For the 15th year in a row, Louisville women’s basketball is in the AP Top 25 preseason rankings, earning the No. 20 spot Tuesday.
The Cardinals’ lowest preseason ranking during that time was 23rd ahead of the 2009-10 campaign, and their highest was the No. 5 spot to start each of the 2013-14, 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons. Last year, Louisville opened the season ranked 17th but fell out of the AP Top 25 after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and UConn on Dec. 4 and 7, respectively.
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Taj Roberts is Louisville’s lone returning starter after a strong freshman campaign in which she averaged 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Jeff Walz’s Cardinals return seven more bench players and rounded out the team by adding six new players: three from the transfer portal and three from the high school ranks. Saint Joseph’s transfer Laura Ziegler highlights the group after averaging a double-double (17.5 points, 10.4 rebounds) in addition to 4.3 assists.
For the second straight year, Louisville is scheduled to open the season internationally. U of L is set to play defending NCAA champion UConn, ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in Germany. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. On Dec. 4, Louisville will play national championship runner-up South Carolina, ranked second, at home in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville women’s basketball ranking in AP Top 25 WBB preseason poll
