A perfect 10: The undefeated championship teams that make up the most 'elite group' in NCAA women's basketball

In 1986, when the Texas Longhorns became the first undefeated team in NCAA women's basketball history, future Naismith Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt predicted such a feat would create an elite class among the best of women's basketball.

"There will be a champion crowned every year, but the undefeated champions will form an elite group," Conradt said.

Indeed, she was correct. Just five programs have accounted for 10 undefeated seasons in NCAA women's basketball history -- UConn (6), Texas, Tennessee, Baylor and South Carolina.

The 2025-26 Longhorns were vying for the program's second undefeated campaign, but they were upset by LSU on Sunday, 70-65. Still, more than halfway through the regular season, three teams have a chance to join these hallowed ranks: Texas Tech (19-0), Vanderbilt (17-0) and UConn (17-0).  Our CBS Sports women's basketball experts weighed in on how long each team can remain perfect this season. 

In honor of these quests for perfection, here's a look at the 10 teams that are part of the most elite club in women's basketball.

1985-86 Texas Longhorns (34-0)

Texas was the first undefeated program, and the achievement comes with some fun historical footnotes. Four years prior, the Longhorns decided to remain with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) instead of jumping ship to the newly-minted NCAA women's basketball division that had poached 17 of the top 20 programs in the sport. Texas lost the final AIAW championship to Rutgers in 1982, while in the NCAA, Louisiana State defeated Cheyney State to win the 1982 NCAA title. 

Flash forward to 1986, and the Longhorns went 34-0 to win their first, and as of yet only, NCAA title, taking down USC in the final, 97-81. Ninety-seven points was an NCAA women's basketball tournament championship game record until 2023, when LSU toppled it with their 102-85 win over Iowa.

The 34-0 Texas team was led by senior forward Fran Harris. The Dallas-native averaged 13.8 points per game and went on to play two seasons in the WNBA, winning the inaugural championships with the Houston Comets. Clarissa Davis, who earned bronze at the 1992 Olympics with USA Basketball and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, was named Most Outstanding Player. 

1994-95 UConn Huskies (35-0)

It's been 31 years since Geno Auriemma led the Huskies to their first of six undefeated runs when they took down Tennessee 70-64 in the championship game.

A younger Geno Auriemma appeared uncharacteristically speechless when asked about going 35-0 en route to his first championship. "I just .. we're 35-0. We won a national championship," he told reporters shortly after the game while gently tossing his head back in disbelief. 

Naismith Hall of Famer and women's basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo was a senior and led the '95 Huskies in scoring. In the championship game, she had 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks, earning her Most Outstanding Player honors. Guard Latina Davis led the Lady Vols with 11 points in the championship game. 

1997-98 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (39-0)

After falling to UConn in 1995, the Lady Vols surged to the top of women's basketball, winning three consecutive NCAA titles, including the 1998 championship when the late Pat Summitt led her team to a 93-75 win over Louisiana Tech for their sixth overall title. The Tennessee trio of Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw and Kellie Harper, née Jolly, all scored 20 or more points in the championship game. 

The Lady Vols averaged 88.8 points per game while holding opponents to 58.7 points in the 1998 season. Despite being a freshman on a team looking to three-peat, Catchings said she felt no pressure. 

"Pat did such a good job of deflecting the pressure and we only focused in between the lines," she said in a 2022 SEC film reliving the '98 season. 

Holdsclaw won her second Most Outstanding Player award in as many years. Holdsclaw and Catchings have since joined the late Pat Summitt in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The Lady Vols won two more NCAA titles under Summitt, in 2007 and 2008.

2001-02 UConn Huskies (39-0)

In what many will argue is the best UConn roster ever assembled, the 2002 Huskies bested Oklahoma in the title game, 82-70.

Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Tamika Williams and Asjha Jones brought home the third NCAA championship and began the Huskies' first three-peat. The Huskies dominated opponents, averaging a 35.4-point margin of victory, which remains an NCAA single-season record.

Cash was named the Most Outstanding Player, with a remarkable 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in the final. 

The 2002 UConn team is one of the most decorated in women's basketball history -- Bird and Cash are already in the Naismith Hall of Fame and Taurasi is sure to join them in her first year of eligibility in 2027. 

However, this next UConn team might be able to challenge the 2002 squad. 

2008-09 UConn Huskies (39-0)

The 2008-09 UConn Huskies, led by women's basketball greats Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles, defeated Louisville 76-54 in the title game to win their sixth NCAA championship and complete their third undefeated season. 

Charles was named the Most Outstanding Player, notching 21 points and 15 rebounds in the final. Moore was also impressive, with 28 points, five rebounds and three blocks. WNBA veteran Tiffany Hayes was a freshman guard on the 2010 team and senior point guard Montgomery, now a host on CBS's "We Need to Talk," was known as the "straw that stirs the drink" for the unblemished Connecticut team.

2009-10 UConn Huskies (39-0)

As the Huskies often do, they made history again in 2010 by going undefeated in back-to-back years, taking down the Stanford Cardinal 53-47 in the final. It was an anemic scoring output for the Huskies, who averaged 81 points per game throughout the season, but perfection doesn't always have to be pretty.

Four of the five starters for UConn were returners from the previous year's squad -- Moore, Charles, Hayes and Kalana Green.

This time, Moore won the Most Outstanding Player award with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the final. Moore, of course, went on to have a legendary WNBA career, leading the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA titles. 

2011-12 Baylor Bears (40-0)

Two years later, Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears became the newest members of the Perfect Season Club when they defeated Notre Dame 80-61 to claim the title.

Griner tallied 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks to capture the Most Outstanding Player award. Griner has since won the 2014 WNBA title with the Phoenix Mercury and Olympic golds in 2016, 2020, and 2024. 

This was the second national championship as a head coach for Kim Mukley, who won the first-ever NCAA title as a player at Louisiana Tech. She first led the Bears to the title in 2005 and did so again in 2019 before winning her fourth title as a head coach in 2023 with the LSU Tigers. 

"The only way I can describe them is with the word chemistry. It was just a fun team to be around. You can coach a lifetime and try to create that kind of chemistry," Mulkey told Sports Illustrated after the Baylor win in 2012. 

"When you have the right kids in the locker room, they do it themselves. And this team did." 

2013-14 UConn Huskies (40-0)

If the 2002 team began the UConn legacy of greatness, the Breanna Stewart era perfected it. The 2014 title was the second of four consecutive national championships for the Stewart-led Huskies, who capped off a perfect season by defeating rivals Notre Dame 79-58.

Stewart won her second Most Outstanding Player award, notching 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the final. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, Stefanie Dolson had 17 points and 16 rebounds and Bria Hartley added 13 points. 

This squad contributed to the front end of a 111-game winning streak.

2015-16 UConn Huskies (38-0)

The fourth and final title of the Stewart era was the 11th in program history. When the Huskies routed Syracuse 82-51 in the championship game, they became the sixth UConn team to achieve perfection.

Stewart was once again dubbed the Most Outstanding Player, with 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. She was surrounded by WNBA talent, though -- fellow starters Morgan Tuck, Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse and Moriah Jefferson, as well as a freshman Napheesa Collier, who came off the bench for six points and five rebounds in 15 minutes.

This was an emotional win for Auriemma. "The longer I'm at this, the more I'm starting to understand it might not happen again," he said. "And you really need to appreciate what these people do every day, to make it work." 

The 2016 title would be the last one for UConn until 2025.

2023-24 South Carolina (38-0)

In what Dawn Staley often classified as an uncomfortably comfortable season as bench boss, her South Carolina Gamecocks team finished the season with a perfect record by defeating Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 to win the third championship in program history. 

Staley was overcome with emotions shortly after the final buzzer. "I didn't want what happened last year to happen this year," Staley said postgame. In 2023, the then-undefeated Gamecocks lost to Clark and the Hawkeyes 77-73 in the national semifinals. 

"I had a little bit of PTSD," Staley said. "I mean, it's heavy, it's heavy. You carry the burden of every single one of your players, all the coaches and staff members that put so much into our team. And it's a heavy load to be undefeated, to finish the job." 

Senior Kamilla Cardoso tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds for the Gamecocks and was named the Most Outstanding Player.