Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) dribbles against Connecticut Huskies center Jana El Alfy (8) during the third quarter in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

UCLA Women’s Basketball Lands Elite Ranking in Impressive Top 25

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Connor Moreno | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 6:00 AM ET

The UCLA Bruins women's basketball season is closer than ever, as indicated by the first official preseason AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll, which was released on Tuesday.

Behind staunch returners like Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez, and impact transfers like Gianna Kneepkens, Cori Close's Bruins are among the teams with the highest ceiling in the sport coming off a Final Four appearance last year.

UCLA is No. 3 in the nation in the first official AP poll, sitting behind UConn and South Carolina. The Huskies got 27 votes for first place, and the Gamecocks got four. They were the only two teams to receive first-place votes.

The full Top 25 is below:

UConn
South Carolina
UCLA
Texas
LSU
Oklahoma
Duke
Tennessee
NC State
Maryland
North Carolina
Ole Miss
Michigan
Iowa State
Notre Dame
Baylor
TCU
USC
Vanderbilt
Louisville
Iowa
Oklahoma State
Michigan State
Kentucky
Richmond

Others receiving votes:

Washington (79)
Ohio State (46)
West Virginia (17)
Princeton (17)
Minnesota (15)
Kansas State (15)
Kansas (7)
Stanford (3)
South Dakota State (3)
Illinois (2)
Nebraska (2)
Columbia (2)

Many of UCLA's Big Ten opponents are ranked.

UCLA Reveals 25-26 Big Ten Women's Basketball Schedule

Basketball is almost back in Westwood, and it just got one step closer and the UCLA Bruins 2025-26 Big Ten Conference schedule for women's basketball was revealed.

The Bruins are coming off a dominant season, where they made the Final Four and lost to the eventual national champion UConn Huskies.

UCLA is on the verge of revenge after bolstering its roster. Here's the schedule:

Sunday, Dec. 7 – Oregon
Sunday, Dec. 28 - @ Ohio State
Wednesday, Dec. 31 - @ Penn State
Saturday, Jan. 3 – USC
Sunday, Jan. 11 – @ Nebraska
Wednesday, Jan. 14 – @ Minnesota

Sunday, Jan. 18 – Maryland
Wednesday, Jan. 21 – Purdue
Sunday, Jan. 25 – @ Northwestern
Wednesday, Jan. 28 – @ Illinois
Sunday, Feb. 1 – Iowa
Wednesday, Feb. 4 – Rutgers
Sunday, Feb. 8 – @ Michigan
Wednesday, Feb. 11 – @ Michigan State
Sunday, Feb. 15 – Indiana
Thursday, Feb. 19 – Washington
Sunday, Feb. 22 – Wisconsin
Saturday, March 1 – @ USC
March 4-8 – 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament