Women's college basketball Power Rankings: South Carolina starts 2026-27 season at No. 1

A new women's college basketball season is nearly upon us. The season tips off Sunday with Notre Dame and Villanova playing in Rome, and most teams will hold their openers on Monday and Tuesday. National championship runner-up South Carolina enters the 2026-27 women's college basketball season as the No. 1 team in the CBS Sports Power Rankings. While there were some questions regarding the point guard position, Dawn Staley managed to put together a roster with a lot of potential.

Meanwhile, the UConn Huskies will start at No. 2 as reigning Naismith Player of the Year Sarah Strong embraces a bigger leadership role with both her mentors Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd now with the Dallas Wings. Coach Geno Auriemma revealed that Strong dealt with Achilles soreness all of last season, which makes her POY award even more impressive. She took some time to rest this summer and now she is entering her junior campaign.

The USC Trojans cracked the top three as they get ready for a bounce-back year with the return of JuJu Watkins. By the time they play their first game, Watkins will have been out for 19 months. However, she was one of the biggest college basketball superstars before tearing her ACL and her comeback should make opponents nervous -- particularly since she rejoins a roster that features 2025 Rookie of the Year Jazzy Davidson and the ESPN No. 1 player of the class of 2026 Saniyah Hall (who Watkins helped recruit).

Texas and LSU round out the top five as the season begins.

Reigning national champion UCLA has slipped down but still made it into our list at No. 16. Every player who scored in the championship game has graduated, but the Bruins looked promising this offseason with players ready to step up, including Sienna Bettts who is ready to build her own legacy now that her older sister Lauren Betts has gone to the WNBA.

Another interesting team this season will be the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who had a major roster turnover and only have one returner. Although usually this would keep a team out of the top 25, that lone returner is Hannah Hidalgo, one of the most complete players in the nation and the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

We also can't forget about Oklahoma State, the biggest winner of the transfer portal with the additions of former Iowa State center Audi Crooks and former Florida guard Liv McGill, two players who were in the nation's top 11 in scoring last season. A notable absence is Tennessee, a team that did not return a single player who saw the court last season. While this is historically one of the best programs in women's college basketball, Kim Caldwell is coming off her worst year as a coach, and right now it's hard to know what to expect from this team. 

Here are the 2026-27 preseason CBS Sports women's college basketball Power Rankings.

First five out: Clemson, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona State

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