The Athletic’s 2026-2027 too-early top 25 women’s basketball rankings

UCLA is the national champion, but for the first time in my way-too-early power rankings for The Athletic, UCLA will not be the top-ranked team heading into the 2026-27 season. With all due respect to Cori Close and the success of the Bruins program over the last few years, the reality is that six seniors are leaving. It was touch-and-go whether to rank the Bruins at all.

Part of the problem is that these rankings are being conducted as the transfer portal opens on Monday. We can imagine that UCLA (and other high-profile programs) will be able to bring in some quality players after already crushing the portal each of the last two offseasons. Close said: “The transfer portal just got easier” in Sunday’s postgame news conference in Phoenix. But we don’t know what the Bruins roster will look like, or which players across the country are on the move.

That puts even more uncertainty than usual into these rankings, especially compared to last season when we could already pencil in the Final Four. Keep that in mind when we look back at this list a year from now.

Rank	Team
1	Texas
2	UConn
3	USC
4	South Carolina
5	Notre Dame
6	Michigan
7	LSU
8	Vanderbilt
9	Louisville
10	Iowa
11	Nebraska
12	Minnesota
13	Washington
14	Oklahoma
15	Maryland
16	Kentucky
17	Duke
18	Kansas
20	Michigan State
21	Oregon
22	Ohio State
23	Kansas State
24	Georgia
25	UCLA

Also considered: Princeton, Arizona State, Florida

Is this the year for Texas?

First-team All-American Madison Booker returns alongside rising juniors Justice Carlton and Jordan Lee plus senior center Breya Cunningham. Aaliyah Crump had a fantastic finish to her freshman season, and the Longhorns bring in three top-20 recruits. There is a core here that knows how to win, and especially knows how to defend, led by a fantastic No. 1 option. Even if Texas has disappointed in the last two national semifinals, if the baseline for the Longhorns is making it to the Final Four then they deserve the top ranking heading into next season.

UConn slots in just below because of some concerns about perimeter creation. Sarah Strong, Blanca Quiñonez and the incoming Olivia Vukosa are an intimidating frontcourt trio, but without Azzi Fudd, the remaining guards are essentially play-finishers. The Huskies will need to find a scoring point guard in the portal to round out their offense.

Welcome back, USC

JuJu Watkins is back for the Trojans (she was participating in shooting drills at USA Basketball this week), and the return of the 2025 National Player of the Year alone is enough to vault USC into the top five of the rankings. But the Trojans also have three five-star recruits incoming, including No. 1 overall freshman Saniyah Hall. Hall, Sitaya Fagan and Sara Okeke, plus Watkins and Jazzy Davidson, give USC more star power than any other team. It’s the lack of continuity (plus the absence of a true point guard or center) that keeps the Trojans below Texas and UConn for now.

Big Ten is well-represented

Eleven of the top 25 teams come from the Big Ten, giving the conference an early advantage over the SEC (seven total) after the two battled for supremacy during the 2025-26 season. UCLA’s victory over South Carolina in the title game seemingly won the war for the Big Ten, and the league is riding that momentum into 2026-27.

The Bruins’ inclusion is a leap of faith, considering they barely have enough players for a five-woman lineup. But USC, Michigan and Iowa should all be top-10 teams. The Wolverines have a proven group of juniors in Syla Swords, Olivia Olson, Mila Holloway and Te’Yala Delfosse; the only reason they haven’t cracked the top-five is that none has taken a step to become a no-brainer superstar. The Hawkeyes ended the season on a low note but return so many talented juniors who should have better chemistry going forward, plus top-10 freshman McKenna Woliczko.

Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State and Maryland should continue to build on their 2026 success. Each team loses some important seniors but has a significant core coming back. The Terrapins arguably have the most talent but also have a recent track record of major injuries. Oregon and Nebraska are newer additions to the party. The Ducks will get Elisa Mevius back from injury to join rising juniors Katie Fiso and Ehis Etute, while the Cornhuskers only lose one rotation player, and Natalie Potts should be back from a torn ACL.

2026 Sweet 16 should be back

Thirteen of the Sweet 16 teams from this season’s tournament land in the top 19 of these rankings. The lone exceptions are UCLA, which is in a specific state of limbo; TCU, which will most assuredly reload on transfers, but essentially has an empty roster right now; and Virginia. The Cavaliers return Kymora Johnson but are losing several seniors and are now dealing with coaching turbulence.

However, the bulk of the top programs are in good position to maintain their success. Beyond the Big Ten crew, North Carolina returns a productive junior class. Duke will have to replace perimeter production with younger players, but the frontcourt of Delaney Thomas, Toby Fournier, Riley Nelson and Arianna Roberson off the bench is the best in the ACC.

Vanderbilt has one super junior in Mikayla Blakes. Along with Aubrey Galvan, the duo makes up for a much thinner roster around them. LSU still has star power with rising seniors Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley plus three sophomores who already played rotation minutes as freshmen. The Tigers’ ability to get a big in the portal is one of the more interesting questions of the offseason.

Kentucky might be a little too high with three starters graduating. However, Clara Strack had an All-America worthy season (whether it was voted as such) and Kenny Brooks wins the portal every year. It will be fun to see Brooks mold young guards again with three in this freshman class, including Swords’ younger sister Savvy Swords and U-19 World Cup gold medalist Maddyn Greenway.

Big 12 changing of the guard

The Big 12 has been dominated by TCU, West Virginia and Baylor in recent years. None of those teams makes my top 25, as all of the best players have graduated. Instead, keep an eye on Kansas, where the duo of guard S’Mya Nichols and forward Jaliya Davis could be as good as any inside-outside combo in the country. Kansas State also had a young team in 2025-26 with nine newcomers but brings back almost everyone. The Wildcats are only one year removed from the Sweet 16, so Jeff Mittie can guide them back.

Arizona State could be a sleeper. Molly Miller got the Sun Devils to the Round of 64 and got a jump on the portal with Ruby Whitehorn, who was dismissed from Tennessee.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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