Defending champion UConn ranks No. 1 in preseason poll

Mar 22, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) drives the ball against Arkansas State Red Wolves guard Wynter Rogers (2) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Defending champion UConn is No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason women's basketball poll released on Tuesday.

It is the 13th time since 1995 that the Huskies have entered a season in the top spot and the first since 2017.

Despite the loss of Paige Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft as the No. 1 overall pick, coach Geno Auriemma's squad returns Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd from last season's 31-3 team.

"Hopefully it's a little bit of a confidence builder and not, 'Oh my god!'" Auriemma told the AP. "I'm happy for them. We talk a lot about how we're not out here to prove that we're defending national champions or we're preseason number one in the country, and we have to beat everybody by 40. We don't want to get caught in that trap. You tend to finish the year where you're predicted. So I like being in this position."

UConn received 27 of the 31 first-place ballots, with the others going to No. 2 South Carolina. Coach Dawn Staley's Gamecocks lost to the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament final on April 6.

UCLA is No. 3, followed by Texas and LSU. Oklahoma, Duke, Tennessee, NC State and Maryland round out the top 10.

The Southeastern Conference has a whopping eight teams in the preseason poll -- five in the top 10. Next are the Big Ten with six, the Atlantic Coast Conference with five and the Big 12 with four.

The remainder of the Top 25:

11. North Carolina

12. Ole Miss

13. Michigan

14. Iowa State

15. Notre Dame

16. Baylor

17. TCU

18. Southern California

19. Vanderbilt

20. Louisville

21. Iowa

22. Oklahoma State

23. Michigan State

24. Kentucky

25. Richmond

--Field Level Media