On Sunday, the 2025-2026 women’s college basketball season came to an end in the worst possible fashion for USC fans: with rival UCLA winning the national championship. With this season in the books, however, we can now shift our attention to 2026-2027.
Following Sunday’s game, USA Today released its way-too-early women’s basketball top 25 for the 2026-2027 season. Not only did USC make the top 25, but the Trojans topped it, coming in at No. 1. Here is what writer Mitchell Northam had to say about USC:
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“Yes, a team that lost in the second round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament tops our list,” Northam wrote. “In case you forgot, JuJu Watkins is set to return to the court for the Trojans next season. Before injuring her knee in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Watkins was a two-time All-American, had led USC to a pair of Elite Eights and was the National Player of the Year. Watkins will become the bus driver once again for Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans, who are set to bring back National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson and All-Big Ten Defense selection Kennedy Smith. USC is also bringing in the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Saniyah Hall. With those four players, you can pencil in USC to be a Final Four contender.”
Next season should be the best roster that the Women of Troy have had in several decades. As we know, however, basketball games are not played on paper. It will be up to Lindsay Gottlieb and company to make the most of the team’s talent and finally make it to the program’s first Final Four since 1986.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC ranks No. 1 in USA Today early 2027 women’s basketball rankings
