The 2020-21 USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll
The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 women’s basketball poll, with team’s records from last year in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last year’s final poll and first-place votes received.
| Rank | School (record) | Points | Last season’s final rank | First-place votes |
| 1 | South Carolina (32-1) | 799 | 1 | 31 |
| 2 | Stanford (27-6) | 740 | 7 | 1 |
| 3 | Connecticut (29-3) | 732 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | Baylor (28-2) | 702 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Louisville (28-4) | 663 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | North Carolina State (28-4) | 601 | 8 | 0 |
| 7 | Mississippi State (27-6) | 567 | 10 | 0 |
| 8 | Arizona (24-7) | 548 | 12 | 0 |
| 9 | Oregon (31-2) | 539 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | UCLA (26-5) | 535 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Maryland (28-4) | 456 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | Kentucky (22-8) | 451 | 18 | 0 |
| 13 | Texas A&M (22-8) | 377 | 21 | 0 |
| 14 | Arkansas (24-8) | 360 | 25 | 0 |
| 15 | Indiana (24-8) | 347 | 22 | 0 |
| 16 | Northwestern (26-4) | 287 | 15 | 0 |
| 17 | Oregon State (23-9) | 281 | 16 | 0 |
| 18 | Iowa State (18-11) | 253 | NR | 0 |
| 19 | DePaul (28-5) | 219 | 14 | 0 |
| 20 | Gonzaga (28-3) | 192 | 13 | 0 |
| 21 | Syracuse (16-15) | 149 | NR | 0 |
| 22 | Ohio State (21-12) | 135 | NR | 0 |
| 23 | Notre Dame (13-18) | 104 | NR | 0 |
| 24 | Michigan (21-11) | 84 | NR | 0 |
| 25 | Missouri State (26-4) | 76 | 19 | 0 |
Others receiving votes: Texas (19-11) 72; South Dakota (30-2) 25; Florida State (24-8) 23; Iowa (23-7) 13; Arizona State (20-11) 11; North Carolina (16-14) 11; South Florida (19-13) 9; Middle Tennessee (21-9) 7; Rutgers (22-9) 7; Virginia Tech (21-9) 6; Tennessee (21-10) 4; Brigham Young (18-11) 3; Florida Gulf Coast (30-3) 3; Princeton (26-1) 3; James Madison (25-4) 2; South Dakota State (23-10) 2; LSU (20-10) 1; Tennessee-Martin (22-10) 1.
The USA Today Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 32 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2020-21 season: Suzy Barcomb, Seattle; Matt Bollant, Eastern Illinois; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Jackie Carson; Furman; Billi Chambers, Iona; Bill Cleary, Colgate; Shane Clipfell, Western Michigan; Jamie Craighhead, San Jose State; Megan Duffy, Marquette; Ronny Fisher, Campbell; Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga; Freda Freeman-Jackson, Alabama State; Julie Goodenough; Abilene Christian; Carey Green, Liberty; Tamara Inoue, UC Irvine; Monique LeBlanc, Brown; Maria Marchesano, Mount St. Mary’s; Katie Meier, Miami (Fla.); Jalie Mitchell, North Texas; Mike Neighbors, Arkansas; Raegan Pebley, TCU; Kyle Rechlicz, Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Diane Richardson, Towson; Lynne Roberts, Utah; Matt Ruffing, Evansville; Seton Sobolewski, Idaho State; Lisa Stockton, Tulane; C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers; Amy Vachon, Maine; Larry Vickers, Norfolk State; Jaida Williams, Coastal Carolina; Doshia Woods, Denver.
