Gamecocks number one again

This will be South Carolina's fifth consecutive season as the top-ranked team in women's college basketball. South Carolina earned the top spot in the first preseason top-25 poll by the Associated Press, the organization revealed Tuesday.

The Gamecocks received 23 of 31 possible first-place votes, dominating the competition. UConn finished second, receiving six votes. The only other team to receive first-place votes was USC, which earned two.

South Carolina's placement at No. 1 shouldn't be too surprising. A run of near-unprecedented success has characterized the team under head coach Dawn Staley. South Carolina's success in the NCAA Tournament continued last season, as it made it all the way to the final, where it lost to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament final. For the second consecutive season, South Carolina lost in the championship game.

South Carolina returns six letterwinners from last season and two more from the season before, along with the No. 2 signing class in the country.

Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards, both All-America forwards, are returning letter winners. Another returning letterwinner is senior guard Tessa Johnson, who was named to the Second Team All-SEC last season.

Last season, Edwards led the team in scoring with 19.2 points per game on 57.1 percent shooting. A career-high scorer, rebounder, and assist average, Johnson ranked fourth in the country last season in 3-point field goal percentage (44.8 percent).

Fifth-year forward Ashlyn Watkins, who ranks among the top shot blockers in program history, is also returning to the team after taking last season off to recover from her January 2025 ACL surgery.