Nov 23, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina coach Dawn Staley directs her team on November 23, 2025 against the Queens Royals in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

South Carolina’s NET Rankings Surge Turns Heads

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Dec 22, 2025 1:33 PM ET

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team is used to being at the top of rankings.

Dawn Staley's squad has been a perennial national championship contender for nearly the past decade and has spent a significant amount of time as the country's No. 1 team. While they suffered a defeat relatively early last season against UCLA and also lost to UCLA and Texas during the last regular season, few doubted that they'd be able to right the ship and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

And that's exactly what they did, advancing all the way to the NCAA national championship game. But then they were dominated by Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies team, who haven't lost a game since February 6, 2025, when they lost to Tennessee.

This impressive run has made UConn the obvious No. 1 team in the country. As for Staley's Gamecocks squad, they dropped a bit in rankings after they lost to Texas on November 27.

But South Carolina has rebounded well since that defeat and has won each of their past four games by at least 40 points.

South Carolina Skyrockets Latest NCAA NET Rankings

The seeding for each NCAA Tournament is based on the NET Rankings, which makes this arguably more important than the AP Top 25 rankings. South Carolina has been at No. 6 in the NCAA NET rankings ever since their defeat to Texas last month.

However, the Gamecocks have found themselves in a much better spot in the latest NET Rankings, which were released on December 22. The @MarchMadnessWBB X account posted the new rankings, showing that South Carolina jumped all the way up to No. 2, placing them right behind the UConn Huskies.

NET RANKINGS UPDATE

The #NCAAWBB NET Rankings are used by the Selection Committee and updated daily. pic.twitter.com/jVZy6ocMto
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) December 22, 2025

As for the rest of the top 10, the Texas Longhorns are at No. 3 behind South Carolina (despite beating them earlier this year), then UCLA and LSU round out the top five. Michigan is No. 6, then Kentucky at No. 7, then TCU at No. 8, Maryland at No. 9, and Michigan State is the final team in the top 10.

There's still surely plenty of movement to be had in the NET rankings as the season progresses, especially once conference play begins and top conferences like the SEC begin competing against each other.

But the fact that Dawn Staley's squad jumped so many spots bodes well for them at this point in the year, and suggests that they're positioned to be a top seed in next year's NCAA tournament.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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