The Associated Press preseason women’s rankings are out, and there’s not much suspense about who’s on top.
The Connecticut Huskies are the unanimous choice as the No. 1 team in the country according to the nationwide poll of media voters, whose news organizations must be AP members.
UConn, coming off a perfect 40-0 season and a record ninth NCAA championship, received all 35 first-place votes. The Huskies return national player of the year Breanna Stewart as they vie for a 10th title, which would tie head coach Geno Auriemma with UCLA legend John Wooden.
South Carolina is ranked second, the highest for the Gamecocks since the early 1980s. Coach Dawn Staley returns her entire starting lineup, including SEC player of the year Tiffany Mitchell, and has assembled one of the top freshman classes in the nation, headlined by A’ja Wilson, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2014.
Notre Dame, last year’s NCAA runner-up, is third, with All-American point guard Jewell Loyd back for her junior season. The Irish, whose only loss last year was to UConn for the title, are moving ahead without another All-American, Kayla McBride, and post Natalie Achonwa. But coach Muffet McGraw’s team is the preseason ACC favorite and will also boast freshman post Brianna Turner and several other key returnees.
Tennessee, at No. 4, and Texas A & M, at No. 5, make it three SEC teams in the Top 5. Holly Warlick begins her third full season in charge of the Lady Vols, who were the last SEC team to reach the Women’s Final Four. That was in 2008, when Pat Summitt coached her eighth and final NCAA title team in Candace Parker’s college finale.
The Aggies, who won the NCAA championship in 2011 while members of the Big 12, are enjoying their best preseason ranking. Coach Gary Blair has four returning starters, including a solid perimeter trio led by Courtney Walker.
The rest of the Top 10 includes Stanford, Duke, Baylor, Texas and Maryland.
Stanford lost All-American Chiney Ogwumike and for the first time since 1999 is not the preseason pick in its own conference. That distinction went to Cal, which comes in at 15 in the AP poll.
Duke also had heavy losses but does return All-American forward Elizabeth Williams and another strong recruiting class. Baylor was young in its first post-Brittney Griner season and has most everybody back.
Texas was not ranked at all last season but coach Karen Aston is getting the Longhorns back to where they’re accustomed as she starts her third year in charge, and she welcomes highly touted freshman Ariel Atkins to Austin.
Maryland joined the Big Ten after reaching the Final Four and while All-American Alyssa Thomas graduated, sophomore point guard Lexie Brown will guide the Terrapins into their new terrain.
The Big Ten and ACC, bolstered by new members as a result of continuing conference realignment, each have five teams in the poll. Rutgers, which also comes to the Big Ten, is in at No. 24, while ACC newcomer Louisville is No. 12. Both were in the American Athletic Conference with UConn last season.
The other Power 5 leagues — Pac 12, Big 12 and SEC, have four teams apiece.
The 2014-15 women’s college season gets underway on Friday, Nov. 14, with several ranked teams in action, including UConn, which plays UC-Davis.
UConn is the No. 1 team in all of the preseason magazine polls — Athlon, Lindy’s and The Sporting News. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll, the other major season-long poll along with the AP, has not yet been released.
The following is the full AP Top 25 listing, with points received, followed by teams just out of the poll but receiving points.
1. UConn (875)
2. South Carolina (824)
3. Notre Dame (798)
4. Tennessee (749)
5. Texas A & M (702)
6. Stanford (645)
7. Duke (577)
8. Baylor (573)
9. Texas (532)
10. Maryland (531)
11. Kentucky (522)
12. Louisville (505)
13. North Carolina (504)
14. Michigan State (433)
15. California (423)
16. Nebraska (314)
17. West Virginia (306)
18. DePaul (301)
19. Iowa (236)
20. Oregon State (183)
21. Oklahoma State (158)
22. Dayton (95)
23. UCLA (86)
T24. Rutgers (65)
T24. Syracuse (65)
Also receiving votes: LSU 58, Purdue 45, Penn State 43, Georgia 37, Gonzaga 28, N.C. State 24, Vanderbilt 23, Oklahoma 17, Arkansas 14, BYU 14, Miss. State 13, Florida State 10, Minnesota 8, South Florida 8, St. John’s 7, Oregon 5, Green Bay 4, Western Kentucky 4, Middle Tennessee State 3, Iowa State 2, Northwestern 2, Albany 1, Arizona State 1, Colorado State 1, James Madison 1.
