South Carolina leads AP poll as Big Ten sets nine-team record

South Carolina is No. 1 in the Associated Press women’s preseason Top 25 for 2026-27, and the Big Ten has a record nine teams in the poll. South Carolina received 23 first-place votes from the 31-member media panel when the AP published the rankings on Oct. 20.

That is about 74% of the panel’s first-place votes, calculated as 23 divided by 31. It measures how often panelists ranked South Carolina first—not the share who predicted the team would win a championship. A preseason poll records voters’ assessments; it is not a season result and does not determine NCAA tournament selection.

South Carolina returns to No. 1 i

UConn is second and Southern California, also known as USC, is third. South Carolina and UConn have occupied the poll’s top two positions for three consecutive preseason polls. UConn was No. 1 a year ago, while South Carolina has now been preseason No. 1 five times in the past seven years.

The ranking places South Carolina at the top before the 2026-27 season’s games have produced results. The defending national champion, UCLA, is No. 11. That contrast is a reminder that the poll is a media-panel ranking, not a recap of the previous championship or a decision about the next one.

Big Ten accounts for more than a third of the poll i

The Big Ten’s nine teams represent 36% of the 25 places in the ranking. The SEC has seven, so the Big Ten leads the next-largest conference group by two teams. The SEC has a stronger presence near the top: four of its teams are in the top 10.

The percentages are each conference’s team count divided by the 25 poll positions. The counts add up to all 25 places. The comparison separates two different measures: the Big Ten has the most teams ranked overall, while the SEC has four teams in the top 10.

Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico attributed part of the Big Ten’s showing to conference expansion. She also acknowledged past criticism that the conference had not won a championship and pointed to UCLA’s title the previous year. The poll’s nine-team mark is a record for preseason representation; it is not a championship result.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley described the No. 1 spot as recognition that also brings added pressure. The ranking sets the panel’s expectations going into the season, while the teams’ eventual results will be determined on the court.