Illinois Wesleyan has won the past two NCAA Division III national titles, and the Titans still have the attention of Division III coaches. The teams is ranked first in the Bushnell/Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll after receiving eight of 10 first-place votes.
NCAA runner-up Methodist received another first-place vote and landed in second to start the season and the only other team to receive a first-place vote was Huntingdon, which landed fourth. Guilford landed in between.
Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Piedmont, Washington & Lee, Denison, and Trinity (TX) rounded out the top 10.
Take a look at the full poll below, along with teams receiving additional votes at the bottom.
| Rank | University (First Place Votes) | Points | NCAA Finish |
| 1 | Illinois Wesleyan (8) | 220 | Champion |
| 2 | Methodist (1) | 211 | 2 |
| 3 | Guilford | 201 | 3 |
| 4 | Huntingdon (1) | 196 | 5 |
| 5 | Carnegie Mellon | 188 | 4 |
| 6 | Emory | 169 | 6 |
| 7 | Piedmont | 141 | 13 |
| 8 | Washington & Lee | 123 | DNQ |
| 9 | Denison | 121 | 7 |
| 10 | Trinity (TX) | 114 | T-11 |
| 11 | Christopher Newport | 107 | 8 |
| 12 | Greensboro | 103 | DNQ |
| 13 | Wittenberg | 88 | DNQ |
| 14 | St. Thomas (MN) | 78 | 10 |
| 15 | Redlands | 72 | DNQ |
| 16 | UT Dallas | 68 | DNQ |
| 17 | Averett | 67 | DNQ |
| 18 | Oglethorpe | 60 | DNQ |
| 19 | McMurry | 59 | DNQ |
| T-20 | LaGrange | 44 | DNQ |
| T-20 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 44 | DNG |
| 22 | Hampden-Sydney | 39 | DNQ |
| 23 | Sewanee | 37 | 24 |
| 24 | Willamette | 36 | T-11 |
| T-25 | Concordia (TX) | 34 | DNQ |
| T-25 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 34 | 18 |
Others Receiving Votes: Gustavus Adolphus, 29; Westminster (PA), 28; Rochester, 27; NYU 25; Saint John’s (MN), 24; Skidmore, 19; Trinity (CT), 17; Schreiner, 15; Wisconsin Eau-Claire, 14; Babson, 12; Webster , 11; Kenyon, 9; Centre, 7; Rhodes, 7; Aurora, 6; Hope, 5; Southwestern (TX), 5; Whitworth, 5; Gettysburg, 3; RPI, 3; Berry, 2; McDaniel, 2; Williams, 2; Birmingham-Southern, 1; California Lutheran, 1; Hamilton, 1; Nebraska Wesleyan, 1; Otterbein, 1.