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First Round Rankings 2026

Going through the whole process

First step of my process - elim depth score. I do this by assigning:

  • 1 point for tournament win
  • 2 points for finals
  • 3 points for semifinals
  • 4 points for quarterfinals
  • 5 points for octafinals
  • 6 points for doubles
  • 8 points for not clearing

Then divide by the number of majors competed at. This is to get a sense of tiers for further evaluation.

Rank Team Score
1Michigan BP2.33
2Emory GS2.67
3Kansas LS3.33
4Georgetown AC3.83
5Michigan SS3.83
6CSU Long Beach MO4.00
7Michigan State GL4.50
8Northwestern LR4.50
9Iowa AP4.67
10Kansas OW4.83
11Emory LY5.00
12Michigan ES5.00
13Binghamton CK5.17
14Kansas HP5.20
15Northwestern PS5.20
16Kentucky RW5.33
17Berkeley MR5.50
18Emory RY5.50
19Dartmouth CG5.60
20Kentucky GS5.60
21Emory KS6.00
22Harvard DS6.00
23NYU MS6.00
24Northwestern NP6.00
25Wake Forest LW6.17

Now let's look at tournament winners:

Tournament Winner Loser
NorthwesternMichigan BPNorthwestern LR
Kentucky RRGeorgetown AC—
KentuckyEmory GSMichigan BP
Baird DebatesKansas LS—
GonzagaMichigan BPGeorgetown AC
ShirleyKansas LSEmory GS
GeorgetownGeorgetown ACMichigan SS
Dartmouth RREmory GS—
Brick City RREmory KS vs Emory RY — Closeout
TexasEmory GSMichigan BP

That is Emory 3 wins, Michigan 2 wins, Georgetown 2 wins, Kansas 1 win and Baird Debates (sorry the strength of opposition is notably less)

Now let's figure out what we are going to do with Emory GS, Georgetown AC, Kansas LS and Michigan BP. Here is the head to head matrix:

Matchup Record
Emory GS vs Michigan BP6-0 Emory GS
Michigan BP vs Georgetown AC4-2 Michigan BP
Kansas LS vs Georgetown AC3-1 Kansas LS
Emory GS vs Kansas LS2-2 Even
Emory GS vs Georgetown AC2-2 Even
Kansas LS vs Michigan BP4-4 Even

There are only two other teams that have multiple wins against these "big 4" opponents. Do you know who they are? Any guesses??

Emory LY is 3-2 vs Gtown AC and Binghamton CK is 2-1 vs Kansas LS.

Those 2-2 records between Emory and Kansas/Georgetown are interesting. Emory won prelims and RR debates BUT Kansas won the finals of Wake and Georgetown won the semi's of Gonzaga.

Winning elims is more important. There are more judges, people have better arguments, people try harder. Winning elims just matters more than RR debates where you don't pick the judge and prelims.

With that said I believe Emory GS has the best resume:

  • 3 tournament wins and 2nd best in my elim depth score
  • 6-0 vs. Michigan BP. Wild.
  • Even with Kansas and Georgetown
  • Emory did lose to Kansas AU at Georgetown. That metric does not help the other big three because they also have compromising losses. Michigan BP has the fewest compromising L's BUT there is obviously no way to rank Michigan above Emory give the head to head record (also Michigan lost to Kansas AU too).

I think you would really have to contort yourself to not put Emory GS #1.

Now how to sort the other three?

  • Michigan has no wins vs Emory. The other have two apiece.
  • Michigan strong vs Georgetown, 4-2. Kansas LS also 3-1 vs Georgetown.
  • Michigan even with Kansas LS.
  • Michigan won Gonzaga by beating Georgetown in the finals.
  • Michigan's two worst losses were to Dartmouth CG and Kansas AU.
  • Kansas worst loss is Baylor DL
  • Michigan won two tournaments and was in the finals of two others. Georgetown participated in two final rounds. Kansas LS only one (but they did beat Emory in that one).
  • Georgetown has 18 losses to teams that clear including 3!! against Emory LY and NU AT and West Georgia.

My top 4:

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC

Now holy hell we have to figure out who number 5 is. The candidates are:

  • Michigan SS
  • Long Beach MO
  • Northwestern LR
  • MSU GL

We need a grid that tells us how these teams did against each other AND the top 4.

Emory GS Michigan BP Kansas LS Georgetown AC Michigan SS Long Beach MO NU LR MSU GL
Michigan SS 0-2 — 1-2 0-3 — 0-2 0-2 2-0
Long Beach MO 0-5 0-3 1-2 1-1 2-0 — 0-1 0-1
NU LR 1-4 1-2 0-4 1-2 2-0 1-0 — 3-0
MSU GL 1-4 0-3 0-2 1-1 0-2 1-0 0-3 —

Now elim finishes:

Northwestern Kentucky Gonzaga Shirley Georgetown Texas
Michigan SS Octas Octas Quarters Quarters Finals Semis
Long Beach MO Semis Octas Quarters Octas Quarters Semis
NU LR Finals Quarters Quarters Doubles Octas Doubles
MSU GL Octas Semis Octas Semis Octas Doubles

So uh, that is 9 wins for NU LR, including one each against Emory, Michigan and Georgetown AND they made a finals.

Beach = 4 wins, Michigan SS = 3 wins, MSU = 3 wins.

So number 5 is clear to me:

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC
  5. Northwestern LR

At this stage there is one team that needs to be added into the mix and that is Binghamton CK.

Emory GS Michigan BP Kansas LS Georgetown AC NU LR Michigan SS Long Beach MO Binghamton CK MSU GL
Michigan SS 0-2 — 1-2 0-3 0-2 — 0-2 3-0 2-0
Long Beach MO 0-5 0-3 1-2 1-1 0-1 2-0 — 0-1 0-1
Binghamton CK 1-2 0-4 2-1 0-2 1-0 0-3 1-0 — 1-1
MSU GL 1-4 0-3 0-2 1-1 0-3 0-2 1-0 1-1 —

Wow that Michigan SS vs Binghamton CK record. This is a weird puzzle because:

  • vs the top 5 teams - Binghamton 4 wins, MSU and Beach 2 wins, Michigan SS only 1 win.
  • vs each other - Michigan SS has a 3-0 and 2-0 BUT Beach is 2-0 vs Michigan SS. Against one another the win count is Michigan SS = 5, Beach = 2, Binghamton = 2, MSU = 2.

We need some tiebreaker help, to the losses:

  • Binghamton L's: Kansas BW, Baylor DL, Emory KS and Northwestern NP. Ok losing to some teams that won't get a first round but they do clear.
  • Michigan SS: Emory GM (that was me judging, you're welcome).
  • Long Beach: MSU FM, Stanford LL and Kansas SS twice.
  • MSU GL: Macalester HK!, Texas FL and UTD PR

I believe I am going with:

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC
  5. Northwestern LR
  6. Michigan SS
  7. Binghamton CK
  8. CSU Long Beach MO
  9. MSU GL
  10. Iowa AP

Haven't discussed Iowa AP yet but I think they are a clear bridge team.

Iowa AP — 43-16 across 6 majors
vs Top 4 0-4
vs NU LR 1-1
vs Michigan SS 1-1
vs Binghamton CK 1-1
vs Long Beach MO 1-1
vs MSU GL 1-2
Elim Finishes
Northwestern Doubles
Kentucky Quarters
Gonzaga Octas
Shirley Octas
Georgetown Semis
Texas Octas
Worst Losses
Wake Forest PS NU R4 — depth 7.00
Michigan CC Gonzaga R3 — depth 6.80
Kansas AU Georgetown R2 — depth 6.33

They put up a good fight against 6 through 10, but I am calling it with no top 4 wins.

6 spots to go. Who to consider next? If you narrow it to teams that have wins vs top 5 teams:

  • Kansas OW
  • Michigan ES
  • Emory LY
  • Berkeley MR
  • Kansas AU

Kansas OW does not have a top 4 win BUT is 2-1 vs NU LR, has 2 other top 10 wins AND is 5-0 vs Emory LY, Michigan ES and Berkeley MR. They are team #11

Let's look into the other 4:

vs Top 4 vs NU LR vs #6-11 Mich ES Emory LY Berkeley MR Kansas AU
Michigan ES 2-2 0-2 1-4 — 0-0 0-1 1-1
Emory LY 3-4 0-1 0-7 0-0 — 1-1 0-0
Berkeley MR 0-6 1-0 2-6 1-0 1-1 — 1-0
Kansas AU 2-3 0-0 1-7 1-1 0-0 0-1 —
NU KY Gonzaga Shirley GTown Texas
Michigan ES Octas* Octas* Octas Octas* Doubles* Quarters*
Emory LY Octas Doubles Octas Quarters Octas Octas
Berkeley MR DNQ Doubles Doubles Quarters Octas Quarters
Kansas AU Doubles DNQ DNQ Doubles Quarters Doubles

* = closeout (walked by Michigan BP or SS)

I mean these teams are really close together. I am going with:

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC
  5. Northwestern LR
  6. Michigan SS
  7. Binghamton CK
  8. CSU Long Beach MO
  9. MSU GL
  10. Iowa AP
  11. Kansas OW
  12. Michigan ES
  13. Emory LY
  14. Berkeley MR

What's the next group to evaluate including Kansas AU?

Team Record Cleared vs Top 4 vs NU LR vs 6-10 vs 11-14 Total
Kansas AU 30-21 4/6 2-3 0-0 1-7 1-3 4-13
Northwestern PS 30-16 5/5 0-4 0-0 1-4 3-1 4-9
Kansas HP 33-11 5/5 0-2 0-0 3-1 2-2 5-5
Emory RY 32-18 5/6 0-4 0-1 2-3 2-1 4-9
Emory KS 27-16 4/5 0-4 1-2 1-4 1-1 3-11
Northwestern AT 26-16 4/5 1-3 0-0 0-5 1-2 2-10
Dartmouth CG 27-18 5/5 1-9 0-4 1-5 0-0 2-18
Northwestern NP 21-12 4/4 0-1 0-0 1-3 0-2 1-6
Baylor DL 31-20 5/6 1-2 0-2 1-5 0-4 2-13
Kansas SS 23-17 4/5 0-1 0-0 2-2 0-2 2-5
Michigan State GS 27-22 3/6 0-9 0-0 1-2 1-2 2-13
Michigan CC 23-16 3/5 0-3 0-0 1-2 1-2 2-7
Michigan State FM 28-19 2/6 0-1 0-0 1-2 1-4 2-7
Texas FL 24-16 3/5 0-2 0-0 1-4 0-4 1-10
Iowa EW 29-21 4/6 0-2 0-1 0-6 1-3 1-12
Kentucky GS 25-19 5/5 0-6 0-1 0-3 1-3 1-13
UT Dallas PR 28-21 4/6 0-1 0-0 1-5 0-4 1-10
Kansas BW 26-22 2/6 0-2 0-0 1-2 0-3 1-7
NYU MS 14-11 3/3 0-2 0-0 0-3 0-1 0-6
Stanford LL 14-10 2/3 0-0 0-0 1-3 0-1 1-4
Liberty CL 24-17 3/5 0-3 0-0 0-3 0-1 0-7
UC Berkeley BU 23-17 3/5 0-2 0-0 0-4 0-2 0-8
Harvard DS 24-18 5/5 0-4 0-1 0-1 0-4 0-10
Kentucky RW 17-8 3/3 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-3
George Mason WW 26-21 2/6 0-2 0-0 0-3 0-1 0-6

Spoiler: NU PS is 2-0 vs Kansas AU. Kansas AU had an awesome Georgetown where they beat the 1st and 2nd team back to back which is incredible. If they had one more notable win I would feel better BUT no one can say they did anything close to what Kansas AU did even if a lot of teams have a reasonable case for saying "we could beat Kansas AU" I am putting them "in" even though they will be a third team footnote.

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC
  5. Northwestern LR
  6. Michigan SS
  7. Binghamton CK
  8. CSU Long Beach MO
  9. MSU GL
  10. Iowa AP
  11. Kansas OW
  12. Michigan ES
  13. Emory LY
  14. Berkeley MR
  15. Northwestern PS
  16. Kansas AU

But now we have to find a real last two teams in since we have 3 Michigan and 3 Kansas.

Team Record Cleared vs Top 5 vs 6-16 vs Bubble
Kansas HP 33-11 5/5 0-2 7-3 12-5
Emory RY 32-18 5/6 0-5 4-5 9-7
Dartmouth CG 27-18 5/5 1-13 2-5 10-5
Emory KS 27-16 4/5 1-6 2-6 8-2
Baylor DL 31-20 5/6 1-4 1-11 8-7
Northwestern AT 26-16 4/5 1-3 2-7 5-5
Northwestern NP 21-12 4/4 0-1 3-5 4-4
Kansas SS 23-17 4/5 0-1 3-4 2-6
Michigan State GS 27-22 3/6 0-9 3-4 5-8
Michigan CC 23-16 3/5 0-3 2-5 3-5
Michigan State FM 28-19 2/6 0-1 2-8 5-5
Iowa EW 29-21 4/6 0-3 1-9 5-4
Texas FL 24-16 3/5 0-2 3-8 4-5
UT Dallas PR 28-21 4/6 0-1 1-10 7-10
Kentucky GS 25-19 5/5 0-7 1-6 6-9
NYU MS 14-11 3/3 0-2 1-4 8-6
Kansas BW 26-22 2/6 0-2 1-6 6-5
Kentucky RW 17-8 3/3 0-2 0-1 7-3
Harvard DS 24-18 5/5 0-5 1-5 5-6
Liberty CL 24-17 3/5 0-3 0-4 4-12
UC Berkeley BU 23-17 3/5 0-2 0-6 5-5
Stanford LL 14-10 2/3 0-0 1-4 3-3
George Mason WW 26-21 2/6 0-2 0-4 3-7

On second thought now we have to do this:

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC
  5. Northwestern LR
  6. Michigan SS
  7. Binghamton CK
  8. CSU Long Beach MO
  9. MSU GL
  10. Iowa AP
  11. Kansas OW
  12. Michigan ES
  13. Emory LY
  14. Berkeley MR
  15. Northwestern PS
  16. Kansas HP
  17. Kansas AU

Doesn't really help, still on the hunt to finalize this ranking and we are going to do it with Emory RY, Emory KS, Dartmouth CG and Baylor DL. Dartmouth and Baylor will be the last two in because this year is crazy with big teams. But let's try to be precise anyway.

Matchup Record Details
Emory RY vs Emory KS 0-0 No debates
Emory RY vs Dartmouth CG 0-1 Dartmouth Texas R6
Emory RY vs Baylor DL 1-1 RY won NU R2, Baylor won GTown R8
Emory KS vs Dartmouth CG 1-0 Emory KS GTown R2
Emory KS vs Baylor DL 1-1 KS won GTown Doubles, Baylor won Texas R7
Dartmouth CG vs Baylor DL 0-0 No debates

Wow that did not help. This is what we are sending:

  1. Emory GS
  2. Michigan BP
  3. Kansas LS
  4. Georgetown AC
  5. Northwestern LR
  6. Michigan SS
  7. Binghamton CK
  8. CSU Long Beach MO
  9. MSU GL
  10. Iowa AP
  11. Kansas OW
  12. Michigan ES
  13. Emory LY
  14. Berkeley MR
  15. Northwestern PS
  16. Kansas HP
  17. Kansas AU
  18. Dartmouth CG
  19. Emory KS
  20. Emory RY
  21. Baylor DL

Good year. That stable of Emory/Michigan/Kansas results is insane. See everybody at the NDT!