Jackson Payne Deseret News (Provo, UT) About: Jackson Payne has been writing about sports for the Deseret News since 2023. He originally hails from Northern Virginia and is a graduate of BYU’s Sports Media program, where he received numerous awards for his work as a student journalist. Jackson enjoys hanging out with his wife, consuming comedy and listening to music from before he was born.
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Apr 7, 2026 Final Rankings Rankings for Jackson Payne1 Michigan (57) 37-3 Actual: 1Highest: 1 - 57 Voters Lowest: 1 - 57 Voters 1425
2 UConn 34-6 Actual: 2Highest: 2 - 46 Voters Lowest: 4 - 5 Voters 1352
3 Arizona 36-3 Actual: 3Highest: 2 - 8 Voters Lowest: 5 - Chris Lea 1311
4 Duke 35-3 Actual: 4Highest: 2 - 3 Voters Lowest: 5 - 30 Voters 1237
5 Illinois 28-9 Actual: 5Highest: 3 - 2 Voters Lowest: 7 - Geoff Grammer 1228
6 Purdue 30-9 Actual: 6Highest: 6 - 40 Voters Lowest: 11 - David Jablonski 1113
7 Houston 30-7 Actual: 7Highest: 5 - Geoff Grammer Lowest: 16 - 2 Voters 1021
8 Iowa State 29-8 Actual: 8Highest: 6 - 3 Voters Lowest: 19 - Joe Cook 924
9 Florida 27-8 Actual: 9Highest: 6 - 6 Voters Lowest: 17 - 3 Voters 909
10 St. John's 30-7 Actual: 10Highest: 6 - Dave Preston Lowest: 16 - Abby Schnable 891
11 Michigan State 27-8 Actual: 11Highest: 7 - 2 Voters Lowest: 17 - Justin Jackson 865
12 Arkansas 28-9 Actual: 13Highest: 8 - Chris Murray Lowest: 18 - Andy Greder 716
13 Virginia 30-6 Actual: 17Highest: 10 - Justin Jackson Lowest: NR - 1 Voters 530
14 Alabama 25-10 Actual: 16Highest: 11 - 3 Voters Lowest: NR - Connor Earegood 617
15 Tennessee 25-12 Actual: 12Highest: 7 - 10 Voters Lowest: NR - Dave Preston 756
16 Iowa 24-13 Actual: 15Highest: 7 - Donna Ditota Lowest: NR - 1 Voters 620
17 Nebraska 28-7 Actual: 14Highest: 9 - Toyloy Brown Lowest: NR - Eric Crawford 696
18 Vanderbilt 27-9 Actual: 19Highest: 13 - 2 Voters Lowest: NR - 1 Voters 445
19 Gonzaga 31-4 Actual: 18Highest: 12 - 2 Voters Lowest: NR - Jon Rothstein 459
20 Louisville 24-11 Actual: 23Highest: 19 - Andy Greder Lowest: NR - 16 Voters 150
21 Kansas 24-11 Actual: 20Highest: 12 - Joe Cook Lowest: NR - 3 Voters 330
22 Texas Tech 23-11 Actual: 21Highest: 17 - Dave Preston Lowest: NR - 5 Voters 244
23 Miami (FL) 26-9 Actual: 24Highest: 20 - Anthony Kristensen Lowest: NR - 23 Voters 89
24 Saint Louis 29-6 Actual: 26Highest: 20 - Jon Rothstein Lowest: NR - 37 Voters 51
25 Wisconsin 24-11 Actual: 25Highest: 19 - Dave Borges Lowest: NR - 33 Voters 70
Ranked Teams Not on Ballot: 22-Texas
