South Carolina tops our 2024-25 women’s college basketball power rankings

Congrats to South Carolina, which was the No. 1 team in all but one edition of this season’s rankings. The Gamecocks proved they were the best team in college basketball for all of 2023-24, just like last year, only this time they were able to cap their remarkable regular season with a national championship. South Carolina’s success was the primary validation of these power rankings, though the last poll did feature 15 of the Sweet 16 teams in the top 18 (apologies to Duke).

In case you’re interested in how well my first power rankings of 2023-24 held up, take a gander! Oregon State really came out of nowhere.

As we look ahead to 2024-25, a reminder that this is an indicator of how teams stand right now, though WNBA Draft decisions and transfers — keep an eye on Oregon State and Washington State following the dissolution of the Pac-12 — could substantially change the makeup of rosters. I’ve priced in some player improvement, particularly for younger players with high pedigree, but otherwise tried to assess these squads based on how the players finished this season. Let me know in the comments if you think I’m overlooking anyone.

Almost famous: Kentucky, Michigan State, Vanderbilt

Why South Carolina over UConn?

South Carolina is losing Kamilla Cardoso, but otherwise brings back the entirety of the roster that went undefeated to win the national championship. Neither Ashlyn Watkins nor Sania Feagin individually has the skillset of Cardoso, but they can approximate it together with Watkins’ defensive versatility and Feagin’s touch in the post. Plus, the Gamecocks are bringing in Joyce Edwards to add to the post rotation, leaving them as deep as ever. Other than Edwards, every player will have at least one year of experience in her role. South Carolina will be deep and veteran in 2024-25 with the institutional knowledge of how to win. The Gamecocks are a no-brainer No. 1.

GO DEEPER

A perfect championship season with a new roster? Count Dawn Staley among the greats

The toughest contender for the Gamecocks will be UConn, as Paige Bueckers returns, along with four rising sophomores (including redshirt sophomore Ice Brady) who should improve dramatically after experiencing high-stakes games in their first season. The Huskies are also welcoming the No. 1 recruit in the country, Sarah Strong, to supplement their frontcourt after the graduation of Aaliyah Edwards. The question with UConn, as it persistently has been in recent years, is health. If Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Jana El Alfy can be meaningful contributors, then the Huskies are as deep as any team in the country, but it’s hard to expect that; even if everyone does play, South Carolina still has the chemistry advantage.

What will the SEC look like?

An eternal bugaboo of mine in the two years of writing these rankings has been finding a third or fourth SEC team to consistently place in the top 25. South Carolina and LSU are obvious entrants, but the cannibalism in the next…