NCAA Division I FBS field goal leaders
The NCAA Division I FBS field goal leaders are career, single-season, and single-game leaders in field goal kicking.[1] These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
- Since 1955, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
- The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
- Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[2] Players who have played since then often have an extra game each year to accumulate statistics.
- In recent decades, starting with the Southeastern Conference in 1992, FBS conferences have introduced their own championship games, which have always counted fully toward single-season and career statistics.
- The NCAA ruled that the 2020 season, heavily disrupted by COVID-19, would not count against the athletic eligibility of any football player. This gave every player active in that season the opportunity for five years of eligibility instead of the normal four.
- Since 2018, players have been allowed to participate in as many as four games in a redshirt season; previously, playing in even one game "burned" the redshirt.[3] Since 2024, postseason games have not counted against the four-game limit.[4] These changes to redshirt rules have given very recent players the opportunity for several extra games to accumulate statistics.
- Only seasons in which a team was considered to be a part of the Football Bowl Subdivision are included in these lists. In particular, Cole Tracy kicked 97 field goals across his career, which would be tied for the career record, but 68 of them were at Division III Assumption, and only 29 in the FBS.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Active FBS Player | |
All statistics are current through the completion of the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
Field goals
Career
Single season
Under NCAA rules in 1984, bowl game statistics were not counted toward a player's season totals. John Lee, the placekicker for the 1984 UCLA Bruins, finished that season with 29 field goals in the regular season. He then kicked three field goals in the 1985 Fiesta Bowl, but those were excluded from his official total. If his Fiesta Bowl performance were included under modern NCAA statistical rules, Lee's 32 field goals would make him the outright single-season FBS field goal leader.[5]
|
|
Single game
| |||||||||||||||||||
Field goal percentage
Career
Minimum 50 field goal attempts.[6]
| # | Player | FG% | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Baer | 90.0% | 2009–2012 Louisiana |
| 2 | Nick Sciba | 89.9% | 2018–2021 Wake Forest |
| 3 | Alex Henery | 89.5% | 2007–2010 Nebraska |
| 4 | Jeff Budzien | 88.9% | 2010–2013 Northwestern |
| 5 | Roberto Aguayo | 88.5% | 2013–2015 Florida State |
| 6 | Peyton Woodring | 88.1% | 2023–2025 Georgia |
| 7 | Lucas Carneiro | 87.9% | 2022–2025 Ole Miss |
| 8 | Chris Manfredini | 87.7% | 2003–2007 TCU |
| 9 | Dom Dzioban | 86.8% | 2020–2025 Miami (OH) |
| 10 | Mason Shipley | 86.4% | 2022–2025 Texas |
| Nate Freese | 86.4% | 2010–2013 Boston College | |
| Matthew McCrane | 86.4% | 2014–2017 Kansas State | |
| Louie Sakoda | 86.4% | 2005–2008 Utah | |
| 14 | Matt Gay | 86.2% | 2017–2018 Utah |
| 15 | Jonah Dalmas | 86.1% | 2020–2024 Boise State |
| 16 | Andres Borregales | 86.0% | 2021–2024 Miami (FL) |
| 17 | Daniel Gutierrez | 85.9% | 2017–2022 UNLV |
| John Lee | 85.9% | 1982–1985 UCLA | |
| 19 | Brandon Pace | 85.3% | 2003–2006 Virginia Tech |
| 20 | Kenneth Almendares | 85.2% | 2018–2024 Louisiana |
| 21 | Jonathan Ruffin | 85.1% | 2000–2002 Cincinnati |
| 22 | Joshua Karty | 85.0% | 2020–2023 Stanford |
| Zack Long | 85.0% | 2019–2022 Tulsa | |
| Evan McPherson | 85.0% | 2018–2020 Florida | |
| Aidan Schneider | 85.0% | 2014–2017 Oregon | |
| 26 | Matt Bosher | 84.9% | 2007–2010 Miami (FL) |
| 27 | Clayton Hatfield | 84.7% | 2015–2018 Texas Tech |
| Quinn Sharp | 84.7% | 2009–2012 Oklahoma State | |
| 29 | Tate Sandell | 84.6% | 2022–2025 Oklahoma |
| Scott Secor | 84.6% | 2011–2014 Ball State |
Single season
Many players have made 100% of their field goals in a single season, but Cairo Santos holds the FBS record with 21 field goals without a miss, set while playing for Tulane during the 2012 season.[7][8]
Minimum 15 field goals made.
| # | Player | FG% | FGM | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairo Santos | 100.00% | 21 | 2012 Tulane |
| 2 | Nate Freese | 100.00% | 20 | 2013 Boston College |
| 3 | Joshua Karty | 100.00% | 18 | 2022 Stanford |
| 4 | Austin Lopez | 100.00% | 17 | 2012 San Jose State |
| Gabe Brkic | 100.00% | 17 | 2019 Oklahoma | |
| 6 | Mason Shipley | 100.00% | 15 | 2023 Texas State |
References and notes
- ^ "Career Leaders and Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats". ESPN.com. AP. August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
- ^ "DI football to offer more participation opportunities" (Press release). NCAA. June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ "DI football oversight committees propose one transfer window" (Press release). NCAA. August 27, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ "John Lee – Hall of Fame". UCLA Bruins. University of California, Los Angeles Athletics. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
- ^ "Field Goal Percentage Career Leaders and Records". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
- ^ "Individual Scoring Records – Field Goals Without a Miss". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
- ^ "Most field goals made by an NCAA Division I player without a miss in a season". Stathead. Archived from the original on January 11, 2026. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
"Career Leaders and Records for Passing Yards" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- Football Bowl Subdivision Records, p. 53. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- Career Leaders and Records for Field Goals Made. Retrieved 2013-01-06.