Preseason No. 1 · Big East
UConn Huskies
What to expect: The 2025 national champs reload rather than rebuild. Geno Auriemma brings back the best player in the country and a backcourt deep enough to absorb the losses of Azzi Fudd and Serah Williams. This is the title favorite until someone knocks them off.
Key returner: F Sarah Strong, the reigning national player of the year — a two-way junior who anchors the defense and does a little of everything on offense.
Backcourt & additions: senior guard KK Arnold, USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel, Ashlynn Shade and sharpshooter Allie Ziebell give Auriemma a versatile, experienced perimeter. Center Jana El Alfy holds the paint.
Outlook: Final Four or bust. With Strong healthy, UConn is the team to beat and a clear No. 1 seed projection.
Preseason No. 2 · SEC
Texas Longhorns
What to expect: Vic Schaefer's seventh Longhorns team (Moody Center, SEC) is built around a bona fide national player-of-the-year candidate and a top-tier recruiting haul. The question is replacing a lot of experience in the paint and, for the first time since 2020, finding a new starting point guard.
Key returner: G/F Madison Booker, a senior star and the centerpiece of everything Texas does. F Breya Cunningham anchors the frontcourt.
New pieces: Bryanna Preston steps in at the point after two years behind Rori Harmon. The incoming class is loaded, headlined by top-10 guard Addison Bjorn and Amalia Holguin.
Outlook: A legitimate Final Four contender. If Preston settles the point and the young bigs grow up fast, Texas can win it all.
Preseason No. 6 · Big Ten
USC Trojans
What to expect: The most intriguing team in the country, because its best player is back. JuJu Watkins tore her ACL in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and missed all of 2025-26; she is now practicing again, with Lindsay Gottlieb saying she is "stronger, faster, in her best shape ever."
Key returner: G JuJu Watkins, a senior and one of the sport's biggest stars when healthy — the swing factor for the entire national picture.
Supporting cast: sophomore Jazzy Davidson, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year (17.9 ppg, 5.6 reb, 4.1 ast) who carried the Trojans to 18-14 without Watkins, plus five-star newcomer Saniyah Hall.
Outlook: Ceiling is a national title; the floor depends entirely on Watkins' knee and how fast a talented group gels. Highest variance of our five.
Preseason No. 9 · Big Ten
Iowa Hawkeyes
What to expect: Jan Jensen's third season (Carver-Hawkeye, Big Ten) is a frontcourt makeover. Hannah Stuelke is out of eligibility and off to the pros, so the shape of the team changes — more spacing, more perimeter size around a dominant center.
Key returner: C Ava Heiden, one of the best post players in the country last season and the clear anchor at the five.
Big recruit: McKenna Woliczko, a 6-2 wing rated No. 6 in the national class — a stretch forward who can play on the perimeter and open the floor for Heiden, giving Iowa its most intriguing frontcourt pairing since the Clark-Stuelke years.
Outlook: A top-10 team and a Sweet 16-to-Elite Eight ceiling. Breaking back into the Final Four depends on the new pieces maturing.
Preseason No. 19 · Big Ten
Minnesota Golden Gophers
What to expect: The best story of the group. Dawn Plitzuweit's fourth team (Williams Arena, Big Ten) is coming off the program's first Sweet 16 since 2005 and returns three of five starters, then went shopping in the portal for size.
Key returners: G/F Tori McKinney, a second-team All-Big Ten pick, plus Grace Grocholski and the rest of the top scoring core.
Transfers: the headliner is Penn State center Gracie Merkle (19.2 ppg, 8.2 reb, 72.5% from the floor), one of the highest-rated bigs in the portal; Northwestern's Tayla Thomas adds frontcourt versatility.
Outlook: A rising program with a likely return to the NCAA Tournament. A second straight Sweet 16 would mark real staying power.
And our dark horse ↓
One team nobody's crowning — yet.
Our sleeper has the highest ceiling of anyone outside the usual blue bloods — a backcourt that could carry it somewhere the program hasn't been since 1993. Jump to the pick →