If you’re a fan of women’s college basketball, perhaps you’ve glanced at the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll ahead of the season starting on Nov. 6.
And if you’ve looked at that poll – with LSU at the top and Mississippi State at the bottom – perhaps you’ve wondered, “When’s the last time any of these teams won it all?”
We have you covered.
Below is a complete list of the last time each preseason top 25 team won a national championship.
The following preseason Top 25 teams have never won a national championship: Iowa, UCLA, Utah, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Ole Miss, Louisville, Florida State, Colorado, Creighton, Illinois
And the following former national champions are not ranked in the 2023 preseason AP Top 25 Poll: Texas A&M (2011), Purdue (1999), Texas Tech (1993), Louisiana Tech (1988, 1982), Old Dominion (1985)
USC
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 21
- National Titles: 1983, 1984
Coached by Linda Sharp, the Trojans won back-to-back titles in the 1980s with an incredible star-studded roster that featured the likes of Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper and Pam McGee. All three women also won Olympic gold medals for Team USA. Miller later became a coach at USC and in the WNBA, McGee played professionally, and Cooper won four straight titles as a player with the Houston Comets.
Baylor
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 19
- National Titles: 2005, 2012, 2019
Kim Mulkey – now at LSU – was the head coach of the Bears for each of their national championships. Her 2005 team beat three No. 1 seeds on its way to winning the title, the 2012 Baylor squad was powered by the dominance of Brittney Griner, and the 2019 squad won the championship in a classic climatic finish over Notre Dame with Chloe Jackson hitting the game-winner with 3.9 seconds to go.
North Carolina
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 16
- National Titles: 1994
The Tar Heels will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their lone championship in women’s college basketball this season. That team – coached by Sylvia Hatchell and led on the court by Charlotte Smith, Tonya Sampson and Marion Jones – bested Old Dominion, UConn, Purdue and Louisiana Tech en route to its championship. In the title bout, Smith drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give UNC a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech. Hatchell guided the team to two more Final Fours in 2006 and 2007.
Stanford
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 15
- National Titles: 1990, 1992, 2021
The winningest women’s college basketball coach of all-time, Tar VanDerveer has coached Stanford to three national championships. Her first, the 1990 squad, was led by Jennifer Azzi and Katy Steding. Then Val Whiting and Molly Goodenbour powered the 1992 team past Dawn Staley’s Virginia and Western Kentucky. Nearly 30 years later, VanDerveer won again when Haley Jones and Lexi Hull led the Cardinal past a Staley-coached South Carolina team and Arizona.
Maryland
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 14
- National Titles: 2006
The Terps had to top a Kim Mulkey-coached Baylor team, Utah in overtime, and then two of its then-ACC rivals – North Carolina and Duke – to win the national championship in 2006. The Final Four that year was a star-studded one, as Duke and North Carolina had teams with a combined 12 future WNBA players, including the likes of Ivory Latta, Lindsey Harding, Monique Currie and Erlana Larkins. But Brenda Frese’s Maryland team – led by Laura Harper, Crystal Langhorne and Kristi Toliver – rose above the competition.
Texas
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 13
- National Titles: 1986
The Longhorns won their lone title nearly 40 years ago when Basketball Hall of Famer Jody Conradt – who still works at Texas at the age of 82 as a special assistant to the women’s athletic director – coached them to a championship win over USC, denying the Trojans a third title in four seasons. On the court, Fran Harris and Clarissa Davis led a Texas team that won its NCAA Tournament games that year by an average margin of 22.2 points.
Tennessee
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 11
- National Titles: 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008
The Tennessee Lady Vols have one of the most decorated histories in all of women’s college basketball, having won eight national championships under the legendary Pat Summitt. Their last two, in 2007 and 2008, were teams coached by Summitt and led on the court by Candace Parker, who won back-to-back Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four awards. Despite their history of success, Tennessee hasn’t been back to the Final Four since Parker was wearing orange.
Notre Dame
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 10
- National Titles: 2001, 2018
Under Muffet McGraw, the Irish played in seven national title games between 2001 and 2019 and won two of them. Their run in 2018 was especially memorable, as it featured a pair of ridiculous buzzer-beating shots from Arike Ogunbowale in the Final Four and National Final.
South Carolina
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 6
- National Titles: 2017, 2022
Dawn Staley has led the Gamecocks to a pair of national titles so far during her tenure in Columbia, and each team was led by an exceptionally talented post player. The 2017 squad was powered by A’ja Wilson, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game over Mississippi State. The 2022 team was led by Aliyah Boston, who had 11 points and 16 boards in the final over UConn.
UConn
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 2
- National Titles: 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
No other program in the history of the sport has as many championships as the Huskies, who have won it all 11 times under Geno Auriemma. The great players that led these teams are countless, from Rebecca Lobo to Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi to Maya Moore and Tina Charles to Breanna Stewart – the latter of whom won four straight national titles and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four each time.
LSU
- 2023 Preseason AP Ranking: 1
- National Titles: 2023
The Tigers won their first-ever national title last season with a team powered by Angel Reese and Alexis Morris. In LSU’s championship win over Iowa though, it was Jasmine Carson’s performance off the bench that proved to be crucial as she poured in 22 points. LaDazhia Williams added 20 points too. It was the fourth national championship for Kim Mulkey, who won three titles at Baylor.
LSU will now try to become the first team since UConn in 2016 to repeat as champs.
