2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Season	2026–27
NCAA Tournament	2027
Preseason No. 1	South Carolina
NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
← 2025–26

Two human polls make up the 2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls.

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
Italics		Number of first place votes
(#–#)		Win-loss record
?		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

AP Poll

The women's basketball poll began during the 1976–77 season, and was initially compiled by Mel Greenberg and published by The Philadelphia Inquirer.^[1] At first, it was a poll of coaches conducted via telephone, where coaches identified top teams and a list of the Top 20 teams was produced. The contributors continued to be coaches until 1994, when the AP took over administration of the poll from Greenberg, and switched to a panel of writers.^[2]

	Preseason Oct 20	Week 2 Nov 9	Week 3 Nov 16	Week 4 Nov 23	Week 5 Nov 30	Week 6 Dec 7	Week 7 Dec 14	Week 8 Dec 21	Week 9 Dec 28	Week 10 Jan 4	Week 11 Jan 11	Week 12 Jan 18	Week 13 Jan 25	Week 14 Feb 1	Week 15 Feb 8	Week 16 Feb 15	Week 17 Feb 22	Week 18 Mar 1	Week 19 Mar 8	Week 20 Mar 15	Final Apr 5
1.	South Carolina (23)																					1.
2.	UConn (6)																					2.
3.	USC (2)																					3.
4.	Duke																					4.
5.	Michigan																					5.
6.	Texas																					6.
7.	Louisville																					7.
8.	Vanderbilt																					8.
9.	LSU																					9.
10.	Iowa																					10.
11.	UCLA																					11.
12.	North Carolina																					12.
13.	Notre Dame																					13.
14.	Kentucky																					14.
15.	TCU																					15.
16.	Washington																					16.
17.	Minnesota																					17.
18.	Ohio State																					18.
19.	Ole Miss																					19.
20.	Maryland																					20.
21.	Oklahoma																					21.
22.	Oklahoma State																					22.
23.	Illinois																					23.
24.	West Virginia																					24.
25.	NC State																					25.
	Preseason Oct 20	Week 2 Nov 9	Week 3 Nov 16	Week 4 Nov 23	Week 5 Nov 30	Week 6 Dec 7	Week 7 Dec 14	Week 8 Dec 21	Week 9 Dec 28	Week 10 Jan 4	Week 11 Jan 11	Week 12 Jan 18	Week 13 Jan 25	Week 14 Feb 1	Week 15 Feb 8	Week 16 Feb 15	Week 17 Feb 22	Week 18 Mar 1	Week 19 Mar 8	Week 20 Mar 15	Final Apr 5
		None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None

USA Today Coaches Poll

The Coaches Poll is the second oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll. It is compiled by a rotating group of 31 college Division I head coaches. The Poll operates by Borda count. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25. Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the highest points is then ranked No. 1; second highest is ranked No. 2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first place votes noted the quantity next to their name. The maximum points a single team can earn is 775.

	Preseason Oct 20	Week 2 Nov 10	Week 3 Nov 17	Week 4 Nov 24	Week 5 Dec 1	Week 6 Dec 8	Week 7 Dec 15	Week 8 Dec 22	Week 9 Dec 29	Week 10 Jan 5	Week 11 Jan 12	Week 12 Jan 18	Week 13 Jan 25	Week 14 Feb 1	Week 15 Feb 8	Week 16 Feb 15	Week 17 Feb 22	Week 18 Mar 1	Week 19 Mar 8	Week 20 Mar 15	Final Apr 6
1.	South Carolina (26)																					1.
2.	UConn (6)																					2.
3.	USC																					3.
4.	Duke																					4.
5.	Michigan																					5.
6.	Texas																					6.
7.	Louisville																					7.
8.	LSU																					8.
9.	Vanderbilt																					9.
10.	Iowa																					10.
11.	North Carolina																					11.
12.	UCLA																					12.
13.	Notre Dame																					13.
14.	Kentucky																					14.
15.	Washington																					15.
16.	TCU																					16.
17.	Maryland																					17.
18.	Minnesota																					18.
19.	Oklahoma State																					19.
20.	Ohio State																					20.
21.	Oklahoma																					21.
22.	Illinois																					22.
23.	Ole Miss																					23.
24.	West Virginia																					24.
25.	NC State																					25.
	Preseason Oct 20	Week 2 Nov 10	Week 3 Nov 17	Week 4 Nov 24	Week 5 Dec 1	Week 6 Dec 8	Week 7 Dec 15	Week 8 Dec 22	Week 9 Dec 29	Week 10 Jan 5	Week 11 Jan 12	Week 12 Jan 18	Week 13 Jan 25	Week 14 Feb 1	Week 15 Feb 8	Week 16 Feb 15	Week 17 Feb 22	Week 18 Mar 1	Week 19 Mar 8	Week 20 Mar 15	Final Apr 6
		None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None

References

↑ "50 years of the women's basketball poll: From scrappy beginnings to a force in the sport". AP News. 2025-10-09. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
↑ "Mel Greenberg Class of 2004/2005 – Sports Writer". Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.

[1] "50 years of the women's basketball poll: From scrappy beginnings to a force in the sport". AP News. 2025-10-09. Retrieved 2026-04-19.

[Writers-2] "Mel Greenberg Class of 2004/2005 – Sports Writer". Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.

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