The 2024-25 AP Top 25 women’s college basketball preseason rankings have arrived. South Carolina takes the No. 1 spot as the Gamecocks look to defend their title. UConn, Southern Cal, Texas and UCLA round out the top five. 

Here is the full AP Top 25, as well as a few initial reactions and statistics from the rankings:

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Iowa 37, TCU 30, Utah 24, Illinois 23, Stanford 17, Michigan St. 16, Gonzaga 16, Vanderbilt 12, South Dakota St. 7, Miami 4, Tennessee 3, Fairfield 3, Middle Tennessee 3, Georgia Tech 2, Syracuse 1, Princeton 1.

South Carolina back at No. 1

For the fourth time in five years, Dawn Staley’s squad takes the preseason No. 1 spot. The Gamecocks return four starters from last year’s undefeated national championship team — the first undefeated team since 2016 UConn. South Carolina opens the season against Michigan in Las Vegas as the Gamecocks look to make another title run. 

LOOKING BACK: Complete championship history of DI women’s hoops

Three Final Four teams in top 10

UConn received the No. 2 spot, earning two first-place votes in the preseason poll. Geno Auriemma is entering his 40th season at the helm for the Huskies, and he returns player of the year candidate Paige Bueckers as UConn searches for its first title since 2016. 

After not breaching the top 25 in last year’s preseason poll, NC State received the No. 9 spot after a Final Four run last season. It was the Wolfpack’s first Final Four since 1998. Wes Moore’s squad returns leading scorer Aziaha James for her senior season as the Wolfpack look to make another deep run in the NCAA tournament. 

Lastly, Iowa, the runner-up in each of the last two seasons, is not ranked in the preseason poll. The Hawkeyes did receive the most votes outside the top 25 (37 — nine behind No. 25 Indiana), but they lost arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time in Caitlin Clark. New head coach Jan Jensen’s squad will have to prove it can still compete without the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year and former coach Lisa Bluder, who retired after 24 seasons in charge of the Hawkeyes and 528 wins leading the program.

Rankings by conference

The SEC leads the way with seven teams in the top 25 with the addition of No. 4 Texas and No. 10 Oklahoma. The ACC and Big Ten follow right behind with six teams, as the Big Ten added preseason ranked No. 3 Southern Cal and No. 5 UCLA. 

Fun Facts

Southern Cal, which received one first place vote, earned its highest preseason ranking since it was voted No. 1 in the 1982 and 1983 seasons. The Trojans will be lead by player of the year candidate JuJu Watkins, who had a phenomenal freshman season, averaging 27.1 points per game. 

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On the flip side, Stanford is unranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1999. Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer retired in April and leader Cameron Brink moved on to the WNBA after graduation. 

This marks UConn’s 30th consecutive season ranked inside the preseason top 10. The Huskies have also not finished the season outside the top 10 since 1993.