South Carolina started the 2026 women’s basketball season at No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, with 23 of 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley, face a challenging first month that includes five games against ranked teams such as UConn, USC, and Duke.
“It’s a gift and curse,” Staley said. “I tend to not look at the number, but our players do. They look at it and feel like there’s a sense of respect to being No. 1. They also know that it’s pressure packed with the type of non-conference schedule we have, we’re going to be challenged. If we stand there at No. 1 at the end of our non-conference season that’s something to be truly to be proud of.”
The 2026 preseason poll is the fifth time in seven years South Carolina has entered the season at the top spot. The Gamecocks’ schedule includes multiple tough matchups early on, partly influenced by Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) considerations, Staley explained. “Some of them are NIL games. Some of them are games we just got to play because they are super competitive and we want to test ourselves.”
UConn, which finished second with six first-place votes, has consistently appeared in the preseason top 10 since 1994. This marks the third year in a row South Carolina and UConn have begun the season ranked first and second, though last year the Huskies held the top spot. The two teams will meet again on November 24 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Southern California received the other two first-place votes and secured the No. 3 position. The Trojans are returning a healthy JuJu Watkins after she missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL sustained in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This ranking matches USC’s position two years ago.
Duke sits fourth, its highest preseason ranking since 2013 when the Blue Devils were second. Michigan claimed fifth place, the best preseason spot in program history. Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico credited her junior class, led by Olivia Olson and Syla Swords, for the rise. “They came to Michigan to do things that have never been done before,” Barnes Arico said. “We’re in the position we’re in because they came here and made a difference.”
Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Iowa complete the top 10. Defending national champion UCLA ranks 11th, followed by North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky, and TCU.
Washington, Minnesota, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Maryland hold places 16 to 20. Minnesota returns to the preseason rankings for the first time since 2019 after reaching the Sweet 16 last season. However, the Gophers lost their leading scorer, Tori McKinney, to a season-ending knee injury during practice last week.
The final five teams in the Top 25 are Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois, West Virginia, and N.C. State. The first regular season poll will be published on November 9.
According to Yahoo Sports.
