Six high school girls basketball teams in Utah start the 2026-27 season ranked No. 1, with four seeking redemption after falling short in last year’s state finals. Lone Peak (6A), Dixie (4A), Morgan (3A), and Rich (1A) all open as preseason favourites after finishing as runners-up in their classifications in 2025-26. Pleasant Grove (5A) and Kanab (2A) aim for back-to-back titles, both beginning the season at the top of the Deseret News preseason coaches rankings.
The season officially begins on Tuesday, November 17, and will conclude on March 6. Weber State will host the 6A and 5A state tournaments, Utah Valley University will hold the 4A finals, the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield will stage the 3A and 1A championships, and Southern Utah University in Cedar City will host the 2A tournament.
In 6A, Lone Peak lost its chance at a fifth consecutive state championship after Bingham’s surprise title win as the No. 6 seed last season. Preseason No. 1 Lone Peak returns three starters and added Nation Williams, one of the country’s top recruits, who moved to Utah from Las Vegas. Williams is the daughter of Utah native and Olympian Natalie Williams. Bingham is ranked third and still has three starters from its championship team.
Pleasant Grove opens 5A as the top seed following a perfect 26-0 season that brought the school its first-ever state championship. The team returns three starters. Fremont is ranked second with four returning starters, while semifinalists West and Bountiful face the challenge of replacing elite four-year players Kylee Falatea and Milika Satuala, both graduates.
Dixie is the clear favourite in 4A, returning four starters from last year’s squad that fell to Green Canyon in the final. Ridgeline, ranked second, lost in the quarterfinals last season while pursuing a fourth straight state title but returns three starters. Defending champion Green Canyon has only one starter back for this season.
Morgan leads 3A rankings but last year’s tournament results showed seedings can quickly change. The 3A quarterfinals in 2025-26 saw the top four seeds all eliminated early, with fifth-seeded Layton Christian beating sixth-seeded Morgan in the final. With six teams receiving first-place votes this year, unpredictability is expected again.
Kanab holds the top spot in 2A after winning four of the past five state championships. Despite losing dominant post player Rylee Little to graduation, Kanab has four returning starters to maintain its winning streak.
In 1A, Rich and Tabiona flip last year’s championship script. Tabiona won the 2025-26 state title over Rich, but Rich is now ranked No. 1 in preseason coaches’ votes. Rich returns four starters, and Tabiona brings back all five starters from last season.
The rankings for other teams receiving multiple votes include Westlake, Cedar Valley, Skyridge, Mountain Ridge, Davis, Farmington, and Syracuse in 6A; Bountiful, West, Maple Mountain, Springville, Alta, West Jordan, and Timpview in 5A; Snow Canyon, Provo, Mountain Crest, Mountain View, Judge Memorial, Timpanogos, Desert Hills, and Pine View in 4A; Union, Delta, Grantsville, North Sanpete, Emery, Layton Christian, Canyon View, Ogden, and Carbon in 3A; North Summit, Enterprise, Millard, Beaver, Duchesne, San Juan, South Summit, and American Heritage in 2A; and Wayne, Panguitch, Piute, Whitehorse, and Valley in 1A.
The Utah high school girls basketball season’s opening week will be closely watched as several teams look to overturn last year’s disappointments or defend their crowns.
According to Yahoo Sports.