoning — Men’s swimming & diving places low because of its low conference and national success. The team does boast, however, an impressive number of individual national champions and the tied second-highest number of all-time honors — 19! With little seasonal success outside of NESCACs and national titles, I can’t rank men’s swimming & diving any higher than 19th.

18. Men’s Golf

NESCACs: One (2025) — T-15th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

All-Time Honors: Five (one POTY, two ROTY, two COTY) — T-19th

Composite Score: 14.00 — T-21st

Reasoning — Last year’s men’s golf team came in clutch for this ranking by winning a NESCAC, and is the first team on the list with a conference title. Besides this championship, men’s golf doesn’t have enough to support its case. Four of the five all-time honors have come from the 2016-2017 season and onwards, and the team’s recent success doesn’t hold up well against other squads with longevity in mind. Hopefully, Paari Kaviyarasu ’26, head coach Elizabeth Geene, and the rest of the team can carry over their successful campaign from last season into this year. As of now, men’s golf ranks 18th.

17. Softball

NESCACs: One (2022) — T-15th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 457-310-1, 59.57 win percentage — 15th

All-Time Honors: Six (two Pitcher OTY, two DPOY, two ROTY) — 18th

Composite Score: 14.00 — T-21st

Reasoning — The softball team has the third-lowest win percentage and hasn’t won nationally. Despite this, the team places relatively high due to its NESCAC conference title in 2022 and a solid number of all-time honors to back its quality. The softball program has had only one sub-ten-win season in the past 25 years, winning just seven games in 2024, highlighting the team’s consistency. Regardless, that consistency doesn’t push the team beyond the 17th spot on the ranking. 

16. Women’s Golf

NESCACs: Two (2022 and 2023) — T-11th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

All-Time Honors: Eight (two POTY, three ROTY, three COTY) — T-15th

Composite Score: 11.33 — 14th

Reasoning — Women’s golf won NESCACs in 2022 and 2023, and has eight all-time honors. The team has clearly attained success, but has fewer accolades than other teams above it in the ranking. Women’s golf places 16th.

15. Men’s Cross Country

NESCACs: Two (2017 and 2018) — T-11th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

All-Time Honors: Nine (one POTY, four ROTY, four COTY) — 14th

Composite Score: 11.00 — 13th

Reasoning — Men’s cross country is similar to women’s golf, winning two NESCACs back-to-back. What separates the two, in this instance, is the one extra all-time honor that men’s cross country has, granting it the higher placement. Men’s cross country comes in at 15th.

14. Men’s Ice Hockey

NESCACs: Three (2009, 2012, 2015) — T-9th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 332-215-70, 59.48 win percentage — 16th

All-Time Honors: Eight (three POTY, three COTY, two COTY) — T-15th

Composite Score: 12.00 — T-18th

Reasoning — The men’s ice hockey team has the second-lowest win percentage out of all teams and no national championships. However, its three NESCACs (most recently in 2015) help the team’s ranking massively.  Hopefully, the men’s ice hockey team can get back to its winning ways with new head coach Eddie Effinger ’12, who was hired this past summer. Men’s ice hockey places 14th. 

13. Women’s Lacrosse

NESCACs: NONE — T-18th

National Championships: One (2003) — T-6th

Overall Record: 278-120, 69.85 win percentage — 8th

All-Time Honors: Eight (one POTY, two DPOY, three ROTY, two COTY) — T-15th

Composite Score: 11.75 — T-15th

Reasoning — Women’s lacrosse is the lowest-ranked team with a national title. The team has no conference success but has a strong overall record and eight all-time honors. As a former lacrosse player from Maryland, the best U.S. state for lacrosse, I can take pride in the team’s efforts. The national championship and eighth-best overall record significantly contribute to this team’s ranking, and it slides in at the 13th spot.

12. Volleyball

NESCACs: Two (2000 and 2006) — T-11th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 484-175, 73.44 win percentage — 6th

All-Time Honors: Three (one POTY and two ROTY) — T-23rd

Composite Score: 12.00 — T-18th

Reasoning — The volleyball team has one less NESCAC than the men’s ice hockey team and has no national success, unlike the women’s lacrosse team. Having said that, the team does boast an impressive sixth-best overall record, including over 480 total wins. The team has had only one sub-10-win season, winning eight games in 2023, and has been consistently strong throughout the past 25 years. I therefore believe that volleyball’s consistent seasonal efforts have led to higher success than men’s ice hockey and women’s lacrosse. The slim number of all-time honors, however, prevents the team from ranking any higher than 12th. 

11. Women’s Swimming & Diving

NESCACs: One (2013) — T-15th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

National Champions: 30 (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2023) — 1st

All-Time Honors: 30 (atypical categories) — 1st 

Composite Score: 6.25 — 6th

Reasoning — The last team in this article is women’s swimming & diving. The team has an outstanding thirty individual national champions and thirty all-time honors. Women’s swimming & diving even has a NESCAC to show for its conference success. The only thing moderately hurting the team’s ranking is the lack of a national title, but the team is still successful without one. While an argument could certainly be made for women’s swimming & diving to be considered a top-10 team, I firmly believe 10 teams rightfully earn a spot above this program. Women’s swimming & diving is 11th on my list.