Dawn Staley of South Carolina is back at No. The Associated Press Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll ranked 1
The Gamecocks are now the preseason favourite for the second season in a row.
"With the additions and subtractions we made for this season, it was clear that we would be starting out among the hunters," stated Staley, who is entering her 14th season as South Carolina coach. "I can see that we have all the pieces and the competitive fire necessary to achieve our goals every day by watching practice. We still have weeks to bring these pieces together and make our team a cohesive, successful one that can live up the preseason ranking.
AP Preseason Women’s Top 25 First Place Votes in Parentheses Team 1. South Carolina (14) UConn (10) 3. Stanford (5) Maryland 5. NC State 6. Louisville 7. Baylor 8. Indiana 9. Iowa 10. Oregon 11. Michigan 12. Iowa State 13. Kentucky 14. Oregon State 15. Tennessee 16. Florida State 17. Ohio State 17. Georgia Tech 19. West Virginia 20. UCLA 21. South Florida 22. Arizona 23. Texas A&M 24. Virginia Tech 25. Texas
In Tuesday's poll, 14 of 29 first-place votes were given to the Gamecocks by a national media panel. UConn came in second with 10 first-place votes. The Huskies are now among the top five preseason teams for the 15th consecutive year.
Third was Stanford, the national champion defense team. He also received five first-place votes. The top five were completed by North Carolina State and Maryland.
Staley has had a busy few weeks. Staley was awarded a seven-year contract by the school, which will pay $2.9 million for this season and $3.5 million for the final season. She believes that the $22.4 million deal will have an impact on her sport as well as the equality in what women's athletes and coaches receive from their schools.
HOOSIERS HYSTERIA
Indiana is No. 8 is the highest ranking school in women's basketball. Bloomington is buzzing with excitement, as all five of the starters are returning to a team that reached the Elite Eight last year and won its sixth consecutive 20-win season.
Teri Moren, Indiana coach, said that it was a great honor for her program and a testament the team's ability to improve during one of the most challenging and difficult seasons in women's basketball history. We believe we have a lot to prove and we look forward to what will be a difficult season in nonconference as also in the Big Ten.
RISING WOLVERINES
Michigan was also ranked No. 11. Three of the Wolverines' starters are back, including Naz Hillsmon, who was part of the team that lost in overtime to Baylor last season in the Sweet 16.
Kim Barnes Arico, Michigan coach, called the ranking an honour and stated that her team was excited to continue the momentum built on last spring.
She said, "We have been able take steps forward and grow a program over the past few seasons, doing new things that were never done before." "Showcasing that consistency year after year is a sign of a great programme, not just a fantastic team."
HEARTLAND HOPES
This year, there are high hopes in Iowa: The Hawkeyes are the No. 9 and Iowa State at No. 12.
Iowa's star guard Caitlin C Clark is leading the charge.
Bill Fennelly, Iowa State coach, has most of his starting five back. This includes Lexi Donarski and Ashley Joens. This is the Cyclones' highest preseason ranking since 2001 when they were eighth.
CONFERENCE WATCH
Five ranked teams are found in the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12. These teams are among the best in the country.
Join No. 4 Maryland, No. 8 Indiana, No. 9 Indiana, No. 9 Iowa and No. 17 Ohio State is the Big Ten.
The Pac-12 has No. No. 3 Stanford is joined in the Pac-12 by No. 10 Oregon, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 20 UCLA and No. 22 Arizona
The ACC is the No. 5 NC State, No. 6 Louisville, No. 16 Florida State, No. 16 Florida State, No. 24 Virginia Tech.
There are four SEC teams with No. 13 Kentucky, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 23 Texas A&M joins top-ranked South Carolina. Four programs are ranked in the Big 12, including No. 7 Baylor's new head coach Nicki Collen. The Bears will be joined by the No. 19 West Virginia, No. 25 Texas
No. 21 South Florida from the American Athletic Conference
TIP-INS
Georgia Tech has been ranked third in the preseason (2009 and 2012).
Virginia Tech joins the 1999 squad ranked 19th in the preseason poll.
