After 54 holes of stroke play, the field of 30 teams at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course is now 15 after Sunday evening’s cut.
Auburn has the lead heading into the final round, sitting at 22 under with a three-stroke advantage against Texas. Defending national champion Oklahoma State is third at 9 under, tied with Vanderbilt.
Come Monday, the top eight teams after the final round of stroke play will make match play, which begins Tuesday morning.
Meet the 15 teams who made the first cut at Omni La Costa:
NCAA Men’s Golf Championship teams to make the cut
1. Auburn, 22 under
The No. 1 team in the country is looking to get back into match play for the third straight year and is almost a shoo-in to make it to Tuesday. Josiah Gilbert is T-4 for the Tigers while Jackson Koivun is T-9. All in all, a near perfect start for the 2024 national champions.
Tigers battle to shoot 2-under today. We’re at 22-under through 54 holes and in the clear of the first cut.
We’ll update with more info after all teams finish the round. pic.twitter.com/IPwzTwyDG1
— Auburn Men’s Golf (@AuburnMGolf) May 31, 2026
2. Texas, 19 under
The hosts are one of four teams who have won two national championships since the move to match play, and they’re in a wonderful spot to get back into the quarterfinals. The Longhorns have four players in the top 30, including Tommy Morrison at T-9.
solid Sunday in southern California 🤘#TakeDeadAim | #NCAAGolfpic.twitter.com/hkYhCvHP0t
— Texas Men’s Golf (@TexasMGolf) May 31, 2026
T-3. Vanderbilt, 9 under
A day after a record-setting round at NCAAs, Vanderbilt had it worst round of the tournament shooting 3 over but remains well inside the cut line. Freshman Will Hartman is leading the way, sitting T-2 at 10 under with 18 to go.
The Dores punch their way through to Round 4 of the 2026 NCAA Championship
⚓️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MhKC1HVQcI
— Vanderbilt Men’s Golf (@VandyMGolf) May 31, 2026
T-4. Oklahoma State, 8 under
The defending national champions continued their strong play from Saturday after a poor start Friday. Junior Preston Stout has the individual lead at 11 under and looks to cap an incredible season with his fifth win come Monday.
A 6️⃣5️⃣ to match the second-lowest round recorded by a Cowboy at the NCAA Championship has @preston_stout8 in prime position. #GoPokes | #golfschoolpic.twitter.com/Tcpndg2M8h
— OSU Cowboy Golf (@OSUCowboyGolf) May 31, 2026
T-4. UCLA, 8 under
The Big 10 champions have shot even par the last 36 holes after opening wth an 8-under 280. Baylor Larrabee remains the top Bruin, sitting T-4, and he has done the heavy lifting this week. Bruins are closing in on their first match-play appearance in 11 years.
The Bruins have concluded their third round in Carlsbad and now sit in fourth place (tied), with 17 other teams still in action this afternoon.
The top 15 teams at the conclusion of today advance to Monday’s fourth round.
⛳ 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬: https://t.co/105V275hcLpic.twitter.com/bCgtp9sYwm
— UCLA Men’s Golf (@uclamensgolf) May 31, 2026
T-4. Arizona, 8 under
Filip Jakubcik (-10) is pacing the way for the Wildcats, who are looking to make match play for the first time. Arizona has improved every day. If that trend continues Monday, Arizona will find itself in match play.
Climbing up! ⛳️@ArizonaMGolf shoots 4-under today and now sits tied for fourth place. The Cats advance to Round 4 of the NCAA Championship tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/LAYa50hw77
— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) May 31, 2026
7. North Carolina, 6 under
A 5-under Sunday for the Tar Heels equals the second-best round from the morning wave. North Carolina is looking to get back into match play after missing in 2025 for the first time in five years.
Sweet sand save for Carson on the final hole of the day. Every Tar Heel shot even par or better today…Carolina with a 5-under par round 3. #GoHeelspic.twitter.com/Ow9El5x0TI
— UNC Men’s Golf (@UNCmensGolf) May 31, 2026
8. Duke, 1 under
The No. 29 team in the country has played brilliantly thus far, though Sunday the Blue Devils shot 3 over to drop back a bit. However, Duke is right on the bubble with a chance to make match play for the first time since 2018.
Here come the Blue Devils 👀📈 pic.twitter.com/aieuPH4Oi8
— Duke Men’s Golf (@DukeMGOLF) May 31, 2026
9. Oklahoma, Even par
The Sooners, in Ryan Hybl’s final tournament as coach before heading to Georgia Tech, have been about as even keel as a team can be, sitting at even par after 54 holes. OU has work to do Monday to make it back to match play.
Did what we had to do 💪
The Sooners get into the clubhouse in solo ninth, five clear of today’s cut with the afternoon wave out on the course!
Live Scoring » https://t.co/vJPPOEpHh5pic.twitter.com/oqO2asvEF8
— Oklahoma Golf (@OU_MGolf) May 31, 2026
T-10. Virginia, 1 over
The national runners-up from last year have work to do to make it into match play. Virginia struggled Wednesday, shooting 5 over and dropping four spots down the leaderboard. The veteran team will need to show up and go low Monday.
👀 Eyes on the prize 👀
Hoos are in the clubhouse and sit above the cut line after their third round. #GoHoospic.twitter.com/A2LJriFHB1
— Virginia Men’s Golf (@UVAMensGolf) May 31, 2026
T-10. Florida, 1 over
Florida is one of two teams from the afternoon wave to play its way into Monday, shooting 4 under to move six spots up the leaderboard.
— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) June 1, 2026
T-12. San Diego, 2 over
San Diego has been in the top half of the leaderboard the entirety of the championship. Ian Maspat is T-7 in the individual race. San Diego is looking for its first appearance in match play.
T-12. Stanford, 2 over
Stanford has not made match play since winning the title in 2019. The Cardinal will head into Monday three shots back of eighth place and needed to outlast a packed bottom of the leaderboard to advance.
T-12. Tennessee, 2 over
Tennessee moved three spots up the leaderboard Sunday and sat comfortable inside the cut line when the day ended. If the Volunteers want to make match play for the first time, a big Monday is needed.
T-12. LSU, 2 over
Talk about a historic round for LSU. Beginning the day 17 shots outside of the projected cut line, LSU shot 18 under, one stroke off the NCAA record, and found itself a tee time on Monday. Another performance like that will be needed to make match play. A 15-spot improvement in the third round.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: NCAA Men’s Golf Championship 2026: 15 teams who made the first cut