Pre-Season AP Top 25

[RoadMaster]

 

[bballnut90]

I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Olsen.

 

[HuskyNan]

Vandy (Shea), Princeton (Carla), and fellow state team Fairfield all in the "Others Receiving Votes" list.

 

[Bone Dog]

I might swap NC St for UCLA just based on last season.

 

[meyers7]

Where's TN ranked?

 

[Mike72fl]

I hate to say it, but I think that UConn at #2 is a bit high. Except for Paige, KK, and Shade, there are a lot of unknown (coming back from injuries) and unproven (new players). I would put them on the top 5, but not #2. Not that the pre-season ranking matters much.

 

[RadfordRam]

I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Olsen.

They absolutely should have been unanimous #1, but it doesn't really matter.

 

[RadfordRam]

I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Olsen.

Agreed!

 

[Stagnant]

I think by the end of the year. Once all of the chemistry has been built up. I think it will be apparent that USC is the best team. Until then. South Carolina is the right team in this spot.

I agree with jdote33. I don’t know what voters like about North Carolina. They do seem really high.

Creighton isn’t a top 25 team for me either. Sorry. The big east will not be good this year imo.

Also, I agree that UConn seems too high. But only one spot too high. Notre dame, Texas, UCLA. None are obviously better than UConn at this time.

 

[JellyBean]

Kentucky getting the love!

 

[bballnut90]

I think it's a little weird to act like SCar doesn't have a good idea what to expect out of players like Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson and Chloe Kitts.

It's fair to question whether Cardoso was the decisive piece, but to act like SCar has anything like uncertainty about whether its roster as a whole is championship quality is a little peculiar. Very few question marks.

The three freshmen are not necessarily needed but pretty sure Joyce Edwards will be over qualified for her role.

-Kitts is a returning starter who put up a double double in the title game
-Johnson led SC in scoring in the title game and was All-Final Four team (and was consistently excellent in the NCAA tournament)
-Fulwiley was SEC Tournament MVP as a freshman and 2nd on the team in scoring for the season

I'd say those 3 are proven commodities rather than 'promising'

 

[The CDR-Ret]

The real top 25 pre-season Poll (plus all teams receiving votes, including UTennesee with 3 votes (@36th) ) has been posted on ESPN:

2024-25 Women's College Basketball Rankings - ESPN​

Find the 2024-25 NCAAW rankings on ESPN, including the Coaches and AP poll for the top 25 NCAAW teams.
www.espn.com

UCONN, as expected, steps off into the season with the #2 ranking to South Carolina's #1.

Through 12/21, the Huskies play:
#15 UNC @ Greensboro, NC, 11/15/24
(possibly) #20 Ole Miss @ Nassau, 11/27/24
#17 Louisville @ Brooklyn, NY, 12/7/24
#6 uNd @ South Bend, 12/12/24
#8 Iowa State @ Mohegan Sun, 12/17/24
AND #3 USoCal @ the XL Center, 12/21/24

The only other BE ranked team is Creighton at #21 (home & home series).

South Carolina is @ Columbia, SC two days after Valentine's Day, and if both the Huskies and Dawn's team run the table to that point it will be a #1 vs. #2 match-up!

Go Huskies!!!

 

[yhun89]

I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Olsen.

Stuelke relied on CC for open shots. Rarely did she create her own. I wouldn’t say Stuelke will be the same as last year at all but we’ll see.

 

[yhun89]

ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.

 

[bballnut90]

Stuelke relied on CC for open shots. Rarely did she create her own. I wouldn’t say Stuelke will be the same as last year at all but we’ll see.

She’s still a strong player and excellent finisher. Iowa won’t be nearly as good without CC but Stuehlke/Affolter/Olsen alone make Iowa a top 25 caliber team.

 

[bballnut90]

ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.

Agree on ND over UCLA.

Strong disagree about LSU though. Excluding the Hailey Van Lith disaster last year, Kim has a great track record of implementing PG transfers and I think chemistry will be better this season. Plus a trio of Flaujae/Morrow/Williams is on par with any other trio in the country. Not to mention they’ll have S’Myah Smith back in the post and added depth from the portal. I think people often underestimate the value of good coaching, and Kim is one of the best.

 

[MilfordHusky]

UConn has been in the pre-season top-10 for 30 years in a row, meanwhile Stanford and Tennessee are unranked.

 

[Vowelguy]

ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.

I have OU ahead of LSU in the SEC. The sooners bombed out in the tourney so everyone forgets they had a good year AND they added Bears.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I have OU ahead of LSU in the SEC. The sooners bombed out in the tourney so everyone forgets they had a good year AND they added Bears.

I believe in the right to arm Bears!!!

...and occasionally have a few Beers. Apparently, so do the Sooners...

 

[southie]

ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.

What do you base that on? UCLA probably has the deepest frontcourt in the country. Seems like ND won't be 100% healthy to start the season.

2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster - UCLA

The official 2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster for the UCLA Bruins

uclabruins.com

 

[maple]

For now I agree with SCar at #1 and UConn at #2.

Not so sure about the rest. A lot of question marks for some of these teams IMHO.

 

[DallasDomer]

What do you base that on? UCLA probably has the deepest frontcourt in the country. Seems like ND won't be 100% healthy to start the season.

2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster - UCLA

The official 2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster for the UCLA Bruins

uclabruins.com

When is ND ever healthy at the beginning of the season?:-(

I think but not sure these came out before the Westbeld Bransford announcements. But it's too early to start declaring the lunatic voters as lunatics yet.

 

[Cuango]

I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Ol n.

Well, I‘m not so sure about whether they should be ranked right now, but I do believe they will be ranked at some point this season. (Assuming of course, that the new coach, the longtime key assistant to Lisa Bluder doesn’t let the side down) If Lucy Olson can develop a good chemistry with Hannah Stuelke and the rest of the team, they should certainly be OK on the offensive side. I’m not sure who all is in their rookie class but one player in particular imo, (Ava Heiden) is going to be a star. Perhaps not right away, but I do think she will be a force in the post for them. Stuelke and Olson will be a force to be reckoned with, so if the rest of the team can help on the offensive side, they will be fine. The defensive side is where my concern would be. If they can just be decent defensively, they will be fine.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I hate to say it, but I think that UConn at #2 is a bit high. Except for Paige, KK, and Shade, there are a lot of unknown (coming back from injuries) and unproven (new players). I would put them on the top 5, but not #2. Not that the pre-season ranking matters much.

As far as ranking, at this point, early in the season, I would agree, but due to possible chemistry (lot of shooters who like the same spots on the floor) and not player(s) being unknown or unproven. Kaitlyn Chen is a proven problem. Strong may be new, and I rarely get excited about freshman, but I'm all in here with confidence. I'm watching two players this year to solidify a one or two ranking come March...Azzi Fudd and Jana El Alfy.