The Athletic’s 2026-2027 too-early top 25 women’s basketball rankings‎

UCLA is the national champion, but for the first time in my way-too-early power rankings for The Athletic, UCLA will not be the top-ranked team heading into the 2026-27 season. With all due respect to Cori Close and the success of the Bruins program over the last few years, the reality is that six seniors are leaving. It was touch-and-go whether to rank the Bruins at all. Part of the problem is that these rankings are being conducted as the transfer portal opens on Monday. We can imagine that UC