UConn’s women are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason basketball poll released Tuesday, October 20. South Carolina leads the poll; Southern California, Duke and Michigan complete the top five. The Associated Press report published by NBC Connecticut says UConn received six first-place votes, compared with South Carolina’s 23 and Southern California’s two, from a 31-member media panel.
The ranking gives Eastern Connecticut fans an early look at the national stakes of a nearby game: UConn and South Carolina are scheduled to meet November 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The university’s published 2026–27 schedule confirms the date and venue. The teams are the preseason top two, not guaranteed to hold those positions by game day.
UConn’s nonconference schedule also includes a November 5 visit to fifth-ranked Michigan and a November 28 meeting with fourth-ranked Duke at Boston’s TD Garden. Those dates and locations come from UConn Athletics; the rankings are from Tuesday’s AP poll, not Big East standings or postseason seeds.
The poll arrives a day after UConn beat Texas 83–61 in a Hartford exhibition. UConn’s official postgame report credits Sarah Strong with 27 points and Jovana Popovic with 22, seven rebounds and five assists. After a 37–37 halftime tie, the Huskies outscored Texas 46–24 in the second half. That exhibition result does not add a regular-season or conference win.
Before the regular season, UConn lists one more exhibition: Army at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs on Sunday, October 25, at 4 p.m. Its schedule then opens the regular season against Cornell on November 2 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford.
According to the AP report, UConn has appeared in the top 10 of every preseason poll since 1994. The first regular-season AP poll is scheduled for November 9. This report combines the attributed poll results with the university’s own schedule and exhibition account; it does not project future results.