The Oklahoma Sooners finished the 2024-2025 season in the Sweet 16, falling to the eventual national champion, UConn Huskies. It was a strong year for Jennie Baranczyk’s crew in their first season in the SEC, but OU ran into one of the greatest to ever play the game in Paige Bueckers.
Though they couldn’t pull off the upset and advance to the Elite 8, the Sooners picked up several big-time wins along the way, including Top 25 victories over Louisville, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky. The Sooners knocked off Iowa in the NCAA Tournament in dominating fashion to advance to the Sweet 16.
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With their strong finish to the season, a run that included a stretch where the Oklahoma Sooners won nine games in a row spanning the end of the regular season and the SEC Tournament, OU landed just outside the top 10 in the final USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
The Sooners were the fourth highest ranked SEC team coming in behind South Carolina at No. 2, No. 4 Texas, and No. 8 LSU. The Sooners just missed out on the top 10, one spot behind North Carolina State. The Wolfpack missed out on the Elite 8 as well, losing to LSU in the Sweet 16.
For the Sooners, it was a season that could propel them to greater heights moving forward. OU will bring back four of five starters, including Raegan Beers, Peyton Verhulst, and Sahara Williams. The Sooners will also be add the No. 1 high school prospect in America, Aaliyah Chavez, who chose the Sooners over Texas, South Carolina, Texas Tech, and LSU.
Though it wasn’t quite the season the Sooners would have envisioned for themselves, their success in 2024-2025 helped set the bar higher moving forward.
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Here’s a look at the final USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
UConn Huskies |
37-3 |
|
2 |
South Carolina Gamecocks |
35-4 |
|
3 |
UCLA Bruins |
34-3 |
|
4 |
Texas Longhorns |
35-4 |
|
5 |
USC Trojans |
31-4 |
|
6 |
TCU Horned Frogs |
34-4 |
|
7 |
Duke Blue Devils |
29-8 |
|
8 |
LSU Tigers |
31-6 |
|
9 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
28-6 |
|
10 |
North Carolina State Wolfpack |
28-7 |
|
11 |
Oklahoma Sooners |
27-8 |
|
12 |
North Carolina Tar Heels |
29-8 |
|
13 |
Kentucky Wildcats |
23-8 |
|
14 |
Maryland Terrapins |
25-8 |
|
15 |
Kansas State Wildcats |
28-8 |
|
16 |
Tennessee Volunteers |
24-10 |
|
17 |
Ohio State Buckeyes |
26-7 |
|
18 |
Baylor Bears |
28-8 |
|
19 |
West Virginia Mountaineers |
25-8 |
|
20 |
Ole Miss Rebels |
22-11 |
|
21 |
Alabama Crimson Tide |
24-9 |
|
22 |
Oklahoma State Cowgirls |
25-7 |
|
23 |
South Dakota State Jackrabbits |
30-4 |
|
24 |
Florida State Seminoles |
24-9 |
|
25 |
Creighton Blue Jays |
26-7 |
Richmond 22; Michigan State 13; Iowa 11; Michigan 8; Louisville 6; Minnesota 5; FGCU 4; James Madison 3; Indiana 2; George Mason 2; Iowa State 1; Columbia 1;
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 2024-25 season: Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens University; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton Del Rosario, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Cindy Fisher, San Diego; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Johnnie Harris, Auburn; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; 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; Lynn Milligan, Rider; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Missy Traversi, Army; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Way Veney, Central Connecticut State; Coquese Washington, Rutgers.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where did OU land in final USA TODAY Sports WBB Coaches Poll?
