diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LibraryManagement.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LibraryManagement.scala
index 3fddb62e8..514e1c629 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LibraryManagement.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LibraryManagement.scala
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ private[sbt] object LibraryManagement {
 
       // Sort by version components (major, minor, patch, rc) descending
       val latestRC =
-        rcVersions.sortBy { case (maj, min, pat, rc, _) => (-maj, -min, -pat, -rc) }.head._5
+        rcVersions.minBy { case (maj, min, pat, rc, _) => (-maj, -min, -pat, -rc) }._5
       log.info(s"Latest Scala 3 release candidate: $latestRC")
       latestRC
     } finally {