Defending champion UConn is No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason women's basketball poll released on Tuesday.

It is the 13th time since 1995 that the Huskies have entered a season in the top spot and the first since 2017.

Despite the loss of Paige Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft as the No. 1 overall pick, coach Geno Auriemma's squad returns Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd from last season's 31-3 team.

"Hopefully it's a little bit of a confidence builder and not, 'Oh my god!'" Auriemma told the AP. "I'm happy for them. We talk a lot about how we're not out here to prove that we're defending national champions or we're preseason number one in the country, and we have to beat everybody by 40. We don't want to get caught in that trap. You tend to finish the year where you're predicted.

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