Top 4 unchanged in poll; Notre Dame exits after long run

Field Level Media|published: Mon 5th January, 13:07 2026

NCAA Womens Basketball: Florida State at Connecticut

Nov 9, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) and guard Kk Arnold (2) react with forward Sarah Strong (21) after a play against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

UConn, Texas, South Carolina and UCLA all remained atop the Associated Press Top 25 women's college basketball poll that was updated Monday for the first time in two weeks.

UConn (15-0) won three times over the holidays as the poll took a one-week break. The Huskies improved to 6-0 in the Big East Conference with an easy 84-48 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday.

Texas (17-0) received four of the 28 first-place votes, while South Carolina (15-1) and UCLA (14-1) were lurking near the top of the poll.

The only change in the top five saw LSU plummet to No. 12 following a pair of losses over the past two weeks. Oklahoma (14-1) rose three spots to No. 5.

Kentucky (15-1), Vanderbilt (15-0), Maryland (15-1), Michigan (11-2) and Louisville (14-3) round out the top 10. Vanderbilt remained undefeated with a 65-61 victory at home over LSU on Sunday, the team's first victory over a ranked team this season.

Kentucky and Vanderbilt both rose five spots in the current poll, while Michigan State (14-1) rose nine spots to No. 15 and Baylor (13-3) rose six spots to No. 16.

Notre Dame (10-4) fell out of the poll for the first time since November of 2021, ending a run of 85 consecutive appearances in the Top 25. UConn has 615 consecutive appearances, while South Carolina is at 257 straight weeks.

The full Top 25:

1. UConn (15-0)

2. Texas (17-0)

3. South Carolina (15-1)

4. UCLA (14-1)

5. Oklahoma (14-1)

6. Kentucky (15-1)

7. Vanderbilt (15-0)

8. Maryland (15-1)

9. Michigan (11-2)

10. Louisville (14-3)

11. Iowa State (14-1)