The first week of 2026 gave the AP Top 25 poll a major shake with multiple ranked teams falling in the first few days of the new year. UConn remains at the top with 28 first-place votes, which puts the Huskies just four votes away from the first No. 1 unanimous decision of the season.
Texas survived an upset scare against now-No. 18 Ole Miss on Sunday to stay at No. 2. The Longhorns are 17-0, their best start since the 1985-86 season.
South Carolina stayed at No. 3 and UCLA kept its No. 4 ranking following a 34-point victory over now-No. 21 USC. Meanwhile, LSU fell from No. 5 to No. 12 after losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt, which helped both teams enter the top 10.
This is the first time a Kim Mulkey-led team has started conference play 0-2. Things won’t get any easier for the Tigers as they will host Texas next weekend. As for Vanderbilt, the Commodores moved up to No. 7 after their first win over a top-five opponent since the 2008-09 season. They pulled it off thanks to a 32-point performance by Mikayla Blakes.
LSU was not the only team with a shaky start to the new year. Elsewhere in the top 10, Michigan, Maryland, TCU and Iowa State suffered losses. Player of the Year candidate Audi Crooks registered a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Baylor, but it was noteworthy that Baylor figured out how to keep her scoreless in the fourth quarter. Before this game, no other team had really managed to stop Crooks.
Notre Dame dropped out of the top 25 as Niele Ivey’s six-player rotation suffered back-to-back defeats. The Fighting Irish took an overtime loss to Georgia Tech on Jan. 1 and then a 14-point loss to Duke on Sunday even with Hannah Hidalgo flirting with a triple-double.
In the Big Ten, the Iowa Hawkeyes stayed at No. 14 following an 86-76 victory over Nebraska. They join the Bruins as the only two undefeated teams in conference play, which could make their meeting in early February a very interesting one.
There are only four women’s college basketball teams still undefeated, UConn, Texas, Vanderbilt and Texas Tech — whose 16-0 record is the best start in program history.
AP Women’s Basketball Top 25
| 1 | UConn | 15-0 | 796 (28) | 1 |
| 2 | Texas | 17-0 | 772 (4) | 2 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 15-1 | 725 | 3 |
| 4 | UCLA | 14-1 | 715 | 4 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 14-1 | 654 | 8 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 15-1 | 625 | 11 |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 15-0 | 621 | 12 |
| 8 | Maryland | 15-1 | 537 | 7 |
| 8 | Michigan | 11-2 | 817 | 6 |
| 10 | Louisville | 14-3 | 485 | 13 |
| 11 | Iowa State | 14-1 | 462 | 10 |
| 12 | LSU | 14-2 | 456 | 5 |
| 13 | TCU | 14-1 | 454 | 8 |
| 14 | Iowa | 12-2 | 403 | 14 |
| 15 | Michigan State | 14-1 | 280 | 24 |
| 16 | Baylor | 13-3 | 278 | 22 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 16-0 | 263 | 21 |
| 18 | Ole Miss | 14-3 | 243 | 15 |
| 19 | Ohio State | 13-2 | 237 | 19 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 10-3 | 162 | 23 |
| 21 | USC | 10-4 | 150 | 17 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 13-4 | 129 | 16 |
| 23 | Washington | 12-2 | 117 | 23 |
| 24 | Princeton | 13-1 | 91 | 25 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 13-2 | 65 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Illinois 58, Notre Dame 27, Stanford 25, NC State 22, Alabama 13, West Virginia 9, Georgia 5, Duke 3, Oklahoma St. 1.
