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AP Top 25 women's basketball ballot breakdown: What is Iowa without Caitlin Clark?

Hannah Stuelke stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
Hannah Stuelke stands for a photo during Iowa Women’s Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.

The WNBA Finals are nearing the finish line, which means the women’s college basketball season is just around the corner.

While stars like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have graduated to the pros, this remains a sport filled with big names and interesting storylines. ACC Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo returns to Notre Dame, joined in the backcourt by former All-American Olivia Miles who is now healthy. National Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins is primed for an encore at USC, where she’s joined by talented transfers Kiki Iriafen and Talia Von Oelhoffen. At UConn, Paige Bueckers is back and the Huskies bolstered their roster with the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Sarah Strong.

And then, down at South Carolina, the reigning national champs bring back Te-Hina Paopao, Tessa Johnson, Milaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts and other exceptional players as Dawn Staley’s side attempts to repeat.

A week ago, I turned in my preseason ballot for the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, which was announced in full on Tuesday.

Here are the 25 best teams in the country, according to me, as we enter the season:

Will Fairfield be good again?

Fairfield freshman Meghan Andersen is a road runner, not a forward or a post. The Stags face Indiana in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (Photo: Olivia Frzop via Fairfield Athletics)
Fairfield freshman Meghan Andersen is a road runner, not a forward or a post. The Stags face Indiana in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (Photo: Olivia Frzop via Fairfield Athletics)

25. Fairfield

24. Gonzaga

23. Stanford

22. Miami

21. Louisville

I wrote about the Stags a handful of times last season, how they have a unique position group name, how they made a clever resume in an attempt to crack the AP Top 25 Poll, and how they won 29 straight games.

Fairfield had its best season in program history last year, going 31-2. The Stags only lost two games, falling on the road at Vanderbilt, and then in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Indiana. After declining interest from some other major programs in the offseason and signing a three-year contract extension, head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis is back and so are four starters and 91% of the Stags’ scoring from last season, including Janelle Brown and Meghan Andersen.

We’ll found out pretty earlier how legit Fairfield is when it comes to competing on the national level, with non-conference games against Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Villanova.

What is Iowa without Caitlin Clark?

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 26: Associate Head Coach Jan Jensen of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks on after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 97-83 in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena on March 26, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 26: Associate Head Coach Jan Jensen of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks on after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 97-83 in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena on March 26, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

20. Iowa

19. Baylor

18. West Virginia

17. Creighton

16. Kansas State

It feels like a lot of folks are overlooking and dismissing the Hawkeyes simply because Caitlin Clark is no long draining logo 3s for them. And indeed, that’s a major loss, obviously. And maybe Iowa isn’t a Final Four contender this season, but they should still be a solid team in the Big Ten capable of playing in and winning meaningful games in March.

The Hawkeyes return two significant contributors in Sydney Affolter and Hannah Stuelke – the latter of whom, if you remember, scored 47 points on 17-of-20 shooting in a win last season over Penn State. And then Iowa went and got one of the best scorers out of the portal in Villanova’s Lucy Olsen, who was fourth in the nation in scoring with 23.3 points per game last season.

In this new era of Iowa basketball under Jan Jensen, Iowa will be just fine.

How fast will Kentucky bounce back under Kenny Brooks?

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Kenny Brooks hypes up the crowd during Big Blue Madness on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky Wildcats head coach Kenny Brooks hypes up the crowd during Big Blue Madness on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 at Rupp Arena.

15. Ohio State

14. Kentucky

13. LSU

12. Maryland

11. Duke

After spending nearly all of his life along the I-81 corridor in southwest Virginia, Kenny Brooks left Virginia Tech for Kentucky and the riches of the SEC.

Yes, the money that the SEC gets from its college football television contracts trickles into other sports, evidenced by Kentucky handing Brooks a contract with an annual average salary of $1.5 million, making him the third highest-paid coach in the SEC and the seventh highest-paid coach in the country. Even if Brooks had won a national championship with the Hokies, he was never going to garner that kind of dough in Blacksburg.

When Brooks left the ACC for Kentucky, he brought the player he calls his “mini-me” – firecracker Australian point guard Georgia Amoore – with him. She was an All-American last season, left the Hokies as their all-time leader in assists, and has already been named to the SEC’s Preseason First Team. Toss in other transfers, like Charlotte’s Dazia Lawrence, Oregon State’s Dominika Paurova, Teonni Key of North Carolina, and another Virginia Tech standout in Clara Strack, and Big Blue is looking pretty good on-paper.

The post-Deja Kelly era begins for North Carolina

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Head coach Courtney Banghart of the North Carolina Tar Heels coaches against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the fourth quarter during the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Head coach Courtney Banghart of the North Carolina Tar Heels coaches against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the fourth quarter during the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

10. N.C. State

9. North Carolina

8. Iowa State

7. UCLA

6. Oklahoma

Six players transferred out of Chapel Hill in the offseason, and none generated more headlines than Deja Kelly’s decision to spend her fifth season of eligibility at Oregon. But Kelly leaving UNC might’ve truly been the best thing for both sides.

Kelly continues to be the focal point of an offense for a team that probably needs to make the NCAA Tournament to save Kelly Graves’ job. Oregon is also a place deeply connected to Nike, likely a plus for the business-minded Kelly, and Graves has a history of developing WNBA talent, which is also a stage she wants to play on.

For North Carolina, consider this: In games last season in which Kelly had at least three assists and attempted 14 shots or less, UNC was 9-1 – a record that includes impressive wins over N.C. State, Duke and Louisville. When Kelly had two assists or less and took 15 shots or more, the Tar Heels were 1-7. Simply put, when the ball moved, UNC won. When it didn’t and Kelly took the majority of the shots, the Tar Heels lost.

On paper, this looks like a team that will have a by-committee point guard as they brought in fifth-year guard Grace Townsend from Richmond to pair with Kayla McPherson and Reniya Kelly, and freshman Lanie Grant. Additionally, now healthy for the Tar Heels is former five-star recruit Ciera Toomey, a long and versatile forward who can score inside and out and should complement returning All-ACC Swiss-Army Knife Alyssa Ustby, sharpshooter Lexi Donarski, and an imposing center in Maria Gakdeng.

What does South Carolina do at center?

Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Bree Hall (center) reacts during the trophy presentation after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Bree Hall (center) reacts during the trophy presentation after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

5. Texas

4. Notre Dame

3. UConn

2. USC

1. South Carolina

The Gamecocks deserve the benefit of the doubt here. They steamrolled their way to an undefeated season and national title last year and return a significant number of contributors, from defensive ace Bree Hall to floor general Raven Johnson.

But last season, that team revolved around Kamilla Cardoso, who led the Gamecocks in scoring, rebounding and blocks. She was the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four. In the national semifinals against N.C. State, Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins combining for 30 points and 31 rebounds were a big reason why the Gamecocks won.

With Cardoso in the WNBA and Watkins’ situation unclear, questions remain in the front court for the Gamecocks. Dawn Staley’s best teams – from A’ja Wilson to Aliyah Boston to Cardoso – have had dominant and skilled centers. Who fills that void? Is it 6-foot-5 freshman Adhel Tac? Is it Sania Feagin, Sakima Walker or Maryam Dauda? Is it highly touted freshman Joyce Edwards? Or is it a combination of a few or all of them?

A rematch against N.C. State in Charlotte on Nov. 10 should give us a good indication of the answer.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: AP Top 25 women's basketball ballot breakdown: What is Iowa without Caitlin Clark?