As a consumer of sports media, I can’t deny I’ve rolled my eyes at the plethora of preseason power rankings or preseason predictions published nonstop. Especially this time of year with the football season about to get into full swing, I’m sure at some point I’ll read a season preview from a media personality and think, “That idiot knows nothing and ranked my team way too low.”
I began to wonder, why do those folks get all the fun? I should get in on that action myself. So here we are.
The first US teams take the ice later next week in Morris, Manitoba for the Icebreaker Challenge. The US has 6 women’s teams and 8 men’s teams in the respective fields. Cousins, O’Hara, Shuster, and Casper are all absent from this early season bout, with Cousins, Shuster, and Casper all opening their season in Oakville on September 11th.
And so, with the season on our front doorstep, I present my “That idiot knows nothing and ranked [insert team here] way too low” preseason rankings. (It’s a working title.)
At the very least, consider this your preseason primer for American teams.
Women
1. Cousins
With roster shuffling happening basically everywhere else with US women, I can’t help but think that Elizabeth Cousins’ rink is the frontrunner to start the season. They’re coming off two consecutive runner-up finishes at US nationals, and a runner-up finish at the US Olympic Team Trials. I think they’ll benefit from being one of the few teams having the same roster for multiple seasons.
2. O’Hara
At face value, this team should have one of the higher ceilings for women’s teams in the US this season. They have the latest start of any US national team, kicking off their season at the Saville Grand Prix in mid-September. O’Hara and Sydney Mulaney are coming off their first women’s national championship and are joined by Anya Normandeau and Ella Fleming, who I could see developing into one of the stronger front-end players in the country.
3. Rhyme
Kim Rhyme’s rink has never received much fanfare, but they always end up being somewhere around the edge of the playoff picture at national championships year in and year out. Last year, they finished third in Charlotte and posted a respectable 24-20 record on the season. They did lose Anya Normandeau to the national team program, but pulling in Clare Moores at lead is a good get for a team that’s always in the mix.
4. Pekowitz
The United States’ two junior women’s teams are really intriguing to me. Figuring out where junior teams slot into a larger national picture is always going to be a challenge, so I decided to base the order on last year’s junior nationals which was won by Team Pekowitz. They took some big strides last year and could be an interesting team to follow down the line if they continue their upward trajectory.
In case you missed it, check out my recent feature on their coach, Evan Workin.
5. Johnson
It was quite a run last season for Allory Johnson. After winning the 2025 Junior National Championship, Team Johnson took silver at the World Junior B’s in December to qualify themselves for World Juniors. They then went on to make an impressive run in Denmark, finishing fourth and qualifying the USA for the World Junior Championships next season. Similar to Pekowitz, this is a team that has some long-term potential if they can continue their growth. Their alternate at worlds (and junior mixed doubles national champion) Ella Wendling is taking over for Morgan Zacher who aged out of junior eligibility.
Outside Looking In
Podoll, McMakin, Hagenbuch
Men
1. Casper
The top two teams in the US should be no shock to anyone, and I’m giving the edge to Danny Casper due, in part, to the same foursome returning after their Olympic debut. Their run to the Olympics was an exciting development for American curling fans. While they were just a game out of the playoffs at the Olympics, there still is room to grow for this young team, and that's the most exciting part of this team to me. If they can start consistently winning against world top-10 teams, watch out.
2. Shuster
John Shuster is coming off his best year on tour, notching a gaudy 69-25 record and making the semifinals of all but one event he played in. This year, though, is an entirely new roster. He is joined by Andrew Stopera, Mark Fenner, and Lance Wheeler in what should be a really interesting team to watch. I think Shuster’s aggressive playstyle will fit really well with his new teammates, but any time you have a new roster, there is a learning curve. I wouldn’t be shocked to see this team start coming into their own when the calendar turns to 2027.
3. Hebert
Even though the three oldest players of Team Hebert turn 21 this year, this is a squad that’s been playing together for nearly eight years. That consistency in growing and playing together paid off with the team winning the first World Junior Championship for the United States since 2007. They’ll have the opportunity to defend their world title in Scotland next February, but I’m most looking forward to seeing how this team competes at the highest level when they take the ice at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard next month. Last season, Hebert posted a 57-12 record against teams ranked 26th or worse according to doubletakeout.com, but 0-11 against top 25 teams. The next step for this team is starting to win some of those games, which I think they will begin to do this year.
4. Tuma
Team Tuma finished their season on a high note last year with a 3rd place finish at men’s nationals. They’re younger than people realize, slotting in between Team Casper and Team Hebert in age. I think this is going to be an incredibly important season for the Tuma rink, and some of that will depend on the team showing consistently strong performances as the season progresses.
5. Dunnam
Similar to Team Rhyme on the women’s side, Scott Dunnam always seems to be able to play top US teams close and is always a team I consider as a threat to make the playoffs. Losing a powerful sweeper like Lance Wheeler is going to be a challenge, but they replaced him with a good shotmaker in Alex Leichter.
Outside Looking In
McMullin, Hodek
Mixed Doubles
These rankings are only using confirmed teams in CurlingZone. Fenson/Stopera and Fleming/Bestland were not included in these rankings as neither team is registered for the 2026-2027 season in CurlingZone as of publishing.
1. Thiesse/Dropkin
While this is the probably the least controversial of my #1 ranked teams, the mixed doubles discipline is the most volatile. Thiesse and Dropkin are coming off a career legacy performance in Milano Cortina, earning the USA’s first medal in mixed doubles. They’ve been consistently a top world team since they joined forces four years ago with last year being the first year they weren’t the top team on the doubletakeout.com rankings at season’s end. And yet, they were still ranked second.
This year, neither player is competing in four-person curling, so it will be a mixed doubles-focused schedule for Thiesse and Dropkin. Many spiels are not finalized for registration, but currently the first confirmed spiel on the calendar for the Olympic silver medalists is at the World Mixed Doubles Qualifier in Colorado in early October.
2. Hamilton/Hamilton
Becca and Matt Hamilton took last season off from mixed doubles as the Mixed Doubles Olympic Trials took place early in 2025. Neither of the siblings are in the four-person game this season, allowing the Madison duo to focus their time on the mixed doubles discipline.
3. Bear/Oldenburg
Like the Hamiltons, Maddie Bear and Aidan Oldenburg did not play mixed doubles last season, but they had a really impressive showing at the Olympic Trials in Colorado in early 2025. I was impressed with the synergy between the two both at the Trials and when I saw them in person at the Madtown Doubledown that season. Bear calls a really a strong game and as the world saw this past February, Oldenburg is a force to be reckoned with on the broom.
4. Moores/Wheeler
Clare Moores and Lance Wheeler have been very active on the mixed doubles circuit in recent years, and they had a very strong showing at US nationals last season before being upended in the playoffs. With Clare joining Team Rhyme and Wheeler likely staying very busy on Team Shuster, I expect we won’t see them quite as active in mixed doubles this season. When they do play, I expect they’ll still be a tough get for anyone.
5. Wendling/Paral
While I think a strong case could be made for Senneker/Visnich after their impressive 2025-2026 campaign, Ella Wendling and Benji Paral have shown to be a strong mixed doubles duo on the junior circuit over the past few years. They continued that run with an undefeated showing in a loaded field at the Junior Mixed Doubles National Championship this past spring.
Outside Looking In
Senneker/Visnich, Hagenbuch/Laufer
From the Notebook
USA Curling announced their national coaching structure this past week, an important step in Brad Gushue’s tenure as the High Performance Director. Teams may still have their own individual coaches, but each team was also paired with a National Team Coach. National Team Coaches were assigned with a number of factors in mind.
Location, personality, previous relationships, and comfort were all considerations being made when pairing the teams with their respective coaches. But it was also important for teams in the same discipline to be split among the coaches.
“We wanted the teams to feel comfortable sharing with the national coaches,” Gushue shared with me in a recent interview. “If you got your biggest competitor that’s also working with that national coach, you’re probably going to be a little more secretive.”
Gushue shared this pod setup was also important as he looks ahead to future world championships and the 2030 Winter Olympics. Often, additional coaches are assigned to teams to help them prepare.
“Sometimes they’re a great fit. Sometimes it’s not as great a fit. Sometimes there’s things that they’re not aware of that they should be aware of,” said Gushue.
By pairing teams with coaches now, it allows the teams time to build relationships for future international play and minimizes the potential for distractions down the road.
Here are the teams paired with each of the National Coaches.
Cathy Overton-Clapham: Thiesse/Dropkin, Tuma, Hebert, O’Hara
Chris Plys: Hamilton/Hamilton, Casper, Hagenbuch, Pekowitz, Johnson
Joe Polo: Bear/Oldenburg, Shuster, McMakin, Cousins
Theran Michaelis, who most recently served as coach for Team Shuster, will serve as the Head of Analytics and Scouting. He will support all national teams.