South Carolina women's basketball remains in No. 2 spot in AP poll, earns an additional first-place vote

South Carolina women’s basketball is 4-0. The Gamecocks whipped the rival Clemson Tigers, 65-37, on Tuesday. They then traveled to Los Angeles, where they handled the No.8 Southern Cal Trojans, 69-52, in the first half of the “Real SC” series (the two USCs will face off in Greenville next season).

The Gamecocks were No. 2 in the Associated Press’ preseason top 25 and held that ranking in the first update to those rankings last week.

On Monday, the AP released its week three rankings. As expected, South Carolina held tight to their spot in the second chair. After owning four first-place votes in the preseason and two heading into last week, USC earned a third first-place vote this week. The UConn Huskies are No. 1 and now hold 28 first-place votes.

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You can check out the entire AP top 25 below (overall first-place votes in parentheses):

1. UConn Huskies (28)
2. South Carolina Gamecocks (3)
3. UCLA Bruins (1)
4. Texas Longhorns
5. LSU Tigers
6. Michigan Wolverines
7. Baylor Bears
8. Oklahoma Sooners
9. Maryland Terrapins
10. TCU Horned Frogs
11. Southern Cal Trojans
12. Iowa State Cyclones
13. Ole Miss Rebels
14. North Carolina Tar Heels
15. Tennessee Lady Volunteers
16. NC State Wolfpack
17. Vanderbilt Commodores
18. Oklahoma State Cowboys
19. Iowa Hawkeyes
20. Kentucky Wildcats
21. Louisville Cardinals
22. Michigan State Spartans
23. West Virginia Mountaineers
24. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
25. Washington Huskies

Also receiving votes: Duke Blue Devils, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Stanford Cardinal, South Dakota State Jackrabbits, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Richmond Spiders, Princeton Tigers, Fairfield Stags

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South Carolina has not been below seventh in the AP poll at any point since the preseason poll ahead of the 2019-2020 season. The Gamecocks finished that year as the No. 1 team in the country before the Covid-19 pandemic canceled the NCAA Tournament.

The Gamecocks’ current No. 2 spot is also first in the SEC. USC is one of eight total Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 25.

Carolina plays 10 games against teams from this week’s poll during the 2025-2026 regular season.

The 2025-2026 South Carolina women’s basketball schedule includes games against 10 currently ranked opponents. The Gamecocks already beat the Southern Cal Trojans (No. 11) and has games on the schedule against the Louisville Cardinals (No. 21), Texas Longhorns (No. 4), Oklahoma Sooners (No. 8), Vanderbilt Commodores (No. 17), Tennessee Lady Volunteers (No. 15), LSU Tigers (No. 5), Ole Miss Rebels (No. 13), and Kentucky Wildcats (No. 20). The schedule also could include a game against the UCLA Bruins (No. 3) at the Players Era Championship. If not, USC will face the Texas Longhorns (No. 4) in that game. The “also receiving votes” Duke Blue Devils are on the schedule, as well.

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This week, the Gamecocks will play twice again, returning home for two contests against Charlotte-area schools that played last week.

First, on Wednesday, Colonial Life Arena will host the Winthrop Eagles at 7:00 p.m. SEC Network will handle the broadcast, while the ESPN app streams the on-court action. The Rock Hill-based school holds a 2-2 overall record, including a win over Queens on Saturday.

Then, on Sunday, the Queens Royals will drive down from Charlotte to Columbia for a 2:00 p.m. That game will not be on traditional television but will stream on SEC Network+. Queens has a 2-2 record but has lost two in a row, including Saturday’s matchup against Winthrop.

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!