NCAA women’s college basketball 2025-26 preseason top 25: Can anyone contend with UConn?

The first power rankings of the season always begin with the defending champion out of principle, but UConn would have earned this placement regardless. College basketball has changed mightily in the last decade; even so, the Huskies have reclaimed their perch atop of the sport and are in no hurry to cede it.

The cast of challengers fell far short in the 2025 postseason, and they spent the entire offseason reloading to better contend. UCLA picked up sharp-shooting Gianna Kneepkens for more offensive punch, and South Carolina added the nation’s leading scorer while Texas brought in the No. 3 recruit.

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Outside of the national semifinalists, Tennessee, LSU, Oklahoma, Duke and Maryland all leaned into their established identities. Other teams reinvented themselves, with TCU once again making a run in the portal, and Notre Dame and USC facing life after huge exoduses.

The balance of power may seem tilted towards UConn for now, but plenty of teams could make a run for the crown in 2025-26. The Huskies are raising the bar for everyone else to come meet them.

How much will UConn miss Paige Bueckers?

The defending champs have reloaded after the graduation of Bueckers (and Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin, though their contributions were less prolific). On paper, all of the talent that has made its way to Storrs, Conn., should be enough to overcome the absence of a multi-time Player of the Year and a bona fide killer on the court.

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There is enough playmaking with KK Arnold and Kayleigh Heckel, who transferred from USC. Azzi Fudd, the reigning Final Four Most Outstanding Player, can score more, and she, Allie Ziebell and Shade are ace shooters. The frontcourt rotation is stacked with transfer Serah Williams joining Sarah Strong, Jana El Alfy and Ice Brady, not to mention freshman Blanca Quiñonez. This roster is as deep as any in the country and boasts arguably the nation’s best player in Strong.

From a leadership perspective, Fudd is a fifth-year veteran who can assume a bigger role. Arnold is vocal on the court, and Strong seems to understand the responsibility that awaits her because of her prodigious talent. The ingredients are in place to fill the void left by Bueckers, even if she had come to define the Huskies over the last five years with her varied contributions, playing every position from one to four as she became UConn’s public face. But building off of success is what coach Geno Auriemma does. When Sue Bird graduated, it was Diana Taurasi’s turn. Tina Charles passed the baton to Maya Moore, and then Breanna Stewart came along. Strong is the next in line.

Fifty-one players in the country averaged at least 15 points and seven rebounds last season. Strong led all of them in 2-point field-goal percentage, was third in 3-point percentage, and she was the only freshman on the list. The sky is the limit for Strong and for the Huskies as they move forward from the program’s 12th national title.

Is the SEC still South Carolina’s to lose?

The Gamecocks have won the SEC each of the last four seasons, dropping just two conference regular-season games in the process. It’s an enviable level of dominance in the nation’s toughest league.

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Maintaining that supremacy will be as tough as ever in 2025-26. South Carolina doesn’t have its usual frontcourt depth after Chloe Kitts’ ACL injury and Ashlyn Watkins taking the year off, leaving Joyce Edwards as the only returning rotation forward. The Gamecocks’ machine suggests that Maryam Dauda and Adhel Tac will take big steps, but there is more uncertainty at this position, even with the incoming Madina Okot, than in years past. Perhaps South Carolina reorients its system to focus more on the perimeter with the arrival of Ta’Niya Latson, but it will be a shift regardless.

That leaves an opening for Texas, which took one game from the Gamecocks in 2024-25 and still has Madison Booker and Rori Harmon, along with some exciting young talent in Jordan Lee, Justice Carleton and Aaliyah Crump. Tennessee could improve in Year 2 under coach Kim Caldwell with a roster that matches her basketball ethos. The Lady Vols are deep, long and speedy, especially with the additions of Janiah Barker and the Pauldo twins. Oklahoma welcomes one of the country’s top recruits, Aaliyah Chavez, to a team that made the Sweet 16.

Keep an eye on LSU. The Tigers haven’t broken through against South Carolina yet during coach Kim Mulkey’s tenure, but this could be their best shot. Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley are as dynamic a perimeter trio as there is in the country, and LSU can mix and match frontcourt options with transfers Kate Koval and Amiya Joyner and freshmen ZaKiya Johnson and Grace Knox. Koval had a double-double in the Tigers’ first exhibition game, and Johnson led them with 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting while playing the four.

Can Zoe Brooks keep NC State among the nation’s elite?

The Wolfpack have been on the periphery of contention the last five seasons, with two Elite Eights, one Final Four and a pair of ACC regular-season and tournament titles during that stretch. But NC State lost more talent than any program outside of South Bend, Ind., this offseason. The burden of replacing Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James (not to mention Madison Hayes) doesn’t fall entirely on Zoe Brooks, but she is the new leader of the Wolfpack.

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Brooks has always liked the bright lights, ever since she paired with Sabrina Ionescu to win the WNBA All-Star skills challenge in 2022 as a high schooler. The best game of her collegiate career (33 points and 10 rebounds) came in a nationally televised showdown against Notre Dame that essentially decided the ACC title. But defenses are about to key in on Brooks in a way they never have.

Brooks’ downhill attacks have been key for NC State. She’ll have to diversify her drives, as she has been more right-side dominant. She’ll also have to improve her 3-point percentage from 28 percent to make her drives more potent and become a little more stout defensively. Brooks has generally had good ball control but will need to maintain that at higher usage. More than anything, she must figure out chemistry with Khamil Pierre. Pierre is NC State’s best hope for a one-two punch, and getting on the same page quickly will ease the burden on the sophomore class of Tilda Trygger, Zamareya Jones and Devyn Quigley.   

Who comes out ahead in the Duke vs. Maryland transfer swap?

The Blue Devils and Terrapins have topped out in the Elite Eight in recent seasons, and both have guard-heavy rosters as they look to take the next step. Ironically, the former conference rivals will be relying on guards who started their careers with the other program.

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Oluchi Okananwa, the reigning ACC tournament MVP, immediately steps in as the best perimeter defender for Maryland. She has the pace and chaos that the Terrapins played with in 2024-25, but she adds more ball pressure and a downhill-attacking element to complement the scoring of Kaylene Smikle and new arrival Yarden Garzon. Maryland is more balanced with her, but can keep the tempo that made it successful last season. On the other end, Duke can use the 6-2 Riley Nelson to fill in the gap left by Reigan Richardson. Nelson has had an injury-riddled start to her career, but she has the size and physicality to fit in coach Kara Lawson’s system.

Both squads need to figure out questions in the frontcourt. The Blue Devils welcome back Arianna Roberson from injury to give them a true center next to forwards like Toby Fournier and Delaney Thomas, while the Terrapins are taking fliers on some international prospects. Their guard rooms have the real intrigue if Okananwa and Nelson can hit in their new spots.

What does the Kenny Brooks post-Georgia Amoore era look like?

As Brooks’ national profile has risen, it’s become impossible to separate his style of play from Georgia Amoore’s. Amoore played for Brooks for five seasons, following her coach from Virginia Tech to Kentucky. She even averaged at least 35 minutes each of the last three years; there is little tape of Brooks’ teams without Amoore on the floor.

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So what do the Wildcats look like without their dominant ballhandler running the show? Tonie Morgan is a different style point guard; she lived in the paint and had a low 3-point rate at Georgia Tech, though she is still an excellent pick-and-roll operator. With Clara Strack at center, Kentucky could still feature the two-player game between Morgan and Strack, hoping that strong shooting seasons from Amelia Hassett and Jordan Obi help mitigate spacing challenges. The Wildcats could also unleash Teonni Key as an individual creator because of her versatility.

We haven’t seen a meaningful stylistic shift from Brooks in years. The best coaches adapt, and his new personnel will demand it.

Which young core will take the next step?

The portal has made building a program challenging as rosters experience significant turnover year to year. But even when a group stays together, development isn’t always linear. Iowa State was the darling of the 2024 offseason after its freshman class, led by Audi Crooks and Addy Brown, roared onto the scene and took Stanford to double overtime in the NCAA Tournament. But the sophomore encore was a bit of a dud.

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Several young cores dazzled, some in more limited stretches, in 2024-25. Michigan seems the likeliest to continue to level up, with Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway returning. The trio combined for 42 points and 15 rebounds per game as freshmen, with each player shooting at least 35 percent on 3s. The Wolverines’ frontcourt depth has evaporated, but coach Kim Barnes Arico isn’t too strict on positions. The guards are big enough to pose matchup problems of their own.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Iowa returns sophomores Ava Heiden, Taylor Stremlow and Teagan Mallegni. With the addition of freshman guard Addie Deal, there is a lot of offensive talent in that group, and they’re flanked by veterans in Hannah Stuelke, Kylie Feuerbach and Taylor McCabe, who can ease their transition. Minnesota still has the local core that coach Lindsay Whalen recruited in 2022. Mara Braun, Amaya Battle, Mallory Heyer and Niamya Holloway have never been healthy at the same time. If they can stay on the floor with fellow veteran Grace Gocholski, the group that won the WBIT in 2025 can take the next step.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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