The preseason edition of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll for college women’s basketball was released on Thursday, and much to the chagrin of the Gator Nation, Florida failed to receive any votes.
Last season, the Lady Gators finished 16-16 overall with just a 5-11 record in Southeastern Conference play. Entering the SEC Tournament as a No. 11 seed, they managed to win the first two games — against the 14th-seeded Missouri Tigers and sixth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores — but succame to the third-seeded Ole Miss Rebels in the quarterfinals.
Florida was bounced from the Women’s Basketball Invitational in the first round by the St. John’s Red Storm in the O’Connell Center to end the campaign.
SEC teams in preseason Coaches Poll
The conference is represented by seven schools among the top 25, headlined by the reigning national champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, in the top perch, followed by the newly added Texas Longhorns at No. 4 and Oklahoma Sooners at No. 10. The LSU Tigers are sandwiched between the two neophytes at No. 7.
Ole Miss logs in at No. 21 while the Kentucky Wildcats are on their tail at No. 22 and the Alabama Crimson Tide wraps things up at No. 25. The Tennessee Volunteers (32) and Auburn Tigers (5) also earned votes.
Full preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School (Last Year’s Record) | Points | First Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (38-0) | 770 | 27 |
| 2 | Connecticut (33-6) | 734 | 3 |
| 3 | Southern California (29-6) | 716 | 1 |
| 4 | Texas (33-5) | 670 | – |
| 5 | Notre Dame (28-7) | 629 | – |
| 6 | UCLA (27-7) | 612 | – |
| 7 | LSU (31-6) | 567 | – |
| 8 | North Carolina State (31-7) | 533 | – |
| 9 | Iowa State (21-12) | 487 | – |
| 10 | Oklahoma (23-10) | 457 | – |
| 11 | Duke (22-12) | 449 | – |
| 12 | Baylor (26-8) | 434 | – |
| 13 | Kansas State (26-8) | 407 | – |
| 14 | Ohio State (26-6) | 405 | – |
| 15 | West Virginia (25-8) | 285 | – |
| 16 | North Carolina (20-13) | 263 | – |
| 17 | Louisville (24-10) | 261 | – |
| 18 | Maryland (19-14) | 254 | – |
| 19 | Florida State (23-11) | 177 | – |
| 20 | Creighton (26-6) | 150 | – |
| 21 | Mississippi (24-9) | 135 | – |
| 22 | Kentucky (12-20) | 106 | – |
| 23 | Nebraska (23-12) | 92 | – |
| 24 | Indiana (26-6) | 75 | – |
| 25 | Alabama (24-10) | 57 | – |
Others Receiving Votes
Gonzaga 49; TCU 37; Tennessee 32; Stanford 32; Iowa 28; Utah 25; South Dakota State 22; Oregon State 21; Princeton 18; Colorado 15; Virginia Tech 10; Illinois 9; Middle Tennessee 8; Fairfield 7; Richmond 6; California 6; Auburn 5; UNLV 4; Miami (FL) 4; FGCU 4; South Florida 3; George Mason 2; Saint Joseph’s 1; Michigan 1; Cleveland State 1
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
