The UConn Huskies are starting the 2025–26 women’s college basketball season right back where they finished last spring — on top of the sport.

The defending national champions were voted No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll released Tuesday, earning 27 of 31 first-place votes. South Carolina, the team UConn defeated for the national title, was ranked second and received the remaining four top votes. UCLA, Texas, and LSU rounded out the top five.
UConn Reloads for Another Run
Even after losing Paige Bueckers to the WNBA, UConn remains the gold standard under Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma. This is the 13th time since 1995 that the Huskies have opened the season atop the AP poll — and their first since 2017.
“Paige was a once-in-a-generation kind of competitor,” Auriemma said. “You don’t replace her — you evolve past her influence. Azzi and Sarah understand what it takes now.”
Graduate guard Azzi Fudd steps into the leadership role Bueckers once held, anchoring a lineup that still carries championship DNA. Sophomore forward Sarah Strong, last season’s WBCA Freshman of the Year, returns as one of the best young players in the country after averaging double figures and leading the team with 8.9 rebounds per game.
“We learned from the best last year,” Strong said. “The work doesn’t change — the expectations stay the same. We’re defending something special.”
Fudd, who Auriemma has described as “the voice and example Paige left behind,” welcomes the pressure that comes with leading the top-ranked team.
“This team doesn’t want to live in Paige’s shadow; we want to honor it by being the best version of us,” Fudd said.
Power in the Paint
The Huskies’ frontcourt looks imposing thanks to Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams, who averaged 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds last season and was named First-Team All–Big Ten. She joins Strong to form what ESPN called “the final piece that makes UConn the favorite to repeat.”
Auriemma’s depth is equally strong, featuring guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade, plus versatile reserves Jana El Alfy and Kayleigh Heckel, a transfer from USC. UConn also landed a top-10 recruiting class highlighted by 6-foot-2 Ecuadorian forward Blanca Quiñonez and 5-foot-9 guard Kelis Fischer.
Auriemma described the year ahead as “a reset with championship standards intact,” emphasizing growth and maturity over dominance.
“Hopefully it’s a little bit of a confidence builder and not, ‘Oh my god!’” he said. “We talk about how we’re not out here to prove that we’re defending national champions or that we have to beat everybody by 40. We don’t want to get caught in that trap.”
UConn Women’s Basketball debuts as No. 1 overall in the AP Top 25 rankings.
— UConn Huskies | UConnReport.com (@UConnOn3) October 14, 2025
➡️ https://t.co/QaJCBcoHFh pic.twitter.com/fhpWvfOe7p
Familiar Faces at the Top
The top four teams — UConn, South Carolina, UCLA, and Texas — mirror last season’s final rankings. It marks the first time in the 50-year history of the women’s AP poll that the same four programs have opened a new season in identical order to the final poll from the previous year.
The SEC once again dominates the landscape with eight ranked teams, five of which are in the top 10. The Big Ten follows with six schools in the poll, including Michigan at No. 13, while the ACC and Big 12 have five and four, respectively.
Historic Firsts for Vanderbilt and Richmond
Two programs made notable history in this year’s poll. Vanderbilt, ranked No. 19, is appearing in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2012. Sophomore sensation Mikayla Blakes returns after averaging 23.3 points and twice surpassing the 50-point mark as a freshman.
Richmond, tied at No. 24, earned its first ranking in school history and became the first Atlantic-10 team to crack the Top 25 since 2015. The Spiders return senior leaders Maggie Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom, and added Tierra Simon from Saint Louis to bolster the frontcourt.
“It says a lot about where the program is right now,” Richmond coach Aaron Roussell said. “I don’t think it was ever a goal — we just wanted to keep putting this program on the map.”
Azzi is already cookin’ from deep 👩🍳🔥#NCAAWBB x 🎥 NBC Sports Boston / @UConnWBB pic.twitter.com/ivosh5kOtr
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) October 13, 2025
The Reigning Standard
UConn’s pursuit of another national title begins with a brutal early schedule, featuring matchups against Louisville, Ohio State, and Michigan in November. Auriemma knows that the challenge of staying at the top requires more than talent.
“It’s got to come with great leadership and it’s got to come with a little bit of luck and people rising to the occasion,” he said. “Those four times that we didn’t win, we didn’t get lucky or we didn’t stay healthy.”
With Fudd’s leadership, Strong’s dominance, and Williams’ arrival, the Huskies enter the season as the clear benchmark for women’s basketball — not just defending a title, but redefining what sustained excellence looks like.
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