Where Louisville, Kentucky women's basketball rank in preseason polls
Where do Louisville, Kentucky women's basketball teams rank in the preseason Top 25 polls? Here's where both stand entering the 2026-27 campaign.
Louisville women's basketball will start the 2026-27 season ranked seventh in both the preseason AP Top 25 and USA TODAY coaches poll under head coach Jeff Walz's 20th season. Kenny Brooks, who is entering his third season, leads Kentucky, which is ranked 14th in both polls, following the team's Sweet 16 appearance last year.
Louisville has consistently appeared in the preseason AP poll for the 19th straight year and the coaches poll for 16 years in a row. The highest start the Cardinals have made in the preseason polls during this period was fourth in the coaches poll in 2018 and fifth in the AP poll four times, in 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2020.
Projection for the upcoming season indicates Louisville will finish second in the ACC standings, behind Duke. The team achieved this ranking with a 29-win season, an ACC Tournament championship, and a Sweet 16 appearance. For the 2025-26 campaign, Louisville placed 11th in both polls.
Returning key players include Taj Roberts, Mackenly Randolph, Elif Istanbulluoglu, and Sixth Player of the Year Imari Berry, who joined the team from last year's ACC. In addition to these returnees, the Cardinals have secured two key transfers from ACC schools: Carys Baker from Virginia Tech and Zam Jones from NC State.
The team's opening game of the 2026-27 season is scheduled for November 2, when they host Bellarmine at 5 p.m. The ACC teams currently ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 are Duke (No. 4), Louisville (No. 7), North Carolina (No. 12), and Notre Dame (No. 13). NC State holds the 25th spot in the USA TODAY coaches poll.
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