AP Women's College Basketball Poll 2026 Final Rankings After UCLA Wins March Madness

UCLA overtook UConn to claim the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll to close out the 2025-26 season.

The Bruins captured their first national championship on Sunday, hammering South Carolina 79-51 in the title game. The Gamecocks' runner-up finish at least moved them into the second spot in the final rankings.

Final AP Top 25 Poll

1. UCLA

2. South Carolina

3. UConn

4. Texas

5. Duke

6. TCU

7. Michigan

8. LSU

9. Notre Dame

10. Vanderbilt

11. Louisville

12. Oklahoma

13. North Carolina

14. Kentucky

15. Minnesota

16. Iowa

17. Ohio State

18. West Virginia

19. Virginia

20. Maryland

21. Ole Miss

22. Michigan State

23. Baylor

24. Alabama

25. Washington

UConn nearly went wire-to-wire. The Huskies opened as the top-ranked team in the AP poll and stayed there every week as they reeled off 34 straight wins in the regular season.

The reigning national champions ran out of gas in a rematch of last year's title game, though. South Carolina's stifling defense steadily wore down UConn in a 62-48 semifinal victory. Stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong combined to score just 20 points.

In the national championship, the Gamecocks got a taste of their own medicine.

UCLA held South Carolina to 29 percent shooting and was plus-12 in rebounding margin. All five Bruins starters scored in double figures, with Lauren Betts (14 points and 11 rebounds) and Gabriela Jaquez (21 points and 10 rebounds) both posting double-doubles.

South Carolina-UCLA WCBB Highlights

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The victory capped off quite a journey for a senior-laden squad.

Betts played three years at UCLA, while Angela Dugalić had four seasons in Westwood. Jaquez and Kiki Rice both spent their entire careers on the Bruins.

"This was always the plan coming to UCLA for me and Kiki as freshmen: get to the Final Four, win the national championship," Jaquez said, per ESPN's Michael Voepel. "I never thought to transfer. Some people asked me, 'Why did you stay?' I said, 'Why would I leave?' I love UCLA."

Coach Cori Close faces quite a rebuild with so much talent and experience going out the door. Right now, that's the furthest thing from her mind as the Bruins celebrate the best season in program history.

Elsewhere in the AP poll, Notre Dame was a big mover after advancing to the Elite Eight. The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish took down Ohio State and Vanderbilt before meeting their match in UConn.

A regional final appearance was enough to send them from No. 22 up to ninth.

TCU claimed a top-10 spot at the end for a second successive season. The Horned Frogs got up into sixth, matching their program-best finish from 2024-25.

Iowa headed in the opposite direction after suffering a second-round upset at the hands of 10th-seeded Virginia. The Hawkeyes fell from seventh to 16th.