Women's college basketball preseason rankings

Overview

The Associated Press released its preseason assessments for women’s college basketball. In the AP preseason Top 25 poll, South Carolina secured the No. 1 ranking with 23 first-place votes, followed by UConn in second and USC in third. Coach Dawn Staley noted that the top ranking brings “significant pressure” ahead of a difficult nonconference schedule.

In the preseason AP All-America selections, UConn’s Sarah Strong and USC’s JuJu Watkins were named headliners. Strong, the reigning AP Player of the Year, received 30 votes from the media panel. Watkins returns to competition following an ACL injury sustained during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Other roster selections include Mikayla Blakes, Madison Booker, and Hannah Hidalgo.

Entities

Associated Press · UConn Huskies · Sarah Strong · UConn · USC Trojans

Timeline

1 day ago

[SPORTS] 2 sources
Sarah Strong and JuJu Watkins lead preseason AP All-America women’s team
UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline the preseason AP All-America women’s college basketball team, alongside Mikayla Blakes, Madison Booker, and Hannah Hidalgo.
4 days ago

[SPORTS] 2 sources
South Carolina ranks No. 1 in women's preseason AP Top 25 poll
South Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the women's preseason AP Top 25 basketball poll, followed by UConn and USC.

Sources

newsday.com · pulsejournal.com · winnipegfreepress.com