The defending champion UCLA Bruins found themselves down at No. 12 in the first USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. It’s not a surprise to see this year’s UCLA team fall in the poll after losing six players to the WNBA Draft.
UCLA didn’t receive a single first place vote, with No. 1 South Carolina getting 26 of the 32 first place votes while No. 2 UConn got the other six first place votes. A familiar foe is at No. 3 in the poll, as the USC Trojans have star JuJu Watkins returning after missing all of last season as she recovered from a torn ACL.
USC was the highest-ranked Big Ten team, with No. 5 Michigan and No. 10 Iowa ahead of the Bruins. Below UCLA in the Big Ten is No. 15 Washington, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Ohio State and No. 22
Illinois.
Nebraska, Michigan State and Oregon also received votes in the Coaches Poll, meaning that 12 of the 18 teams in the Big Ten received consideration in the poll. It speaks to the depth of the conference, that UCLA will be facing quality competition night-in and night-out during conference play.
UCLA head coach Cori Close added plenty of talent through the transfer portal but it’ll be tough for the Bruins to match the dominance displayed over the past two years while being led by Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez.
The Bruins brought back Elina Aarnisalo, added KK Bransford, Somto Okafor, Addy Brown, Bonnie Deas and Donovyn Hunter to join Sienna Betts and the rest of the returning UCLA squad for the 2026-2027 season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA comes into the season at No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll
