Apr. 9—The “way too early” versions of everyone’s preseason Top 25 dropped in the moments after UCLA won the national title on Sunday. A fool’s errand in this era of college basketball where no one knows — not with any certainty — what rosters for the next season will look like in early April. AP Top 25 voter and Illinois women’s basketball beat writer Joe Vozzelli took a different approach with a look at the top 10 coaches who are set up for success during the 2026-27 season:
1. Cori Close
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UCLA
What Close has done in Westwood is nothing short of remarkable. The Bruins had never been to the Final Four before she arrived. Never. Now, all UCLA has done is go to back-to-back Final Fours — and win the program’s first-ever national title with a thrashing of South Carolina in Sunday’s final. A rise that has followed a similar path to what Dawn Staley did with the Gamecocks. What’s really refreshing about Close is how invested she is in growing the women’s game. That’s not always been the case across the coaching ranks.
2. Dawn Staley
South Carolina
Speaking of Staley, few coaches have been better at developing high school talent (she’s coached two WNBA No. 1 overall picks in A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston). But the Philadelphia native and former Virginia standout point guard has also been good at mining the transfer portal. It’s the perfect version of roster building with Staley leading South Carolina to six consecutive Final Fours and three national titles. It’s the kind of sustained success the Gamecocks never enjoyed before the Staley era began.
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3. Geno Auriemma
Connecticut
OK, Auriemma’s outburst toward Staley was beyond childish (might be time to grow up, coach). It made him look like a really sore loser. But no one can argue with Auriemma’s results — even if the Huskies’ hold over the sport isn’t what it used to be. The fact is the 72-year-old Hall of Fame coach has been to 25 Final Fours and won 12 national title. And he’s coached some of the greatest players the game has ever seen like Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore and Tina Charles, among others.
4. Vic Schaefer
Texas
All Schaefer does is keep stacking top-five recruiting classes. He’s done it again in 2026 with the second-ranked class, according to ESPN. Brihanna Crittendon, Addison Bjorn and Aaliah Spaight are among the headliners. And he’s got the Longhorns back in a place where they’re contending for national championships year after year with Texas likely to make its third straight Final Four next April in Columbus, Ohio. Especially with Madison Booker trying to erase the sore taste of a bad night in a national semifinal loss to UCLA (six points on 3 of 23 shooting).
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5. Lindsay Gottlieb
Southern California
The talent Gottlieb has assembled in Los Angeles is undeniable. So good that the Trojans could cut down the nets next season as national champions. Gottlieb, who is one of the few women’s college basketball coaches who have sat on an NBA bench as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2019-2021, has landed the No. 1 overall player in three of the last four recruiting classes in two-time All-American and one-time National Player of the Year JuJu Watkins (2023), last season’s top freshman Jazzy Davidson (2025) and lastly 6-foot guard Saniyah Hall (2026). Buy stock in USC right now.
6. Kara Lawson
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Duke
Lawson has quietly built the Blue Devils into a consistent bet to go on a deep run in March. The former Tennessee guard has led Duke to a pair of Elite Eights and another Sweet 16. Lawson has made the Blue Devils’ identity based on defense, and that’s won at a high level with Duke knocking at the door of a true breakthrough for a program that has twice finished as the national runner-up.
7. Kim Mulkey
LSU
Mulkey isn’t for everyone. Let’s get that out of the way first. But she has the Tigers as one of the perennial national title contenders. Even if South Carolina and Texas have passed LSU in the SEC pecking order of late. Still, Mulkey has won no fewer than 26 games in any of her five seasons in Baton Rouge, La., including winning it all in 2023.
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8. Shea Ralph
Vanderbilt
Ralph learned from the best playing for Auriemma and then working as an assistant coach on his UConn staff. Those lessons have paid off, with Ralph named the National Coach of the Year after leading the Commodores back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. The first few years in Nashville, Tenn., might have been rough, but Ralph’s Vanderbilt teams have posted 72 wins across the last three seasons.
9. Niele Ivey
Notre Dame
Following Muffet McGraw was no easy task. But Ivey has made the transition seamless after winning a national title as both an Irish player (2001) and assistant coach (2018). Ivey has now been to four Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight, with Notre Dame one win short of the Final Four this past season, thanks in large part to Hannah Hidalgo, before a 70-52 loss to top-seeded UConn in the regional final.
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10. Kim Barnes Arico
Michigan
The Wolverines have a really good starting point as Barnes Arico looks to lead the program to a Final Four. Michigan has only twice been to the Elite Eight — and never further. Olivia Olson, Syla Swords, Mila Holloway and Te’Yala Delfosse will all be juniors for the Wolverines and have a legitimate chance to right the wrong of last month’s Elite Eight exit, a 77-41 loss to Texas, next season.
