The Lady Longhorns open the women’s college basketball season No. 4 the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll.
Last season ended in heartbreak for Texas, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UT lost to No. 3 seed NC State in the Elite Eight. Texas finished the 2023-24 season with a 33-5 record and captured the 2024 Big 12 Tournament Championship. The Lady Horns have won a conference regular season or tournament championship in each of the last three seasons.
The Wolfpack were soundly beaten in the Final Four by eventual champion South Carolina. The Gamecocks finished the season undefeated.
South Carolina starts this season at the top as No. 1 in the new coaches poll. UConn and Southern Cal round out the top four. There are seven SEC teams in the ranking. LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Alabama join South Carolina and Texas.
The NCAA women’s basketball season will officially tip-off on Monday, Nov. 4. Texas opens the season at home against Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 10 at Moody Center with a 2 p.m. CT tip. The game will be streamed by SEC Network+.
The Women’s Final Four this season will be held at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
2024-25 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School (Last Year’s Record) | Points | First Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (38-0) | 770 | 27 |
| 2 | Connecticut (33-6) | 734 | 3 |
| 3 | Southern California (29-6) | 716 | 1 |
| 4 | Texas (33-5) | 670 | – |
| 5 | Notre Dame (28-7) | 629 | – |
| 6 | UCLA (27-7) | 612 | – |
| 7 | LSU (31-6) | 567 | – |
| 8 | North Carolina State (31-7) | 533 | – |
| 9 | Iowa State (21-12) | 487 | – |
| 10 | Oklahoma (23-10) | 457 | – |
| 11 | Duke (22-12) | 449 | – |
| 12 | Baylor (26-8) | 434 | – |
| 13 | Kansas State (26-8) | 407 | – |
| 14 | Ohio State (26-6) | 405 | – |
| 15 | West Virginia (25-8) | 285 | – |
| 16 | North Carolina (20-13) | 263 | – |
| 17 | Louisville (24-10) | 261 | – |
| 18 | Maryland (19-14) | 254 | – |
| 19 | Florida State (23-11) | 177 | – |
| 20 | Creighton (26-6) | 150 | – |
| 21 | Mississippi (24-9) | 135 | – |
| 22 | Kentucky (12-20) | 106 | – |
| 23 | Nebraska (23-12) | 92 | – |
| 24 | Indiana (26-6) | 75 | – |
| 25 | Alabama (24-10) | 57 | – |
Others receiving votes:
Gonzaga (32-4) 49; TCU (21-12) 37; Stanford (30-6) 32; Tennessee (20-13) 32; Iowa (34-5) 28; Utah (23-11) 25; South Dakota State (27-6) 22; Oregon State (27-8) 21; Princeton (25-5) 18; Colorado (24-10) 15; Virginia Tech (25-8) 10; Illinois (19-15) 9; Middle Tennessee (30-5) 8; Fairfield (31-2) 7; California (19-15) 6; Richmond (29-6) 6; Auburn (20-12) 5; Florida Gulf Coast (29-5) 4; Miami (Fla.) (19-12) 4; UNLV (30-3) 4; South Florida (19-14) 3; George Mason (23-8) 2; Cleveland State (29-6) 1; Michigan (20-14) 1; Saint Joseph’s (28-6)
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2024-25 season: Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens University; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton Del Rosario, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Cindy Fisher, San Diego; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Johnnie Harris, Auburn; Brian Holsinger, Montana; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; Renee Jimenez, UC Santa Barbara; Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State; Mike Lane, NJIT; Amy Mallon, Drexel; Mike McGuire, Radford; Kim McNeill, East Carolina; Lynn Milligan, Rider; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Missy Traversi, Army; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Way Veney, Central Connecticut State; Coquese Washington, Rutgers.
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