In less than two weeks, women’s college basketball will be back.
And the target all teams are aiming for resides in Columbia, South Carolina.
Coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks will enter the season ranked No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports’ Women’s Basketball Coaches' Poll. The preseason poll was released Tuesday, Oct. 20, with South Carolina receiving 26 of 32 first-place votes.
South Carolina is coming off their sixth consecutive trip to the Final Four and returns All-American forward Joyce Edwards in the frontcourt and a talented veteran in Tessa Johnson in the backcourt. Edwards and Johnson were both voted to USA TODAY Sports Network’s preseason All-SEC team.
The Gamecocks are also getting back former SEC Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts and forward Ashlyn Watkins
after they missed last season with injuries. South Carolina added Texas guard Jordan Lee in the transfer portal and a pair of 5-star recruits in Jerzy Robinson and Oliviyah Edwards. It also returns plenty of depth in the post with Alicia Tournebize and Adhel Tac. Athletic wing Agot Makeer is also back for Staley’s team.
UConn was the other team to receive first-place votes, landing six to check in at No. 2 in the preseason poll. The Huskies will be led by reigning consensus National Player of the Year Sarah Strong. UConn also returns Blanca Quiñonez, who was named Sixth Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the Big East last season. No. 2 overall recruit Olivia Vukosa should also play a key role.
USC checks in at No. 3 and the Trojans bring back the 2025 National Player of the Year, JuJu Watkins, after she missed all of last season while recovering from knee surgery. Without Watkins last season, Lindsay Gottlieb’s team still made the NCAA Tournament with National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson leading the way. Top-ranked recruit Saniyah Hall also joins the Trojans this season.
Led by Team USA coach Kara Lawson, Duke lands at No. 4. The Blue Devils have won back-to-back ACC championships and have gone to two consecutive Elite Eights. They return three starters, including forward Toby Fournier.
UCLA, the reigning national champions, comes into the season ranked No. 12. Coach Cori Close replaced all five starters from last season’s title team by combing the transfer portal. The Bruins added Iowa State’s Addy Brown, North Carolina’s Elina Aarnisalo, TCU’s Donovyn Hunter and Arkansas’ Bonnie Deas.
Another transfer portal winner, Oklahoma State, checked in at No. 19. Coach Jacie Hoyt added the nation’s second leading scorer in Audi Crooks, All-SEC guard Liv McGill and sharpshooter Ellie Brueggemann. The Cowgirls are the second-highest ranked Big 12 team, as TCU — which also reloaded with portal additions like Lanie Grant and Lara Somfai — came in at No. 16.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with nine teams ranked in the preseason poll. The SEC has seven teams ranked, the ACC has five and the Big 12 has three.
No mid-major teams made the preseason poll, but Gonzaga, South Dakota State, Rice, James Madison, Princeton and Fairfield all received votes.
Baylor was the first team excluded from the poll, garnering 23 voting points less than No. 25 NC State.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina leads women's basketball preseason coaches poll. See where UConn, USC others rank
