The 2027 women’s college basketball national title picture already has a clear top tier, and it’s packed with familiar powers and rising stars. Returning All-Americans, high-end transfers and blue-chip recruiting classes have given a small group of teams the kind of talent that can carry a championship run.
South Carolina sits near the front of that pack. Joyce Edwards is the centerpiece, and she enters the season as one of the National Player of the Year favorites after emerging as one of college basketball’s dominant forwards. Dawn Staley also gets back Tessa Johnson, Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins, with both coming off injuries, while Texas transfer Jordan Lee adds another layer to the roster.
UConn has the kind of profile that always keeps it in the conversation, and Sarah Strong is the reason why. As long as she is in a Huskies uniform, they belong in the title hunt.
Strong has already become one of the best players in the country, and she’ll have plenty of help around her in KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Kayleigh Heckel and rising sophomore Blanca Quinonez. That mix of talent and championship pedigree is hard to match.
Texas has its own star at the top in Madison Booker, who is one of the nation’s premier scorers and another National Player of the Year candidate. The Longhorns have some production to replace after losing Rori Harmon to the draft and Lee and Aaliyah Crump to the transfer portal, so Bryanna Preston and incoming freshman Aaliah Spaight will be asked to help fill the gap. Even so, Vic Schaefer has built a roster with Final Four potential again.
LSU also belongs in the mix. Mikaylah Williams gives the Tigers one of the country’s elite guards, and Kim Mulkey has plenty of talent around her with former top recruits ZaKiyah Johnson, Grace Knox and Bella Hines.
MiLaysia Fulwiley could add another burst of playmaking if she returns as expected. For LSU, the issue has never been talent.
The question is whether it can put everything together consistently enough to reach its ceiling.
USC might have the highest ceiling of all if the pieces fall into place. A healthy JuJu Watkins changes everything for the Trojans and immediately pushes them back into championship territory.
She’ll be joined by Jazzy Davidson, the nation’s top recruit from the previous class, incoming No. 1 recruit Saniyah Hall, Kennedy Smith and highly regarded international forwards Sitaya Fagan and Sara Okeke. That’s a loaded group if it clicks.
Michigan is another team with real upside, built around the outstanding 2024 recruiting class of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords, Mila Holloway and Te'Yala Delfosse. By the time the 2027 season arrives, all four will be upperclassmen, giving Kim Barnes Arico one of the most experienced young cores in the country. If the Wolverines can find another frontcourt scorer, they have a shot at their first Final Four since 2022.
And then there’s UCLA, the defending champion that is impossible to ignore even after a major roster shakeup. The Bruins have to replace National Player of the Year Lauren Betts, along with Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and several other key pieces from the title team. Still, Sienna Betts, Lauren’s younger sister, is positioned for a bigger role, and transfers Addy Brown and Elina Aarnisalo lead a strong group of newcomers.
In Other News...
South Carolina Tight End Battle Could Shape Kendal Briles New Offense
Kendal Briles is bringing a new look to South Carolinas offense, and the tight end group looks set to be one of the more interesting places to watch as that change takes hold. The Gamecocks are expected to lean more heavily on the position, which puts a little extra attention on a room that could end up mattering more than it has in recent seasons.
Brady Hunt has emerged as the likely lead option, giving South Carolina a clear starting point as the staff sorts out how the rest of the rotation will work. Beyond him, the competition stays open enough to keep things unsettled, with Mo Brown and Mike Tyler in the mix for the next spot and freshman Caden Ramsey along with senior Max Drag also in position to contribute as the offense takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Preseason Ranking Says Everything About Expectations Right Now
The first preseason coaches poll of 2026 gave a clear snapshot of where things stand in the Palmetto State rivalry: Clemson landed at No. 23, while South Carolina came in unranked but still received votes. For both programs, it is a reminder of how much the conversation has shifted after disappointing 2025 seasons, with expectations now a lot more muted than either fan base is used to hearing in August.
For Clemson, the ranking is especially notable because it is the lowest under Dabo Swinney since 2011, a sign of just how much ground the Tigers have to make back. South Carolinas place outside the top 25 does not exactly tell the whole story either, since the Gamecocks are still on the radar, but the bigger question is whether they can turn those votes into something more meaningful once the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Still Has One Big Receiver Question For 2026
South Carolinas passing game never quite produced the clear-cut breakout wideout it was looking for last season, leaving the touches spread around and the conversation heading into 2026 centered on who can separate from the pack. Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has already pointed to a handful of options who could shape that answer, with Nyck Harbor, Jayden Sellers, D.J. Black, Mazeo Bennett, NiTareon Tuggle and newcomer Sequel Patterson all in the mix as the Gamecocks try to find a more defined pecking order.
Patterson adds a little extra intrigue because he arrived on campus with some catching up to do. He missed spring practice while finishing his basketball and track seasons, so summer workouts have become his chance to get on the same page as the rest of the receiver room and close the gap before the real evaluation begins. For a group still searching for a true headliner, how quickly he adjusts is part of the bigger question South Carolina needs answered. [Read more 🡒]