Expect powerhouses South Carolina, Stanford to again challenge for national title

Star reporter PJ Brown has a vote in the Associated Press’ Top-25 poll. Here’s how her first poll of the 2022-23 season looks:

1. South Carolina: After picking up nearly every award last season and leading her team to the title, Aliyah Boston is back for her senior year.

2. Stanford: Returners Haley Jones, Cameron Brink and Fran Belibi join a top-5 recruiting class, and Stanford is on track to reach the Final Four once again.

3. Texas: The Longhorns added three experienced transfers in Shaylee Gonzales (BYU), Taylor Jones (Oregon State) and Sonya Morris (DePaul) to one of the top sophomore classes.

4. Notre Dame: The Irish have an experienced squad including sophomore Olivia Miles, one of the top guards in the country.

5. Louisville: Coming off another Final Four, the Cardinals have what it takes to make another run. Guard Hailey Van Lith leads them.

6. UConn: Paige Bueckers is out for the year, and it will be up to the rest of the Huskies’ highly-rated players to show out.

7. Iowa: All-Americans Caitlin Clark and Monica Czinano will be hard to beat.

8. NC State: A Wes Moore team is always a tough out, especially with the reigning ACC Sixth Player of the Year Diamond Johnson joining South Carolina transfer Saniya Rivers.

9. Ohio State: The Buckeyes sometime gets overlooked, but with two All-Big 10 first-teamers in Taylor Mikesell and Jacy Sheldon on the roster, they will be right in the mix again.

10. Tennessee: Kellie Harper hit the transfer portal hard to give the Vols much-needed depth, adding Jasmine Powell (Minnesota) and Rickea Jackson (Mississippi State) to go along with Sara Puckett and Jordan Walker.

11. Iowa State: Reigning Cheryl Miller Award winner and All-American Ashley Joens is back for one more year. So are two other All-Big 12 teamers, Lexi Donarski and Emily Ryan.

12. Arizona: Expect transfers Esmery Martinez, Jade Loville and Lauren Fields to put their stamp on this squad, which also boasts top recruits Maya Nnaji, Lemyah Hylton, Kailyn Gilbert and Paris Clark.

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13. Indiana: Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes are back, and the Hoosiers have added Sara Scalia (Minnesota), Sydney Parrish (Oregon) and Alyssa Geary (Providence) via the transfer portal.

14. DePaul: All-American selection Aneesa Morrow will carry the Blue Demons again in her sophomore season.

15. Princeton: The Tigers haven’t lost a league game since 2019 and beat Kentucky in the NCAAs last spring. Princeton returns four starters, including Julia Cunningham and Kaitlyn Chen.

16. Nebraska: Senior Sam Haiby is out with a season-ending leg injury, but the Huskers still have Jazz Shelley, Alexis Markowski and Isabelle Bourne and brought in Maddie Krull (South Dakota) and 6-foot-5-inch freshman dual-sport athlete Maggie Mendelson.

17. Oregon: Te-Hina Paopao and Endiya Rogers are the Ducks’ core. Add in the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class, and Oregon is again poised for big things. However, more questions remain as Sedona Prince went down with a season- and career-ending elbow injury this week.

18. Baylor: Nikki Collen used the transfer portal to replace three WNBA draftees. Dre’Una Edwards (Utah and Kentucky), Jana Van Gytenbeek (Stanford), Erika Porter (Illinois) and Aijah Blackwell (Missouri) all join the Bears.

19. South Dakota: South Dakota all-everything Chloe Lamb graduated. Grace Larkins, the Summit League’s Sixth Woman of the Yea, returns to a team that made the Sweet 16 last year.

20. Oklahoma: Taylor Robertson and Madi Williams return for a fifth season for the Sooners, who have also picked up Iowa State transfer Aubrey Joens.

21. North Carolina: The Tar Heels bring back the majority of their top scorers from last season, and early indications are that Deja Kelly could compete for ACC Player of the Year.

22. Maryland: Brenda Frese hit the transfer portal hard, landing Lavender Briggs, Brinae Alexander, Abby Meyers and Elisa Pinzan to complement around Diamond Miller.

23. UCLA: If UCLA stays healthy this year, the Bruins could go far.

24. LSU: Kim Mulkey also lived in the transfer portal, bringing in five players. The Tigers’ biggest get: Maryland’s Angel Reese, who averaged 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season.

25. Arkansas: Mike Neighbors is working with only 11 players. One of them, Saylor Poffenbarger, transferred south from UConn in January.