By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

South Carolina is starting the season where it finished off last year — ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll.

The Gamecocks received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in the preseason rankings from a national media panel Tuesday.

South Carolina returns four starters from the national championship team that went undefeated last year, capping off the historic season over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the title game.

UConn is No. 2, USC is No. 3 and Texas and UCLA round out the top five.

NC State, which reached the Final Four in March before losing to South Carolina, is No. 9. Duke, which reached the Sweet 16 last season, is No. 11. North Carolina is No. 15. Three other ACC teams are in the top 25: Notre Dame at 6, Louisville at 17 and Florida State at 19.

Top 25

1. South Carolina 745 points (27 first-place votes)

2. UConn 708 (2)

3. USC 697 (1)

4. Texas 641

5. UCLA 628

6. Notre Dame 614

7. LSU 549

8. Iowa State 521

9. North Carolina State 510

10. Oklahoma 441

11. Duke 439

12. Baylor 422

13 Kansas State 390

14. Ohio State 372

15. North Carolina 285

16. West Virginia 277

17. Louisville 250

18. Maryland 227

19. Florida State 191

20. Ole Miss 165

21. Creighton 152

22. Kentucky 108

23. Nebraska 106

24. Alabama 67

25. Indiana 46

Others receiving votes:

Iowa 37, TCU 30, Utah 24, Illinois 23, Stanford 17, Michigan St. 16, Gonzaga 16, Vanderbilt 12, South Dakota St. 7, Miami 4, Tennessee 3, Fairfield 3, Middle Tennessee 3, Georgia Tech 2, Syracuse 1, Princeton 1.

Gamecocks remain on top

South Carolina has been No. 1 in the preseason poll four of the past five years. Last season, they started sixth in the preseason before moving up to No. 1 for the remainder of the year.

“We knew we’d have a target on our backs this season as the reigning champions and this preseason ranking just confirms that,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told the AP. “We appreciate the recognition, but I know our coaching staff and our team are more focused on what we see in the gym every day. And that’s every player working extremely hard to get better individually and as a team.”

UConn received two first-place votes. The Huskies have been ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll for 30 straight years now. Geno Auriemma’s team went through major injury issues last year but the Huskies look to be healthy for the most part to start this season.

Third-ranked USC is led by phenomenal sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and the team added two talented transfers in Kiki Iriafen and Talia von Oelhoffen. The Trojans, who received the other first place vote, have their highest ranking in the preseason since the 1982 and 1983 squads were No. 1 in the opening poll both years.

Texas welcomes back Rori Harmon, who was sidelined for most of last season with an ACL injury. She and Madison Booker give the Longhorns a solid 1-2 punch on offense. UCLA added its own solid group of transfers to a strong team with Charlisse Leger-Walker and Timea Gardiner joining Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice.

Notre Dame, LSU, Iowa State, North Carolina State and Oklahoma rounded out the first 10 teams in the poll. It’s the second time in three seasons that the Cyclones have started this high in the preseason poll. The Sooners haven’t been ranked this high in the inaugural poll of the season since 2010 when they were also 10th.

Welcome back

No. 24 Alabama is making its first appearance in the rankings since the final poll of 1999. The Crimson Tide haven’t been in the preseason poll since 1998 (No. 9). The team has appeared in consecutive NCAA tournaments behind stars Sarah Ashlee Barker and Aaliyah Nye.

“We’re very thankful for the mention, but want to take care of each day,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. “We are excited this season about the group and the way we finished last season.”

End of an era

Stanford is unranked in the preseason for the first time since 1999. Hall of Fame Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer retired in April and was replaced by longtime assistant Kate Paye. It had been the second-longest active preseason streak behind only UConn.

Conference supremacy

New conference additions Texas and Oklahoma give the SEC seven teams in the Top 25. Joining them are South Carolina, LSU, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 22 Kentucky and Alabama. The ACC and Big Ten each have six ranked teams while the Big 12 has four. UConn and Creighton give the Big East two teams.

Source: wralsportsfan.com