The 2026-27 South Carolina women's basketball season is nearly here. The expectations are high for head coach Dawn Staley's squad, as she enters her 19th season as the Gamecocks' head coach.
So it should come as no surprise that her team has taken the top No. 1 spot in the preseason AP Poll that was released on Tuesday. This marks the fifth time in the last seven seasons that South Carolina has started as the top-ranked team in the land.
Behind South Carolina is Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies at No. 2, with the USC Trojans checking in at No. 3. Rounding out the top-five includes Duke and Michigan at No. 4 and 5, respectively. Here's a look at the full poll, with first place votes in parenthesis:
- South Carolina (23)
- UConn (6)
- USC (2)
- Duke
- Michigan
- Texas
- Louisville
- Vanderbilt
- LSU
- Iowa
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Notre Dame
- Kentucky
- TCU
- Washington
- Minnesota
- Ohio State
- Ole Miss
- Maryland
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Illinois
- West Virginia
- NC State
"It's a gift and curse," Staley said via ESPN of her team's No. 1 preseason ranking. "I tend to not look at the number, but our players do. They look at it and feel like there's a sense of respect to being No. 1. They also know that it's pressure packed with the type of non-conference schedule we have, we're going to be challenged. If we stand there at No. 1 at the end of our nonconference season that's something to be truly to be proud of."
As you can see, the Gamecocks will face several teams ranked high in the preseason poll. Several of the matchups come early in the season, as well. South Carolina opens with the No. 20 team in Maryland in Paris on Nov. 2. The Gamecocks also play No. 12 UNC on Nov. 8, and No. 3 USC on Nov. 15. South Carolina will also face No. 2 UConn on Nov. 24 and No. 4 Duke on Dec. 3. Several SEC teams found themselves ranked as well, including LSU, Texas, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
South Carolina men's basketball to face several teams ranked in the preseason Top-25
South Carolina was ranked as the preseason No. 1 for three consecutive seasons from 2020-2022, and did so again ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The Gamecocks return veterans in Tessa Johnson, Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards, but also welcomed newcomers in Texas transfer Jordan Lee, and former five-star freshmen Oliviyah Edwards and Jerzy Robinson.
We'll see how South Carolina does navigating a tough schedule at the start of the year before SEC play begins down the line.
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