Women’s basketball post-portal top 25: Who’s the new No. 1? South Carolina, UConn or USC?

Women’s basketball post-portal top 25: Who’s the new No. 1? South Carolina, UConn or USC?

The idea of releasing a top 25 the day after the national championship game is always fraught, but especially so this year, since the transfer portal had yet to open when the order was decided. The moment those rankings were published, the entire exercise went up in flames.

Texas, the No. 1 team two weeks ago, had a massive talent exodus, losing Jordan Lee, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Crump as transfers. The Longhorns weren’t the only ones. Georgia and Florida (which finished just outside the top 25) lost significant players after coaching changes. Meanwhile, other programs have pounced on the available players from Texas, Iowa State and Tennessee, filling their rosters with players looking for a fresh start. The new top team is one that retained all of its underclassmen and even poached a starting guard from a conference rival.

With the portal closed, this is a good time to reassess next season’s top 25.

Also considered: Kansas State, Michigan State, Arizona State

Yet another new No. 1

South Carolina was fourth two weeks ago, but the Gamecocks brought in Jordan Lee while teams ahead of them either treaded water … or were Texas. The 2026 runners-up can put out a starting five of Maddy McDaniel, Tessa Johnson, Jordan Lee, Joyce Edwards and Ashlyn Watkins with Chloe Kitts, Agot Makeer, Alicia Tournebize, Ayla McDowell and four top-30 freshmen off the bench. (The rich got richer when third-ranked Oliviyah Edwards flipped from Tennessee to its SEC rival.) It’s a return to the South Carolina squads of yore with double-digit rotation depth. After a season when coach Dawn Staley had to let her players work through mistakes, she once again has to manage the egos and minutes of a stacked roster. But it’s one that gives the Gamecocks coaching staff plenty of options.

Here come the ‘portalistas’

The queen and king of the transfer portal — Ole Miss’ Yolett McPhee-McCuin and TCU’s Mark Campbell — have their teams back in the top 25, as expected. The Rebels weren’t returning much beyond Sira Thienou but have since added LSU’s Jada Richard (who started 34 games for the Tigers) and Talaysia Cooper and Jaida Civil from Tennessee. That gives Ole Miss a solid combination of experience, playmaking and downhill attacking. McPhee-McCuin is adept at integrating transfers. She can also point to her recent experience reviving the draft stock of Cotie McMahon as proof of concept for what Cooper is capable of in her final college season.

The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, have finally acquired some young talent. Campbell has traditionally gone after grad transfers in his time at TCU, but Lanie Grant, Lara Somfai and Jadyn Wooten have multiple years of eligibility remaining, as does returning Clara Silva. Campbell is a clever offensive mind and his systems have done well to maximize TCU’s talent, even if the concepts are relatively simple. Now, the Horned Frogs can get a little more creative with the prospect of continuity. Even after losing the defense and leadership of Donovyn Hunter, TCU has plenty of talent, especially in the shot-creation department.

UCLA’s championship glow in portal

Bruins coach Cori Close said that the portal would be easier after winning the national championship, and they did about as well as possible reconstructing their perimeter rotation after graduating four guards. Donovyn Hunter is one of the few remaining veterans of the Pac-12, which has been a UCLA specialty, and she played with Timea Gardiner at Oregon State. She is a veteran ballhandler, competing in three consecutive Elite Eights, and is an excellent defender. Elina Aarnisalo also has familiarity with the Bruins, spending her first college season in Westwood. The boomerang transfer played more minutes with Gardiner than any other teammate as a freshman at UCLA, and the two will reunite in 2026-27. Aarnisalo brings some shooting and shot creation to the roster.

But the real coup of the portal season, the one that bumped up the Bruins closer to the top 10, is Addy Brown. Brown is a great rebounder and playmaker, specifically for bigs, and Sienna Betts will benefit from Brown’s passing. Brown also spaces the floor, allowing UCLA to toggle her between the three and four positions depending on the lineup. She is exactly the connective piece the Bruins needed on the wing with their starting guards and bigs already in place. A rotation of Betts, Gardiner, Brown, Hunter, Aarnisalo, Amanda Muse and Lena Bilic has promise.

Impact frontcourt transfers

The biggest name to change teams this offseason was Audi Crooks, forming a new dynamic duo in Oklahoma State alongside Liv McGill. The Cowgirls’ roster isn’t as deep as when they made the second round in the 2026 tournament after nine players transferred, but it’s hard to argue with that top-end talent. Crooks gets to stay in the Big 12 as a senior, and Oklahoma State cracks the top 25.

Minnesota had its most successful season in two decades in 2025-26 but was a little light on the interior and needed to replace the production of Sophie Hart. Enter Gracie Merkle, a 6-foot-6 finishing machine who has twice led the NCAA in field-goal percentage (70.2 percent as a freshman and 72.5 percent last season). Merkle is an offensive hub who will make life much easier for Grace Grocholski, Tori McKinney and Mara Braun. Merkle also provides a matchup problem for smaller Big Ten teams like Michigan and Maryland, while giving the Gophers size against the likes of Ava Heiden and Sienna Betts. If Merkle can hold up defensively, it’s a pretty perfect fit, thus pushing Minnesota into the top 10.

Another Big Ten team found its missing center when Tilda Trygger joined Washington. The Huskies have perimeter talent in Sayvia Sellers and Avery Howell, and sophomore Brynn McGaughy is primed for a bigger role, but she isn’t quite a center. Trygger is. She has good hands and can play in space and will balance Washington’s rotation.

Another battle in ACC

Duke and Louisville had two down-to-the-wire battles for the ACC regular-season and tournament crowns in 2026, and both teams have reloaded for an encore in 2027 after graduating several key players. The Blue Devils brought in Aaliyah Crump to fortify their backcourt, and the Cardinals had one of the nation’s best portal classes, adding Zam Jones (NC State), Carys Baker (Virginia Tech) and Deniya Prawl (Tennessee). Louisville should have a rotation that runs at least seven deep again, with the transfers joining Taj Roberts, Mackenly Randolph, Imari Berry and Elif Istanbulluoglu.

But the drama in the ACC is heightened by Notre Dame’s potential return to contention. After witnessing Hannah Hidalgo outplay Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge and Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes in back-to-back tournament games, I am bullish on the Irish’s potential, even if they lose every non-Hidalgo rotation player this offseason, including KK Bransford. Hidalgo can carry a group of star freshmen, including four top-50 recruits, plus redshirt freshman Leah Macy, who was ranked 26th in her class by ESPN. The additions of Madison St. Rose (Princeton) and Anaya Hardy (Louisville) give Notre Dame just enough veteran depth to make it dangerous in the ACC and nationally.

The continuity path

Amid all the roster turnover, it’s almost confusing to see two teams that are static from year-to-year. Illinois retained its entire roster after winning one NCAA Tournament game, and Berry Wallace and Cearah Parchment each have at least two seasons left with the Illini. Coach Shauna Green has led an excellent offense at Illinois; perhaps an extra year in the system will help the Illini produce an above average defense and get into the Big Ten’s upper tier.

In the same conference, Ohio State also returns all of its eligible players after losing Chance Gray to the WNBA Draft. Sisters Jaloni and Kennedy Cambridge, Kylee Kitts and Elsa Lemmilä should keep the Buckeyes in the top 20, though getting past the first weekend of the tournament remains an existential challenge.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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