Women’s college basketball AP Top 25: South Carolina starts 2024-25 season at No. 1, but not unanimously

After a perfect 38-0 campaign that resulted in another national championship, the South Carolina Gamecocks will start the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll. However, they were not a unanimous No. 1 as UConn and USC also got first-place votes.

One of the Gamecocks’ strengths last season was depth, and they still have a lot of that as South Carolina returns all key pieces except for Kamilla Cardoso. MiLaysia Fulwiley, who coach Dawn Staley refers to as a walking highlight reel, has been working on slowing down her game and could be earning a spot as a starter. Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson are two other Gamecocks who played significant roles last season, and Staley said others like Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin used the offseason to take their game to the next level.

The biggest question for South Carolina is Ashlyn Watkins, who has been suspended from team activities since she was charged with first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping in late August.

Meanwhile, UConn is still dealing with injury woes, but Geno Auriemma’s Huskies have enough talent to take the No. 2 spot and even earned two first-place votes. Azzi Fudd (torn ACL), Caroline Ducharme (head/neck) and Aubrey Griffin (torn ACL) will not be ready to play at the beginning of the season, but the team can still rely on Paige Bueckers and also added Sarah Strong, the No.1 player from the class of 2024.

The USC Trojans are at No. 3 after making the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994. They are led by JuJu Watkins, who is coming off a historic freshman season. Another top returner is Rayah Marshall, who led the Trojans in rebounds and blocks a season ago. Lindsay Gottlieb got even more weapons with the addition of Oregon State’s Talia von Oelhoffen and Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen.

Texas and UCLA are No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The Longhorns are celebrating the return of their star guard Rori Harmon, who coach Vic Schaefer says is looking “like a million dollars” after her recovery from a torn ACL. The Bruins just competed in their second consecutive Sweet 16, and they are expected to be one of the top teams in the new Big Ten along with USC. 

Last season’s national championship runner-up, the Iowa Hawkeyes, are not starting the season in the top 25, but are still receiving votes. They lost a lot of productivity and experience after the departures of Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Molly Davis and Caitlin Clark, who broke the all-time NCAA Division I scoring record. Longtime coach Lisa Bluder retired over the summer and associate head coach Jan Jensen took over. 

This is a bit of an unusual year because Stanford is unranked in the preseason for the first time since 1999. The Cardinal are entering a new era with a new coach and a new conference. Tara VanDerveer announced her retirement and was replaced by longtime assistant Kate Paye. The Cardinal used to dominate the Pac-12, but now they have to prove themselves all over again in the ACC.

Meanwhile, No. 24 Alabama is making its first appearance in the rankings since 1999.

AP Women’s Basketball Top 25

Others receiving votes: Iowa 37, TCU 30, Utah 24, Illinois 23, Stanford 17, Michigan State 16, Gonzaga 16, Vanderbilt 12, South Dakota State 7, Miami 4, Tennessee 3, Fairfield 3, Middle Tennessee 3, Georgia Tech 2, Syracuse 1, Princeton 1