Volume II: 25 Years of Amherst Athletics Ranked

Welcome back to the 25 Years of Amherst Athletics series, where I rank the best athletic teams for the past quarter century. Please refer to the first volume for clarification on the ranking process and all other relevant information. 

10. Baseball

NESCACs: Five (2004, 2005, 2013, 2018, 2021) — 8th

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 511-305-6, 62.53 win percentage — 14th

All-Time Honors: 19 (five POTY, three Pitcher OTY, three DPOY, four ROTY, four COTY) — T-2nd

Composite Score: 8.00 — 11th

Reasoning — Baseball’s win percentage is not the best, but the team has the third-most wins out of all teams, only behind both basketball teams. Its five NESCACs and impressive 19 all-time honors push the team into the top ten teams, despite the shaky overall record and having no national success. The team’s consistency throughout the past 25 years has rewarded it with the No. 10 placement on my list.

9. Football

NESCACs: Six (2000, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) — T-6th

National Championships: None — T-8th

Overall Record: 136-63, 68.34 win percentage — 9th

All-Time Honors: 12 (three OPOY, five DPOY, four COTY) — T-10th

Composite Score: 8.25 — 12th

Reasoning — If there were a list ranking the best teams from 2000 to 2015, football would easily be a top-five team. Alas, this ranking encapsulates the past 25 years, so this team falls much further down the list. Football had four undefeated seasons in 2009, 2011, 2014, and 2015, and was a strong and respectable program until 2019. Since the 2018 season, football has not exceeded five wins in a season. A common narrative on campus is that our football team is bad — this just isn’t true. It’s only been bad for the past six years. Football comes in at ninth. 

8. Women’s Cross Country

NESCACs: Two (2006 and 2007) — T-11th

National Championships: One (2007) — T-6th

All-Time Honors: 17 (eight POTY, six ROTY, three COTY) — T-5th

Composite Score: 7.33 — 8th

Reasoning — Women’s cross country is a remarkable team, with two NESCACs, a national title, and 17 all-time honors to show for it. The team has exceptional accomplishments, but its accolades don’t match up to the teams above it. The team crosses the finish line in eighth place. 

7. Men’s Tennis

NESCACs: Three (2011, 2012, 2014) — T-9th

National Championships: Two (2011 and 2014) — T-2nd

Overall Record: 402-151-3, 72.57 win percentage — 7th

All-Time Honors: 12 (three POTY, five ROTY, four COTY) — T-10th

Composite Score: 7.00 — 7th

Reasoning — Men’s tennis, like football, would be a top-five team from 2000 to 2015. While the team hasn’t had any losing seasons in the past 10 years, it hasn’t sported any seasons of particular success either. One thing to note is that men’s tennis would technically have more all-time honors (men’s tennis would have 15, and women’s tennis would still have 14) if I were to include the Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award, honoring the late Williams soccer, squash, and tennis coach. To the best of my knowledge, the award is only offered in tennis, and it seemed unfair to include, considering many other teams show great sportsmanship and receive no praise. Men’s tennis is an overall great team, placing relatively high in each category, which is why it falls in the seventh spot.

6. Women’s Tennis

NESCACs: Nine (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014) — 1st 

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 359-123-2, 74.38 win percentage — 5th

All-Time Honors: 14 (six POTY, six ROTY, two COTY) — 8th

Composite Score: 5.50 — 5th

Reasoning — Women’s tennis has the most NESCACs — a whopping nine! Its fifth-best overall record and 14 all-time honors certainly outdo the men’s team’s by a good margin. It’s unfortunate that the ranking started in 2000, considering that the team won a national championship in 1999 and cannot officially be included in the ranking. Like many Amherst sports teams, women’s tennis was outstanding from 2000 to 2015, and hasn’t risen to conference or national success since. Its consistency cannot be understated, with the team consistently winning in and out of conference, just not as the best-of-the-best. Women’s tennis is the sixth-best team.

5. Women’s Soccer

NESCACs: Eight (2001, 2003, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024) — T-2nd

National Championships: NONE — T-8th

Overall Record: 306-87-51, 74.66 win percentage — 4th

All-Time Honors: 17 (seven POTY, one DPOY, five ROTY, four COTY) — T-5th

Composite Score: 4.75 — 3rd

Reasoning — Women’s soccer unfailingly brings out crowds of Amherst students for its games, and it’s not a surprise to see why. The team has been the best in the NESCAC for the past three seasons, taking home the conference championship each year. Women’s soccer succeeds often, as seen by its fourth-best win percentage, and has many all-time honors, 17 to be exact, to show for it. The only thing this team struggles with is the national stage. The team has only been to one national championship in 2001, losing 1-0 to Ohio Wesleyan, and has not made it back since. I believe women’s soccer will get over the hump in the seasons to come, but will have to settle for fifth place on my list.

4. Women’s Ice Hockey

NESCACs: Six (2007, 2008, 2010, 2020, 2023, 2025) — T-6th

National Championships: Two (2009 and 2010) — T-2nd

Overall Record: 377-185-58, 65.48 win percentage — 10th

All-Time Honors: 10 (three POTY, one DPOY, three ROTY, three COTY) — T-12th

Composite Score: 7.50 — 9th

Reasoning — Women’s ice hockey is a staple of wintertime at Amherst. Unlike previously mentioned programs, this team has been thoroughly excellent since the mid-2000s. Women’s ice hockey had some rough years in the early 2000s, which heavily damaged its overall record. Regardless, the team still has six exceptional NESCACs and two national championships to show for its efforts. I appreciate well-roundedness in a team’s success, which women’s ice hockey has undoubtedly demonstrated through national and conference titles. Women’s ice hockey ranks fourth.

3. Men’s Basketball

NESCACs: Eight (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019) — T-2nd

National Championships: Two (2007 and 2013) — T-2nd

Overall Record: 526-156, 77.13 win percentage — 3rd

All-Time Honors: 16 (five POTY, three DPOY, three ROTY, five COTY) — 7th

Composite Score: 3.50 — 2nd

Reasoning — Men’s basketball has as many NESCACs as women’s soccer, as many national titles as women’s ice hockey, the third-best win percentage out of all teams, and 16 all-time honors. Those accolades alone make a case for men’s basketball’s placement, but it’s also important to consider this: the former head coach, David Hixon ’75, was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023, alongside fellow greats like Gregg Popovich, Dwayne Wade, and Dirk Nowitzki. Hixon is the first DIII men’s head coach ever to be inducted, and with his two 30-2 national title-winning seasons, it’s clear as day why. However, men’s basketball has not been an NCAA contender since the 2018-2019 season, and I sincerely wish for the team’s quality to soon return and reclaim its status as a premier team at Amherst. That being said, men’s basketball is still the third-best team.

2. Men’s Soccer

NESCACs: Seven (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2022, 2023) — 5th

National Championships: Two (2015 and 2024) — T-2nd

Overall Record: 333-72-60, 78.06 win percentage — 2nd

All-Time Honors: 10 (three POTY, six ROTY, one COTY) — T-12th

Composite Score: 5.25 — 4th

Reasoning — The reigning national champions have been a reliable squad since 2008, albeit with some rougher seasons here and there. Men’s soccer has one fewer NESCAC and six fewer all-time honors than men’s basketball, so why is the team higher ranked? Like women’s soccer and ice hockey, the team brings the campus together to support its efforts season after season. They’ve shown resilience by making four of the past five national championship matches and finally walking away with the trophy last year, besting the program that beat them in 2021. Men’s soccer has the win percentage, national titles, and NESCACs to prove its success, and the campus culture supporting the team has only reinforced its success as an Amherst College team. Men’s soccer is a team we should — and rightfully are — proud of, and is deserving of its second-place ranking.

1. Women’s Basketball

NESCACs: Eight (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) — T-2nd

National Championships: Three (2011, 2017, 2018) — 1st

Overall Record: 552-140, 79.77 win percentage — 1st

All-Time Honors: 19 (four POTY, one DPOY, six ROTY, eight COTY) — T-2nd

Composite Score: 1.50 — 1st

Reasoning — Most women’s basketball categorical rankings speak for themselves. The most national titles, nearly the most NESCACs, the best overall record, and tied for the second-most all-time honors. They had two back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, going 33-0 in both seasons. I cannot stress enough just how remarkable this is. Since G.P. Gromacki became the women’s basketball head coach in the 2007-2008 season, the team has never had a bad season. Not once, not ever. Women’s basketball is a fantastic program that deserves more appreciation, and I find it the most successful team at Amherst in the past 25 years.