South Carolina Takes 23 of 31 First-Place Votes in the Preseason AP Women's Top 25

Photo: South Carolina Gamecocks. Joyce Edwards, South Carolina forward.

South Carolina opened the 2026-27 season No. 1 in the AP women's Top 25 on Tuesday with 23 of 31 first-place votes and 764 points. UConn is second, 18 points back with six first-place votes. No. 3 USC sits another 78 points back.

Two teams, then a 78-point gap

Thirty-one voters means a perfect score is 775. South Carolina finished 11 short. The eight ballots that did not have the Gamecocks first lost 11 points between them, so at least five of those eight had South Carolina second and no voter put Dawn Staley's team lower than fifth, by The Dyme's math.

The Huskies lost 29 points across 25 ballots that did not have them first, which means at least 21 of those voters had UConn second. Put the two together and at least 22 of the 31 ballots had the same top two in some order.

USC sits 78 points behind UConn. That gap is bigger than the 50 points separating No. 3 USC from No. 6 Texas. Duke (647) and Michigan (644) are three points apart at four and five, the closest pair in the top 10.

It is South Carolina's fifth preseason No. 1 in seven years, and the 14th straight season the Gamecocks have opened ranked. The coaches agreed. The USA Today coaches poll, also out Tuesday, gave South Carolina 26 first-place votes and UConn six.

What the Gamecocks bring back

Joyce Edwards (19.2 points a game) and Tessa Johnson (12.8) return from a 36-4 season that ended with a loss in the national title game. Texas transfer Jordan Lee (13.2) and freshman Jerzy Robinson join them, and CBS Sports flagged point guard as the open question. South Carolina opens Nov. 2 against Maryland in Paris, sees USC on Nov. 15 in Greenville, and plays 14 opponents from this preseason poll, eight in non-conference play, per The State.

UConn's case for the other eight votes

UConn went 38-1 last season and lost in the Final Four, the program's 25th trip there. Azzi Fudd is gone to the WNBA. Sarah Strong, the 2025-26 National Player of the Year, is back for her junior year after averaging 18.4 points. UConn goes to Michigan on Nov. 5, the first top-five meeting on the board.

USC opens third with Watkins back

USC went 18-14 and lost in the second round. It opens third with two first-place votes. JuJu Watkins tore her ACL in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and missed all of last season, and she averaged 23.9 points in 2024-25. Around her are sophomore Jazzy Davidson (17.9 points) and freshman Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 player in the SC Next 100.

The champs at 11

UCLA went 37-1 and beat South Carolina in the title game. The Bruins open 11th with 442 points, 322 behind the team they beat. Cori Close lost her entire starting five to the WNBA and rebuilt through the portal. Elina Aarnisalo (North Carolina), Donovyn Hunter (TCU) and Addy Brown (Iowa State) are projected starters.

Oklahoma State is the other portal story. The Cowgirls landed the two top transfers, Audi Crooks (25.8 points a game at Iowa State) and Liv McGill from Florida, and debut at No. 22. Michigan's No. 5 is the best preseason ranking in school history, and Duke's No. 4 is its highest since 2013. The Big Ten put nine teams in the poll, the most ever for one conference, per 247Sports.

The season tips Nov. 1 with Notre Dame and Villanova in Rome. South Carolina and UConn hold 29 of 31 first-place votes with 18 points between them, and the Gamecocks get the first crack at a top-three opponent when they meet USC two weeks in. For the men's side, Florida opened No. 1 with 47 of 59 first-place votes on Monday.

Photo: South Carolina Gamecocks. Joyce Edwards, South Carolina, vs. Kentucky, 2025-26 season.

Sources

• AP News: South Carolina ranked No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25 women's basketball poll. Oct. 20, 2026. First-place votes and rankings.
• CBS Sports: JuJu Watkins has USC at No. 3 in AP Top 25, South Carolina begins on top. Oct. 20, 2026. Point totals, UCLA title over South Carolina, Strong Player of the Year, Fudd, 25th Final Four, Watkins ACL, Davidson and Hall, Duke best since 2013, Michigan best ever, UCLA starting five to WNBA, Oklahoma State transfers, Nov. 1 Rome and Nov. 2 Paris openers, South Carolina point guard question.
• ESPN: Breaking down the women's 2026-27 AP preseason Top 25 poll. Oct. 20, 2026. 2025-26 records, scoring averages, projected lineups, early-season games.
• The State: Dawn Staley, Gamecocks are preseason No. 1 again. Oct. 20, 2026. Five preseason No. 1s, 14 straight preseason rankings, coaches poll votes, 14 ranked opponents.
• 247Sports: UCLA ranked No. 11 in AP preseason poll. Oct. 20, 2026. Nine Big Ten teams, most ever for one conference.
• Perfect-score and ballot math (31 voters x 25 points = 775) is a Dyme calculation from the AP point totals.