The rankings season has officially wrapped up, and 19 College Hockey South teams have secured their spots. AAU College Hockey will reveal the final rankings and pools on Tuesday, February 18, at 7 p.m. ET. Let’s find out which teams are heading to Jacksonville!
Division 1
All seven College Hockey South teams have earned their invitations to Nationals, including Auburn, which claimed one of the final spots.
The top six College Hockey South teams battled it out in the Division 1 playoffs over the weekend. Tampa triumphed, securing its third consecutive College Hockey South conference championship. Meanwhile, the Georgia Ice Dawgs, previously ranked at the top, couldn’t manage a win in their home rink. Defending National Champion South Carolina was defeated by Tampa in the Championship Game, while Alabama clinched fifth place.
This sets the stage for Division 1 newcomers Tennessee and Florida, who have both had impressive debut seasons in AAU’s top division. Tennessee has been especially noteworthy, defeating every Division 1 College Hockey South team at least once this season. Florida, the 2024 Division 2 National Champion, while not quite matching Tennessee’s success, also secured their spot in the 2025 Division 1 Nationals.
Division 2
Embry-Riddle secured one of the final spots in the Division 2 Nationals, likely due to their strong performances in the last two series of the season. The Ice Eagles pulled off an upset against a top-five Middle Tennessee State team and then played a close series against Miami.
Speaking of Miami, the Hurricanes are headed to Nationals in their first year back in Division 2. After winning the Division 3 National Championship last season, they were promoted in the offseason. Miami joins Embry-Riddle, Tampa, South Florida, and the previously top-ranked Florida Atlantic as Florida-based teams earning invitations to Nationals.
Middle Tennessee State will round out the final Division 2 College Hockey South teams to make the cut.
Edit: University of Central Florida is unable to make the trip due to injuries. Georgia Tech has been invited to fill the open spot. University of Mississippi is also now unable to make the trip. Lynn University has been invited to fill the open spot.
Division 3
After just one week in the rankings, Florida Atlantic narrowly missed the cut for Nationals—a tough ending to what has been an incredible first season for FAU’s Division 3 team.
However, College Hockey South will still be sending two teams to Division 3 Nationals. The first is the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks. This marks their inaugural season with a Division 3 team, and they’ve yet to experience a loss. Their season began with a tie against Division 2 UNC-Charlotte, but South Carolina responded with 15 straight wins.
The second team representing the conference will be the Tennessee Ice Vols. Over the past four months, Tennessee has only fallen to one team—South Carolina—finishing the regular season with an impressive 16-3-0-1 record.
Women’s Division
College Hockey South is sending half of the field to the Women’s Nationals, with both the Tampa Lady Spartans and the 2025 College Hockey South Champions, the Alabama Frozen Tide, making the cut.
Last year, Tampa was the only College Hockey South team to represent the conference at Nationals, ultimately falling to Paul Smith’s College in the National Championship game. This season, the Lady Spartans kicked off the year with a perfect 9-0 record before facing off against Alabama in the conference championship game.
The Frozen Tide has exceeded all expectations in their inaugural season, capturing the conference tournament title by upsetting the powerhouse Tampa team in the championship. Alabama has won 13 of their 15 games this year and boasts College Hockey South’s MVP, Claire Carson, on their roster.
Visit AAU College Hockey's website here to learn more about this year's National Tournaments.
ABOUT College Hockey South: Founded in 2008, College Hockey South is a 30-school, 50-team intercollegiate hockey conference spanning eight southeastern U.S. states that competes in AAU College Hockey. College Hockey South is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization.
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