™Preseason polls are guesses dressed up as authority — but this year's women's college basketball poll tells a real story. South Carolina opens at No. 1 with 23 of 31 first-place votes. UConn and USC split the rest. And the defending national champions? UCLA sits at No. 11, which tells you everything about how wide open this season is. Tip-off is November 2, and it can't come soon enough.
Three teams, one crown
Dawn Staley's Gamecocks have the deepest roster in the country: Joyce Edwards (19.2 points per game) back as a junior, Chloe Kitts returning from a torn ACL, plus portal additions and another loaded class. "It's a gift and curse," Staley said of the No. 1 ranking. "They look at it and feel like there's a sense of respect... They also know that it's pressure-packed." With South Carolina's non-conference slate, pressure is a given.
UConn has the best player in the country — Sarah Strong, the reigning national player of the year, averaged 18.4 points a game as a sophomore and just dropped 27 on Texas in an exhibition. No Azzi Fudd anymore, but the Geno Auriemma machine doesn't need names, it needs a system. It has one.
Then there's USC, and the story writes itself: JuJu Watkins is back. The consensus 2025 national player of the year returns from the torn ACL that cut her season short, joining Jazzy Davidson — the 2026 national freshman of the year — and the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. If Watkins is even close to full speed, the Trojans are the most talented team in America on paper. Paper burns, though. We'll see.
The defending champs nobody's talking about
UCLA won it all last spring and lost six players to the WNBA. Six. That's not a roster, that's a rebuild wearing a banner. Dropping to No. 11 is generous — but it's also what makes this season delicious. There is no clear heir, no undefeated juggernaut to chase. The Big Ten put nine teams in the preseason poll, the SEC seven. Parity this real hasn't shown up in women's college basketball in a decade.
The freshmen who will matter by March
Forget the wait-your-turn myth. Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 recruit, walks into USC's rotation as a two-way terror — she was MVP of the U19 World Cup, and early reports have her shooting it well from deep. UConn's Olivia Vukosa (No. 4) gives the Huskies a true center to build around. Iowa's McKenna Woliczko (No. 6) has a starting spot waiting with Hannah Stuelke gone, and coach Jan Jensen says she's already expanding her range. USC's other two freshmen — 6-foot-4 forwards Sara Okeke and Sitaya Fagan — bring international experience and exactly the kind of length the Trojans need inside. And don't sleep on Kate Harpring running the point at North Carolina or Jerzy Robinson at South Carolina. The class of 2026 is going to show up fast.
Circle these dates
The non-conference schedule is stacked from week one. Iowa visits UConn at Gampel Pavilion on November 8 — top-10 on top-10, and the Hawkeyes will know exactly where they stand after that. November 15 brings No. 3 USC vs. No. 1 South Carolina on ABC, a genuine Final Four preview in Greenville. And November 24 is the one: UConn vs. South Carolina at Mohegan Sun, a rematch of last spring's Final Four semifinal — the one that ended with fireworks between Auriemma and Staley on the sideline. Thanksgiving week, national TV, grudges intact.
Beyond that: UConn-Duke in Boston on November 28, UConn-LSU in Nashville on December 20 (ABC), South Carolina at Texas on January 3. The sport's biggest programs spent the offseason scheduling each other instead of cupcake tune-ups. Good. That's how you find out in November who's real in March.
The pick
South Carolina is the right No. 1 — the depth, the experience, the coach. But right doesn't mean certain. UConn has the best player, USC has the best story and maybe the best roster, and Duke, Michigan, Texas, and LSU all have a real path. If you want one bold take: the national champion won't be anyone who started the season in the top three. This field is too deep, and March doesn't care about October polls.
Women's Sports Now's college hoops column runs weekly through the season — before tip-off, after the buzzer, and everything in between.