South Carolina women No. 1 in ESPN’s ‘way too early’ Top 25 for new season
The South Carolina women’s basketball team finished the season as the unanimous No. 1 and is expected to start there next season.
ESPN has the Gamecocks at the top spot in its Way Too Early Top 25 poll released Wednesday.
Stanford, Mississippi State, UConn and Baylor rounded out the poll’s top five.
“Just as the Gamecocks were strong contenders for the NCAA title this year, they’ll be the same next season,” ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel wrote.
The Gamecocks went 32-1 and finished ranked No. 1 in final Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls. USC won the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships.
They finished the season at No. 1 in the RPI, which included eight wins over RPI top-25 teams and another eight against RPI top-50 squads. South Carolina’s 13 wins over nationally ranked opponents were more than any other team in the country.
The Gamecocks would have been a No. 1 seed and a favorite to win the national title before the coronavirus canceled the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
USC will lose seniors Tyasha Harris and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan but return a strong core of players, including Aliyah Boston. The freshman averaged 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds a game last season. The Gamecocks also return Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Destanni Henderson and LeLe Grissett.
Destiny Littleton and Eniya Russell will be two key additions to next year’s team. Littleton transferred from Texas and had to sit out this season because of NCAA rules. Russell is a five-star prospect and ranked No. 43 in the country by HoopGurlz.
