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5 San Antonio universities land on U.S. News' 2026 list of best colleges

Go Roadrunners.

University of Texas at San Antonio/Facebook

Five San Antonio universities were just named among the best educational institutions in the country for 2026, according to a new batch of rankings from U.S. News and World Report.

U.S. News' prestigious Best Colleges rankings annually compare nearly 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities using 17 metrics that measure "academic quality." Schools are ranked nationally, regionally, and by specialty.

In the overall rankings, The University of Texas at San Antonio ranked as the 13th best university in Texas, and it tied as the 213th best university in the nation with eight other schools, including The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. UTSA's national ranking for 2026 is 18 spots higher than its 2025 rank.

UTSA has an 88 percent acceptance rate, and students pay $10,550 yearly for in-state tuition and fees, according to the school's profile.

This has proven to be a great year for the Roadrunners: The university's exceptional graduate education and engineering programs constantly land among the top 10 in U.S. News' separate rankings of best grad schools.

The University of the Incarnate Word was the only other San Antonio university to earn a spot among the overall national rankings, tying for 293rd with seven other schools.

Meanwhile, Trinity University picked up a new accolade after ranking as the 37th best Liberal Arts College in the country, tying with six other universities. Trinity is also having a successful year, despite the looming loss of its publishing house in 2026. Forbes named Trinity among its top universities for 2025, and the school also earned acclaim on The Princeton Review's "hall of fame" list of the best U.S. colleges for 2026.

St. Mary's University claimed the No. 13 spot in U.S. News' regional ranking of the Best Universities in the West for 2026, tying with California State University in Los Angeles, California. St. Mary's is also known for having the 8th best law school in Texas.

Texas A&M University-San Antonio tied with four other schools as the 56th best university in the West.

Top universities outside San Antonio
Texas State University in San Marcos tied for No. 257 in U.S. News' overall ranking of best universities for 2026.

In the regional rankings of Best Colleges in the West, Texas Lutheran University in Seguin ranked 8th on the list. This private university is located about 36 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio.

Schreiner University in Kerrville, located 64 miles from San Antonio, appeared as the 86th best university in the West in a four-way tie with Hawaii Pacific University, Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado, and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.

U.S. News' top 10 best colleges in Texas for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
No. 2 – University of Texas at Austin
No. 3 – Texas A&M University, College Station
No. 4 – Baylor University, Waco
No. 5 – Southern Methodist University, Dallas
No. 6 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
No. 7 – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
No. 8 – University of Houston
No. 9 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
No. 10 – University of St. Thomas, Houston

us news & world report rankings college rankings colleges utsa university of texas at san antonio st. mary's university trinity university university of the incarnate word

DON'T MESS WITH SAN ANTONIO CATS

Blow dart attack on San Antonio cat triggers nationwide manhunt

Photo by Jude Mack/Unsplash

Smokey (not pictured here) is expected to make a full recovery.

After Smokey the Cat was shot with a blow dart, forces in San Antonio quickly swung into action. Now the search for the culprit has gone nationwide.

It's a bit like something out of the Netflix docuseries Don't F**k with Cats. The attack quickly became major news in Central Texas before going viral on social media. Now, Maryland-based cat advocacy group Alley Cat Allies says it is offering a $10,000 reward for the capture, prosecution, and conviction of Smokey's attacker.

Smokey's owners say their tabby was shot in the spine with a blow dart in the 7000 block of Spring Terrace, in the Oxbow neighborhood. Though the family did have some surveillance cameras on their property, they could not readily identify the perpetrator. The owner had previously found similar darts with distinctive orange tips around their yard, indicating that the attacker may have been trying to hunt the cat for some time.

"It's clear that the cruelty carried out against Smokey isn't an isolated incident, and more cats will be harmed if the perpetrator is not caught," says Coryn Julien, program communications officer at Alley Cat Allies, in a release. "If anyone has knowledge that will help us seek justice for Smokey and protect the other cats at risk, we ask that you please come forward."

Alley Cat Allies entering the case could be a big help. According to the group, they previously offered a similar reward in the case of a man caught on film strangling a kitten to death in San Antonio. After announcing the reward, the suspect turned himself in to the police.

The San Antonio Police Department has asked anyone with information to call the Property Crimes Task Force at 210-207-8326. Details for claiming the reward can be found here.

As for Smokey, she's doing just fine and is expected to make a full recovery.

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