Women’s basketball post-portal top 25: Who’s the new No. 1? South Carolina, UConn or USC?
The idea of releasing a top 25 the day after the national championship game is always fraught, but especially so this year, since the transfer portal had yet to open when the order was decided. The moment those rankings were published, the entire exercise went up in flames. Texas, the No.
1 team two weeks ago, had a massive talent exodus, losing Jordan Lee, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Crump as transfers. The Longhorns weren’t the only ones. Georgia and Florida (which finished just outside the top 25) lost significant players after coaching changes.
Meanwhile, other programs have pounced on the available players from Texas, Iowa State and Tennessee, filling their rosters with players looking for a fresh start. The new top team is one that retained all of its underclassmen and even poached a starting guard from a conference rival. With the portal closed, this is a good time to reassess next season’s top 25.
Rank Team Previous rank 1 South Carolina 4 2 UConn 2 3 USC 3 4 Michigan 6 5 Notre Dame 5 6 LSU 7 7 Louisville 9 8 Vanderbilt 8 9 Minnesota 12 10 Duke 17 11 Washington 13 12 UCLA 25 13 Texas 1 14 Iowa Hawkeyes 10 15 Nebraska 11 16 TCU NR 17 Oklahoma 14 18 Maryland 15 19 Kentucky 16 20 Ole Miss NR 21 Kansas 18 22 North Carolina 19 23 Illinois 23 24 Ohio State 24 25 Oklahoma State 25 Also considered: Kansas State, Michigan State, Arizona State Yet another new No. 1 South Carolina was fourth two weeks ago, but the Gamecocks brought in Jordan Lee while teams ahead of them either treaded water … or were Texas. The 2026 runners-up can put out a starting five of Maddy McDaniel, Tessa Johnson, Jordan Lee, Joyce Edwards and Ashlyn Watkins with Chloe Kitts, Agot Makeer, Alicia Tournebize, Ayla McDowell and four top-30 freshmen off the bench.
(The rich got richer when third-ranked Oliviyah Edwards flipped from Tennessee to its SEC rival. ) It’s a return to the South Carolina squads of yore with double-digit rotation depth. After a season when coach Dawn Staley had to let her players work through mistakes, she once again has to manage the egos and minutes of a stacked roster.
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