Picking up right where they left off, 2024 NCAA champions South Carolina claimed the No. 1 spot on yesterday’s AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll. This marks the fourth time in five years the Gamecocks have topped the preseason rankings.
“We knew we’d have a target on our backs this season as the reigning champions and this preseason ranking just confirms that,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, who swept the 2024 Coach of the Year awards, told the AP.
“We appreciate the recognition, but I know our coaching staff and our team are more focused on what we see in the gym every day,” she continued. “And that’s every player working extremely hard to get better individually and as a team.”
The 2024/25 Gamecock roster is nearly identical to last season’s undefeated squad. With all but one starter — Chicago Sky rookie Kamilla Cardoso — returning, fans can expect to see stars like MiLaysia Fulwiley, Ashlyn Watkins, and Te-Hina Paopao continuing to set the standard in Columbia.
The Gamecocks, who blasted Memphis 106-63 in an exhibition game Tuesday night, will officially tip off their hunt for a third national championship in four seasons when they take on Michigan on November 4th. Over the previous three seasons, South Carolina has lost only three games.
Bueckers, Watkins boost NCAA teams’ preseason stock
The impact of big-name players is palpable on the AP’s preseason Top 25 list.
Dynasty UConn is on South Carolina’s heels at No. 2, thanks in large part to projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers. Though like many Huskies, Bueckers battled injuries over the last few seasons, hampering UConn’s impact.
Her return last year fueled the Huskies all the way to the Final Four. This season — both Bueckers’s final collegiate season and legendary head coach Geno Auriemma’s 40th year at the helm — she’ll take aim at bringing UConn’s first NCAA trophy since 2016 back to Storrs.
On the other coast, USC clocks into the AP poll at No. 3 behind headliner JuJu Watkins, who put up arguably the most impactful freshman campaign in NCAA history last year.
Watkins aside, the Pac-12 implosion and resulting conference realignment has other aspects of USC looking decidedly different this season. Now representing the Big Ten alongside fellow former Pac-12 squad No. 5 UCLA, USC picked up top transfers Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State) in the offseason to build a title-contending 2024/25 roster.
Last season’s Big 12 champion No. 4 Texas will now play in the SEC. With standout Rori Harmon back from ACL injury to duet with Madison Booker — who stepped up in a huge way last season in Harmon’s stead — the Longhorns look a tough addition to the conference.
Former college basketball powerhouses omitted
With the departure of top players, a couple of last season’s powerhouse teams failed to make the preseason Top-25 cut.
Without 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, plus the retirement of longtime head coach Lisa Bluder, 2024 NCAA runners-up Iowa fell from the rankings.
The biggest snub, however, belongs to new ACC addition Stanford, who went unranked for the first time since 1999. The Cardinal lost LA Sparks rookie Cameron Brink alongside transfer Kiki Iriafen after Tara VanDerveer — the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history — retired last April.
The preseason AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll
1. South Carolina (SEC)2. UConn (Big East)3. USC (Big Ten)4. Texas (SEC)5. UCLA (Big Ten)6. Notre Dame (ACC)7. LSU (SEC)8. Iowa State (Big 12)9. NC State (ACC)10. Oklahoma (SEC)11. Duke (ACC)12. Baylor (Big 12)13. Kansas State (Big 12)14. Ohio State (Big Ten)15. UNC (ACC)16. West Virginia (Big 12)17. Louisville (ACC)18. Maryland (Big Ten)19. Florida State (ACC)20. Ole Miss (SEC)21. Creighton (Big East)22. Kentucky (SEC)23. Nebraska (Big Ten)24. Alabama (SEC)25. Indiana (Big Ten)
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