2026 College Net Punting Average Leaders

Net average subtracts return yards and 20 yards for every touchback from each punt, then divides by punts. It is the yardage a punt really gains for its team, so it is the standard measure of punting.

Higher is better. Coverage teams affect it as well as the punter. In 2026, Will Karoll (48.5) led college football punters in net punting average, ahead of Bailey Ettridge (46.0) and Conor Donaghy (45.9). 130 punters qualify (minimum 15 punts). The median qualified punter had 39.6. This season is in progress (through Week 7), so the numbers change each week.

Data through Week 7 of the 2026 season, updated October 24, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Net	Punts	Avg	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Will Karoll	Texas Tech	48.5	20	50.8	10	50%	5%	43%	+9.9
2	Bailey Ettridge	Oregon	46.0	24	46.9	9	38%	4%	53%	+8.0
3	Conor Donaghy	Jacksonville State	45.9	16	47.3	9	56%	0%	55%	+7.1
4	Tyler White	Texas A&M	45.8	25	49.5	7	29%	13%	33%	+11.5
5	Max Fletcher	Cincinnati	44.4	21	46.3	11	52%	10%	63%	+7.3
6	Fuller Shurtz	BYU	44.2	18	44.4	5	28%	0%	92%	+7.9
7	Ethan Hyams	Wake Forest	44.0	21	45.2	8	38%	5%	64%	+3.7
8	James Wagenseller	Army	43.9	20	46.5	9	45%	5%	29%	+5.6
9	Dylan Drennan	Purdue	43.8	20	47.0	7	35%	5%	40%	+4.1
10	Daniel Sparks	Virginia	43.7	36	51.1	16	44%	6%	30%	+0.9
11	William Hudlow	Tulane	43.5	32	46.9	11	34%	16%	43%	+10.2
12	Oscar Bird	Ole Miss	43.5	18	46.8	7	39%	6%	44%	+6.0
13	Palmer Williams	Baylor	43.5	22	51.4	7	32%	32%	47%	+5.2
14	Jakob Anderson	Rutgers	43.2	15	45.9	4	27%	13%	50%	+3.7
15	Tomas O'Halloran	East Carolina	42.9	29	46.9	11	38%	3%	52%	+4.9
16	Gabe Russo	Pittsburgh	42.7	24	44.0	9	36%	8%	36%	+4.1
17	Daniel Hughes	Florida State	42.6	21	44.0	10	48%	0%	33%	+4.5
18	Oscar Doyle	Boise State	42.6	16	43.8	6	38%	6%	67%	+3.4
19	Luke Goater	South Florida	42.5	24	45.5	13	54%	8%	40%	+4.9
20	Orion Phillips	Utah	42.3	16	42.3	8	50%	0%	31%	+1.5
21	Archie Wilson	Nebraska	42.3	26	44.2	10	38%	8%	50%	+2.9
22	Alec Clark	Florida	42.1	22	47.4	12	55%	5%	56%	+1.8
23	Hunter Green	Washington	42.1	33	47.9	10	31%	6%	33%	+3.9
24	Mason Love	South Carolina	42.1	18	42.7	5	28%	0%	44%	+0.3
25	Boston Everitt	Iowa	41.6	27	43.0	17	61%	7%	59%	+4.5
26	John Hoyet Chance	TCU	41.5	25	43.5	15	60%	0%	39%	+1.9
27	Jacob Ulrich	Oklahoma	41.5	19	44.4	4	21%	5%	50%	+2.4
28	Oliver Straw	UAB	41.4	21	45.4	12	57%	0%	28%	+0.7
29	Tommy Warner	UConn	41.4	27	41.3	10	40%	4%	63%	+5.1
30	Alex Asparuhov	Alabama	41.3	23	43.1	13	59%	0%	56%	+7.2
31	Rhys Dakin	Michigan State	41.1	17	51.0	7	39%	29%	33%	−0.5
32	Simon McClannan	Kansas State	41.1	18	46.8	11	61%	11%	59%	+3.5
33	Evan Crenshaw	Troy	41.0	26	46.1	11	42%	8%	42%	−5.5
34	Bart Edmiston	Wyoming	40.9	27	48.0	11	41%	15%	42%	+8.2
35	Jackson Waller	NC State	40.9	26	42.0	10	38%	4%	69%	+1.9
36	Hamish Adams	Sacramento State	40.9	35	41.1	16	47%	0%	78%	+2.0
37	Brunno Reus	Missouri	40.9	33	44.8	14	42%	18%	58%	+6.2
38	Dante Atton	Temple	40.8	23	42.5	9	39%	0%	47%	+1.1
39	Will Duncan	Air Force	40.7	15	46.1	7	47%	7%	38%	+2.4
40	Jackson Ross	Tennessee	40.6	28	44.8	14	50%	7%	67%	+2.5
41	Aidan Flintoft	Stanford	40.6	43	43.0	13	30%	2%	66%	+3.4
42	Nick Verdugo	Fresno State	40.5	25	42.0	17	68%	0%	74%	+4.2
43	Markus Meincke	Toledo	40.5	22	42.0	9	41%	0%	58%	+0.4
44	Jaxson Dunn	App State	40.4	35	41.9	12	34%	3%	32%	+3.9
45	Ryan Millmore	Western Michigan	40.4	27	43.7	12	44%	7%	36%	+2.7
46	Gehrig Heil	Hawai'i	40.3	35	43.4	16	46%	3%	37%	+3.7
47	Patrick Rea	James Madison	40.3	32	43.2	18	56%	6%	30%	+5.3
48	Roland Podesta	Coastal Carolina	40.2	35	42.4	13	37%	9%	53%	+1.5
49	AJ Winsor	Oregon State	40.1	18	42.7	8	44%	0%	60%	+4.5
50	Tashi Dorje	San Diego State	40.0	36	46.1	14	39%	6%	25%	+1.1
51	Bryan Hansen	West Virginia	40.0	28	42.9	10	36%	11%	60%	−0.6
52	Lexington Matthews	Louisiana Tech	40.0	19	44.7	7	37%	11%	22%	+1.4
53	Ewan Baulch	Nevada	39.9	19	42.6	5	26%	5%	71%	+4.3
54	Charlie Durkin	Rice	39.9	28	45.5	8	29%	7%	10%	−1.9
55	Cal Joseph	Sam Houston	39.9	45	44.2	18	40%	9%	55%	+1.8
56	Matt McKenzie	Kennesaw State	39.8	30	44.3	11	38%	3%	48%	−0.2
57	Josh Cupitt	Delaware	39.7	34	42.0	17	50%	0%	52%	+1.8
58	Kade Reynoldson	Duke	39.7	26	45.9	13	48%	12%	11%	+3.1
59	Daniel Hull	Eastern Michigan	39.7	32	44.1	11	33%	6%	38%	0.0
60	Cooper Heimbach	Marshall	39.7	29	46.0	11	39%	7%	33%	+0.8
61	Tyler Ebel	Vanderbilt	39.7	27	47.0	11	41%	8%	15%	−3.2
62	Jimmy Gregg	Syracuse	39.6	17	42.2	6	35%	6%	67%	−0.3
63	Jake Stoeckel	Kent State	39.6	30	42.8	12	40%	7%	41%	+0.8
64	Max Tulen	Tulsa	39.6	36	42.9	11	30%	6%	42%	−2.1
65	Curtis Gerrand	UCLA	39.6	23	45.2	11	50%	5%	35%	+0.3
66	Sean West	Wisconsin	39.6	23	43.1	14	61%	9%	38%	+1.3
67	Liam Dougherty	Houston	39.5	16	45.6	8	50%	13%	17%	+1.7
68	Joe McGuire	Ohio State	39.5	19	43.8	10	53%	11%	50%	+3.7
69	Wade McSparron	SMU	39.5	15	44.2	7	47%	7%	45%	−0.2
70	Hudson Kaak	Auburn	39.4	27	40.3	14	52%	0%	55%	+2.1
71	Ian Kelly	Charlotte	39.4	26	45.0	10	38%	4%	50%	−5.9
72	Atticus Bertrams	UCF	39.3	22	46.3	7	32%	18%	33%	+1.1
73	Cam Brown	Michigan	39.3	30	41.9	13	43%	7%	54%	+4.5
74	Harrison Tuck	Memphis	39.2	30	40.8	10	36%	0%	44%	−2.0
75	Jonah DuPont	Iowa State	39.2	22	44.4	4	19%	0%	33%	+0.8
76	Magnus Haines	Ohio	39.1	18	43.3	8	44%	6%	50%	+0.9
77	Ethan Stumpf	Buffalo	38.9	44	45.5	13	30%	14%	30%	+1.2
78	Mac Chiumento	Texas	38.9	24	43.0	8	33%	4%	55%	−4.7
79	Ethan Pulliam	Mississippi State	38.9	18	41.7	7	39%	11%	47%	+4.1
80	Chase Ridley	Arizona	38.9	15	41.5	6	40%	13%	75%	+1.1
81	Jackson Smith	Western Kentucky	38.7	39	43.7	9	23%	10%	29%	+0.7
82	Landon Rehkow	Utah State	38.7	31	42.1	15	48%	6%	48%	+4.3
83	Drew Miller	Georgia	38.7	19	46.1	7	37%	32%	35%	+1.1
84	Pierse Stainton	Miami (OH)	38.6	29	43.8	16	55%	21%	50%	+2.1
85	Matt Choules	UNLV	38.5	30	42.3	15	50%	7%	50%	+0.5
86	Michael Kern	New Mexico	38.5	17	40.1	9	53%	6%	60%	+2.1
87	Ashton Logan	Middle Tennessee	38.4	34	49.2	12	35%	18%	21%	−1.3
88	Brody Richter	New Mexico State	38.4	26	40.3	10	37%	0%	60%	−1.9
89	Dusty Zimmer	Southern Miss	38.4	28	40.0	9	32%	0%	48%	+2.6
90	Gavin Rush	Arkansas	38.2	27	40.5	9	32%	0%	74%	−4.5
91	Max Dean	Washington State	38.2	40	43.4	12	32%	8%	23%	−5.9
92	Edward Phillipson	Massachusetts	38.1	32	45.1	12	34%	6%	56%	−1.0
93	Niall Hayes	Louisville	38.0	25	40.0	7	28%	4%	35%	−5.1
94	Damon Greaves	Colorado	37.9	29	45.3	13	45%	7%	22%	−3.0
95	Aaron Bickerton	North Dakota State	37.9	24	45.5	9	38%	13%	22%	−1.0
96	Daniel Vuckovic	Arkansas State	37.8	23	39.2	10	43%	4%	42%	−1.1
97	Caile Hogan	UTSA	37.8	27	41.4	10	36%	4%	33%	−3.3
98	Angus Davies	California	37.6	32	41.0	11	35%	3%	44%	−5.5
99	Jack Smith	Clemson	37.6	30	38.6	13	43%	0%	70%	−2.2
100	Thomas O'Hara	Kentucky	37.5	17	40.7	4	24%	6%	31%	−2.0
101	Sam Crossan	Liberty	37.4	25	40.9	11	44%	12%	55%	+1.2
102	Nathan Sutcliffe	Colorado State	37.4	21	42.9	5	25%	5%	17%	−3.6
103	Nathan Tiyce	Penn State	37.4	31	41.1	11	35%	13%	54%	−3.8
104	Declan Duley	Central Michigan	37.2	32	43.9	11	34%	6%	31%	0.0
105	Matthew Gill	Kansas	37.1	20	39.9	3	15%	5%	44%	−1.2
106	Alex Bacchetta	Georgia Tech	37.0	21	43.3	7	32%	5%	39%	−1.3
107	Tom Weston	Minnesota	36.9	25	41.5	12	44%	0%	47%	−1.5
108	Aleksi Pulkkinen	South Alabama	36.9	21	37.9	8	38%	0%	43%	−2.8
109	Billy Gowers	Indiana	36.9	20	38.5	11	55%	0%	61%	+1.7
110	Dylan Joyce	Miami	36.8	16	44.6	5	31%	6%	60%	−0.7
111	Aeron Burrell	North Carolina	36.8	21	42.8	10	48%	0%	24%	−2.2
112	Felix Visser	Florida International	36.7	20	38.6	7	35%	5%	56%	−3.7
113	Cole Stumbaugh	Ball State	36.7	33	43.2	12	36%	6%	33%	−3.6
114	Bryce McFerson	Maryland	36.5	30	41.6	11	37%	0%	44%	−8.4
115	Trent Carrizosa	San José State	36.3	35	42.9	17	49%	9%	38%	−1.4
116	Stewart McDonald	Missouri State	36.0	23	41.2	7	30%	4%	41%	−3.6
117	Ian Brandt	Old Dominion	36.0	35	42.3	6	17%	11%	40%	−12.2
118	Joseph Castle	Akron	35.8	32	41.6	12	36%	3%	44%	−8.3
119	Grant Chadwick	LSU	35.5	22	38.7	10	45%	0%	44%	−1.9
120	Nathan Totten	Virginia Tech	35.3	24	41.4	9	39%	9%	29%	−5.8
121	Brady Braun	UTEP	35.3	32	40.7	9	28%	6%	15%	−11.7
122	Nikola Dugandzic	Northwestern	35.3	19	38.8	7	37%	5%	50%	−3.9
123	Mason Golding	Louisiana	34.5	28	40.1	14	50%	0%	40%	−10.4
124	Christian Teeter	Georgia State	34.5	15	43.5	6	40%	0%	22%	−7.7
125	Jake Ference	Northern Illinois	34.4	29	41.8	6	21%	11%	32%	−13.7
126	Alex Smith	Georgia Southern	33.8	29	42.7	8	28%	10%	50%	−13.9
127	Ryan Kingston	Bowling Green	32.7	33	40.1	11	32%	6%	24%	−9.7
128	Nick McLarty	Arizona State	32.2	23	42.0	4	17%	13%	59%	−11.3
129	Makenzie Ryan	UL Monroe	31.8	33	41.4	7	22%	3%	39%	−23.5
130	Bryce LaFollette	Boston College	31.1	23	41.0	2	9%	17%	24%	−9.2

All 2026 College punter rankings

Net Punting Average in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

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