Women's college basketball rankings: UCLA finishes atop AP Top 25 for first time, UConn No. 3

The UCLA Bruins won the program's first ever NCAA Tournament championship with a dominant victory over South Carolina and officially wrapped up the 2025-26 women's basketball season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP Top 25. The team will look much different next year as every single player who scored in the championship game is graduating, but Cori Close should have no problem recruiting new talent as the program has been on the rise in recent years.

Fittingly, UCLA's first ever No. 1 ranking happened in November 2024 right after a win over South Carolina. The Gamecocks are No. 2, while previously undefeated UConn fell to No. 3 after holding the top spot all season. Texas and Duke round out the top five.

No. 19 Virginia had not been ranked since 2011, but the Cavaliers became one of the best stories of the tournament as a true Cinderella. Paris Clark, Kymora Johnson and the rest of the Cavaliers shocked everyone in March by becoming the first team to compete in the First Four and make it all the way to the Sweet 16. UVA, however, fired coach Amaka Agugua‑Hamilton recently after an internal investigation.

Notre Dame was another team that finished its season on a more positive note. The Fighting Irish had been struggling in a rebuilding year, but Hannah Hidalgo and her teammates peaked at the right time. They made it all the way to the Elite Eight after stunning Mikayla Blakes and the rest of the Vanderbilt Commodores in the Sweet 16 round in Fort Worth. The Fighting Irish climbed 13 points to finish the season as a top-10 team at No. 9.

Final AP Women's Basketball Top 25

Others receiving votes: Texas Tech 22, Princeton 13, Oklahoma St. 11, Illinois 7, Georgia 7, Fairfield 5, Columbia 5, Marshall 3, Villanova 3, Oregon 2, Rhode Island 2, NC State 2, Syracuse 1