Will a Fourth Consecutive National Champion Emerge from the SEC?
As the highly anticipated 2024-2025 women’s basketball season rapidly approaches, rankings reveal that the SEC has the potential to be a real powerhouse and draw much attention this year. With these predictions, the question remains if the SEC will be home to the season’s national champion for the fourth consecutive year. Though not normally the most prominent conference, certain SEC teams have been making a huge impact on the league and upstaging some of the usual suspects favored in women's Division 1 basketball. With the new addition of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the SEC, the conference strengthens even more and the competition for the title heats up, making the SEC a focal point of this season.
The latest Associated Press Top 25 poll revealed that seven of the top 25 ranked teams are from the SEC, even securing the number one slot with defending champions, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Coming off their conference win and National Title, the Gamecocks will look for their second consecutive win and third in four years. They are expected to have another dominant season under Dawn Staley and could very well achieve the outcome they are aiming for despite losing some major talent, including a 6’7” gap left by center, Kamilla Cardoso.
The Texas Longhorns secured the number four ranking and have the talent and strength that will have everyone “hooked” on the SEC. They will be a great addition and undoubtedly contribute to some must-watch SEC matchups. Also with a strong No. 7 ranking in the poll is the 2023 national champions, Louisiana State University. They have found themselves second in the SEC since the 2021-2022 season but will now see more competition to improve or even hold that spot with these new additions to the conference. Oklahoma is another team that will challenge LSU and the rest of the SEC as they have secured the No. 10 spot. They are undeniably a competitor for the conference title and will either way be bringing a new level of play and competition to the SEC along with Texas. Continuing down the rankings, Ole Miss remains at No. 20 after finishing third in the SEC. Despite a tough season last year, Kentucky is right behind them at No. 22 with Alabama creeping into the 24 spot.
While those are the big names right now, many are refusing to count out Vanderbilt and Tennessee who both finished with winning seasons last year and are still expected to be competitive. They will have tough schedules ahead of them and intense competition for a conference title but there is still potential for very good things from both of those teams. Coming off of last year, Auburn and Mississippi State will look to improve from .500 and come out with a winning season while teams like Florida, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia will hope to have an even greater leap and also see a winning record.
UCONN may have captured the number two slot but they are far from the only team looking husky this year as the SEC competition intensifies. The SEC will undeniably be a hot topic in women’s basketball this season and the race for this title just might be the most interesting and competitive yet. While SEC followers and fans are thrilled with the higher level of competition this season, other SEC teams are working overtime to match up, with coaches drawing new plays, players spending long hours, and maybe some stakeholders just praying for realignment. It’s far from March, but the madness begins with the season openers for many of these teams, including South Carolina and LSU, on November 4.
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