USC ranks No. 1 in way-too-early women’s basketball rankings for 2027
While this past season was a relatively unremarkable one for the Women of Troy, there are already massive expectations surrounding next year’s team
On Sunday, the 2025-2026 women’s college basketball season came to an end in the worst possible fashion for USC fans : with rival UCLA winning the national championship. With this season in the books, however, we can now shift our attention to 2026-2027. Following Sunday’s game, USA Today released its way-too-early women’s basketball top 25 for the 2026-2027 season .
Not only did USC make the top 25, but the Trojans topped it, coming in at No. 1. Here is what writer Mitchell Northam had to say about USC: “Yes, a team that lost in the second round of the Women's NCAA Tournament tops our list,” Northam wrote.
“In case you forgot, JuJu Watkins is set to return to the court for the Trojans next season. Before injuring her knee in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Watkins was a two-time All-American, had led USC to a pair of Elite Eights and was the National Player of the Year. Watkins will become the bus driver once again for Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans, who are set to bring back National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson and All-Big Ten Defense selection Kennedy Smith.
USC is also bringing in the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Saniyah Hall. With those four players, you can pencil in USC to be a Final Four contender.