Kentucky women’s basketball earned the No. 22 slot in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, a spot higher than previously projected in the way-too-early top 25 rankings for the 2024-25 season.
After a season where the Wildcats won less than half their games, going 4-12 in conference play, there’s already emphasis on the ability of this new look team to reach new heights in the city of Lexington.
The Kenny Brooks era at Kentucky is in full affect, but this new roster will have to test itself time after time this season.
The SEC featured six other ranked teams along with the Wildcats, ahead by one team over the Big Ten, Big 12 and the ACC for the most ranked teams per conference.
At the top, coming off of a national championship and a 38-0 season, the South Carolina Gamecocks earned the No. 1 spot.
Led by head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks are looking to capitalize on the return of four starters and their fourth No. 1 ranking in the past five seasons.
Along with South Carolina and Kentucky, the SEC featured No. 4 Texas, No. 7 LSU, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 24 Alabama.
As far as Kentucky is concerned, adding two new ranked opponents this season with Texas and Oklahoma certainly didn’t make the conference any easier to play in.
Texas’ Madison Booker, coming off of a season where she averaged 16.5 points per game, was voted as one of the Preseason Players of the Year, alongside LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow.
These players, alongside Oklahoma’s center Raegan Beers, Alabama guard Sarah Ashlee Barker and South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao join Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore on the preseason All-SEC First Team.
Beers will test the toughness of Kentucky’s strength down low, averaging a double-double last year with 17.5 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. She also shot the second highest from the field in the country at 66.4%.
Despite the loss of Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith, the No. 7 LSU Tigers still remain a threat, expecting both Morrow and Johnson to be the elite scorers and playmakers they’ve been in previous seasons.
No. 20 Ole Miss will look to get huge usage out of Madison Scott, similar to the Wildcats’ situation with Amoore. Scott made the preseason All-SEC Second Team.
The Wildcats’ newly-loaded roster, which features only two players from last year’s team, is arguably in the most loaded conference in the nation. Receiving a ranking at all, and being regarded as a top 25 team in women’s basketball, shows the trust in Brooks’ ability to lead a team.
Kentucky won’t play its first conference opponent until Jan. 2, giving the team a two-month period to adjust and build chemistry.
After finishing 14th in the SEC last season, high hopes are set for Cats fans to see a new chapter in the book of success.
A full list of the rankings can be found below:
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- UConn Huskies
- USC Trojans
- Texas Longhorns
- UCLA Bruins
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- LSU Tigers
- Iowa State Cyclones
- NC State Wolfpack
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Duke Blue Devils
- Baylor Bears
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Louisville Cardinals
- Maryland Terrapins
- Florida State Seminoles
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Creighton Bluejays
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Indiana Hoosiers
Receiving votes: Iowa (37), TCU (30), Utah (24), Illinois (23), Stanford (17), Michigan State (16), Gonzaga (16), Vanderbilt (12), South Dakota State (7), Miami (Fl) (4), Tennessee (3), Fairfield (3), Middle Tennessee (3), Georgia Tech (2), Syracuse (1), Princeton (1).
