The defending national champion UConn Huskies head into this offseason with some amount of uncertainty, as the team will need to figure out how to replace school legend Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers was a key figure in getting UConn its first championship in a decade, leading the team to the title and cementing her legacy in Storrs, but one player doesn't make a team, right?
Right!
UConn will have two key pieces back to help the team make another run at the title: Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong.
Injuries have dampened some of the excitement around Fudd's career, but when she's on the floor, she's a deadly shooting threat who is capable of taking over a game.
Then there's Strong, who exploded onto the scene as a freshman this past season. Strong was a second-team All-American as a freshman and was a huge, huge part of the championship run. Strong has a chance to be the next great Huskies star with Bueckers gone.
But what does that mean when it comes to projecting the preseason ranking for UConn? Well, in my Way-too-early women's college basketball Top 25 earlier in April, I predicted the returning champions would be the No. 1 team next season, but will the rankings reflect that?
Where will UConn be ranked in the preseason poll?
Honestly, it's a toss-up. Because here's the thing:
A Paige Bueckers-less UConn has a lower ceiling than a Paige Bueckers-led UConn, but Strong and Fudd are real good. Like, that's a championship caliber duo.
And the last time we saw UConn on the basketball court, they absolutely walloped South Carolina to capture the championship.
However, the Gamecocks have a great shot to start the year ranked No. 1 because of one major offseason addition: Ta'Niya Latson.
Latson was the nation's leading scorer last season at Florida State, but hit the portal this offseason, presumably in search of a championship to cap off her career.
Now, Latson's addition wasn't the only major news for the Gamecocks this offseason. MiLaysia Fulwiley entered the portal. It's hard to imagine how those two would have played together, but if it had happened, Dawn Staley would have been the perfect coach to figure it out, and the Gamecocks would deservingly enter the season ranked No. 1.
But without Fulwiley? Well, let's just say that I expect both teams will earn votes as the No. 1 team. And heck, UCLA's going to get some preseason votes as well.
My best guess here is that this offseason has shifted things just enough that the defending champions don't open next season ranked at No. 1, but starting off as the No. 2 team isn't the end of the world.
In fact, UConn wasn't ranked No. 1 in a single poll this season until the final post-tournament poll put the champions in that spot. So whether the team is No. 1 to open the 2025-26 season or not, the Huskies should be viewed as a viable title threat, even with Bueckers now playing for the WNBA's Dallas Wings.