diff --git a/packages/gittensory-engine/src/index.ts b/packages/gittensory-engine/src/index.ts
index 2d14432701..a188c66259 100644
--- a/packages/gittensory-engine/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/gittensory-engine/src/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ export {
 } from "./opportunity-ranker.js";
 export { rankOpportunitiesAtOrAboveScore } from "./ranked-opportunity-min-score.js";
 export { pickTopRankedOpportunitiesAtOrAboveScore } from "./ranked-opportunity-top-min-score.js";
+export { bestRankedOpportunity } from "./ranked-opportunity-best-pick.js";
 export {
   extractObjectiveAnchorHistory,
   extractObjectiveAnchorFeatures,
diff --git a/packages/gittensory-engine/src/ranked-opportunity-best-pick.ts b/packages/gittensory-engine/src/ranked-opportunity-best-pick.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c90f947951
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/gittensory-engine/src/ranked-opportunity-best-pick.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { rankOpportunities, type OpportunityRankInput } from "./opportunity-ranker.js";
+
+/**
+ * Return the highest-scoring ranked candidate, or `null` when the list is empty.
+ * Pure — delegates to {@link rankOpportunities} for scoring and tie-breaking.
+ */
+export function bestRankedOpportunity<T>(
+  candidates: Array<T & OpportunityRankInput>,
+): (Omit<T, "rankScore"> & OpportunityRankInput & { rankScore: number }) | null {
+  const ranked = rankOpportunities(candidates);
+  return ranked[0] ?? null;
+}
diff --git a/test/unit/ranked-opportunity-best-pick.test.ts b/test/unit/ranked-opportunity-best-pick.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e302b289f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/ranked-opportunity-best-pick.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { bestRankedOpportunity } from "../../packages/gittensory-engine/src/ranked-opportunity-best-pick";
+import type { OpportunityRankInput } from "../../packages/gittensory-engine/src/opportunity-ranker";
+
+function input(over: Partial<OpportunityRankInput> = {}): OpportunityRankInput {
+  return { potential: 1, feasibility: 1, laneFit: 1, freshness: 1, dupRisk: 0, ...over };
+}
+
+describe("bestRankedOpportunity", () => {
+  it("returns null for an empty candidate list", () => {
+    expect(bestRankedOpportunity([])).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("returns the highest-scoring candidate", () => {
+    const best = bestRankedOpportunity([
+      { id: "low", ...input({ potential: 0.2 }) },
+      { id: "mid", ...input({ potential: 0.5 }) },
+      { id: "top", ...input() },
+    ]);
+    expect(best?.id).toBe("top");
+    expect(best?.rankScore).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it("breaks score ties by input order", () => {
+    const tie = input({ potential: 0.5, feasibility: 0.5, laneFit: 0.5, freshness: 0.5 });
+    const best = bestRankedOpportunity([
+      { id: "first", ...tie },
+      { id: "second", ...tie },
+    ]);
+    expect(best?.id).toBe("first");
+  });
+
+  it("is exported from the package barrel", async () => {
+    const barrel = await import("../../packages/gittensory-engine/src/index");
+    expect(typeof barrel.bestRankedOpportunity).toBe("function");
+    expect(barrel.bestRankedOpportunity([{ id: "solo", ...input() }])?.id).toBe("solo");
+  });
+});