Preseason women’s basketball coaches poll

South Carolina will open the year right where it ended last season: at No. 1, near unanimously, in the USA TODAY Sports rankings.

The preseason USA TODAY Sports college women’s basketball poll is out, and South Carolina will open right where it ended last season – at No. 1.

While South Carolina has one national championship under coach Dawn Staley, this is the first top preseason ranking in program history, getting all but one of the 32 first- place votes from the panel of coaches. The Gamecocks, who swept the Southeastern Conference regular- season and tournament titles a season ago, were also voted No. 1 in the final rankings when the NCAA Tournament was called off in March because of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

The preseason voting for second was much closer. Stanford will start in the No. 2 position, claiming the remaining first- place vote and finishing eight points ahead of No. 3 Connecticut. With Baylor and Louisville in the next two spots, five conferences are represented in the top five.

The power leagues dominate the poll, with the SEC, Pac- 12 and Big Ten entering the season with five ranked teams each. The Pac- 12 has four in the top 10, while No. 11 Maryland heads the Big Ten contingent. The Atlantic Coast Conference features four ranked squads, with two each from the Big 12 and Big East.

One team missing from the Top 25 is Tennessee. It’s the first time the Lady Vols have not been in the preseason poll.

TYASHA HARRIS BY JEREMY BREVARD/ USA TODAY SPORTS

JEREMY BREVARD/ USA TODAY SPORTS South Carolina players celebrate after defeating Mississippi State to win the 2020 SEC women’s basketball tournament before the coronavirus pandemic ended the season early in mid- March.