South Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the women's AP Top 25 preseason poll along with UConn, USC, Texas and UCLA.

South Carolina is starting the season where it ended last year — ranked No. 1 in AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll.

The Gamecocks received 27 of 30 first-place votes in preseason rankings from a national media panel on Tuesday. South Carolina returns four starters from the national championship team that went undefeated last year, capping a historic season. Caitlin Clark and Iowa In the title game.

UConn is No. 2, USC is No. 3, and Texas and UCLA round out the top five

South Carolina has been ranked No. 4 in preseason polls the past five years. Last season, they started sixth in the preseason before falling to No. 1 for the remainder of the year.

“We knew we had a target on our back this season because the defending champions and these preseason rankings confirmed that,” South Carolina coach Don Staley told the AP. “We appreciate the recognition, but I know our coaching staff and our team are more focused on what we see in the gym every day. And every player is working extremely hard to get better individually and as a team.”

UConn received two first-place votes. The Huskies have been ranked in the top 10 in preseason polls for 30 consecutive years. Geno Auriemma's team went Major injury issues Last year but the Huskies look to be healthy for the most part to start this season.

Third-ranked USC is led by phenomenal sophomore guard Juju Watkins and the team adds two talented transfers in Kiki Iriafen and Talia von Welhofen. The Trojans, who received the other first-place vote, have their highest preseason ranking since the 1982 and 1983 squads were both No. 1 in the inaugural poll.

Texas welcomes back Rory Harmon, who missed most of last season with an ACL injury. He and Madison Booker give the Longhorns a 1-2 punch on offense. UCLA adds its own solid group of transfers to a strong team, with Lauren Bates and Kiki Rice joining Charlize Leger-Walker and Tyma Gardiner.

Notre Dame, LSU, Iowa State, North Carolina State and Oklahoma rounded out the top 10 teams in the poll. It's the second time in three seasons the Cyclones have started so high in the preseason polls. The Sooners haven't been ranked this high in the season-opening poll since 2010 when they were also 10th.

welcome back

No. 24 Alabama makes its first appearance in the rankings since the final poll in 1999. The Crimson Tide have not been in the preseason poll since 1998 (No. 9). The team has made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances behind stars Sarah Ashley Barker and Alia Nye.

“We're very grateful for the mention, but we want to take care of each day,” Alabama coach Christy Curry said. “We are excited about the group this season and the way we finished last season.”

End of an era

Stanford is unranked in the preseason for the first time since 1999. Hall of Fame Cardinals coach Tara VanDerve Retired in April and was replaced by longtime assistant Kate Pye. It was the second-longest active preseason streak behind only UConn.

Conference dominance

New conference additions Texas and Oklahoma give the SEC top 25 seven teams. Joining them are South Carolina, LSU, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 22 Kentucky and Alabama. The ACC and Big Ten each have six ranked teams, although Iowa — the national runner-up the past two years — is not ranked as the Hawkeyes now prepare for a season without Kaitlyn Clark in the WNBA. The Big 12 has four teams in the top 25 with UConn and Creighton giving the Big East two.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. sign up here. AP Women's College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball