Women’s college basketball rankings: Preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, AP Top 25

October 20, 2026 College Basketball

The march toward the 2026-27 women’s college basketball season is underway with the reveal of both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll preseason top 25 along with the rankings from The Associated Press.

Both the Coaches Poll and AP voters selected Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. The Gamecocks have gone to six consecutive Final Fours and will be expected to reach the national semifinals again this season. South Carolina returns All-American Joyce Edwards and will once again have strength in frontcourt depth with Chloe Kitts, Ashlyn Watkins, Oliviyah Edwards and Alicia Tournebize rotating through the post.

From there, the voters do have a few small differences in their voting, though the polls do feature the same top-10 teams (different ordering notwithstanding). The coaches poll, for example, has Shea Ralph and Vanderbilt ranked over Kim Mulkey’s LSU team while the AP has them flipped. Defending national champion UCLA, which lost its top six players to the WNBA, is ranked No. 11 is the AP and No. 12 in the coaches.

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

25. North Carolina State (21-11)

(Brett Davis, Imagn Images)

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

25. North Carolina State (21-11)

(Brett Davis, Imagn Images)

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

24. West Virginia (28-7)

(William Purnell, Imagn Images)

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

23. Mississippi (24-12)

(Jim Dedmon, Imagn Images)

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

22. Illinois (22-12)

(Carly Mackler, Getty Images)

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

21. Oklahoma (26-8)

(Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images)

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Women’s college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings for 2026-27

20. Ohio State (27-8)

(Robert Goddin, Imagn Images)

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