The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team is a top 10 team heading into the 2025-2026 season. In the preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, the Sooners came in at No. 7, one spot lower than where they ranked in the AP Poll.

Jennie Baranczyk and the Sooners are expected to have one of the best teams in college basketball this season, led by AP All-American honorable mention Raegan Beers. Beers made the All-SEC preseason first team as voted on by the coaches. Forward Payton Verhulst was a second-team selection by the SEC coaches.

Oklahoma has a strong balance of veteran leadership and youth. In addition to Beers and Verhulst, they have junior forward, Sahara Williams, sophomore Zya Vann, and true freshman Aaliyah Chavez to spark an offense that’s expected to be one of the best in the nation.

Chavez was the No. 1 player in the nation in the 2025 recruiting class and is expected to play a key role out of the gate with her ability to score off the dribble and get the rest of her team involved. She’s a dynamic player who gives the Sooners an opportunity to improve upon their Sweet 16 finish from 2024-2025.

The defending national champion UConn Huskies took the No. 1 spot in the poll. They’re followed by perennial powerhouse South Carolina. Texas, the preseason pick to finish atop the SEC standings, came in at No. 3, followed by UCLA and LSU to round out the top five.

Here’s a look at the full USA TODAY Sports WBB Coaches Poll

USA TODAY Sports Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll

Preseason results: Published October 23, 2025

Others Receiving Votes

West Virginia 72; Richmond 67; Michigan State 64; Alabama 40; South Dakota State 19; Florida State 15; Princeton 9; Creighton 9; Washington 8; Indiana 7; Stanford 4; James Madison 4; Nebraska 2; South Florida 1; Minnesota 1; George Mason 1; Fairfield 1; California 1;

List Of Voters

The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2025-26 season: Octavia Blue, Kennesaw State; Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Jeff Cammon, Saint Mary’s; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Corry Irvin, Chicago State; Renee Jimenez, UC-Santa Barbara; Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State; Mike Lane, NJIT; Amy Mallon, Drexel; Kristen Mattio, Northern Colorado; Mike McGuire, Radford; Kim McNeill, East Carolina; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Terry Primm, Siena; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Coquese Washington, Rutgers; Trevor Woodruff, Bucknell.

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