*** WBB: 2025-2026 Season Polls ***

[BoxsterCy]

Got posts going in the season thread on our ranking so I'd start a polling thread for future polling now that the first "official" poll is out. We can talk about overall ranking of teams/conferences etc along with updating our own ranking by week.

AP's Preseason Women's Basketball Poll

1. UConn​

2. South Carolina​

3. UCLA​

4. Texas​

5. LSU​

6. Oklahoma​

7. Duke​

8. Tennessee​

9. NC State​

10. Maryland​

11. North Carolina​

12. Ole Miss​

13. Michigan​

14. Iowa State ​

15. Notre Dame​

16. Baylor​

17. TCU​

18. Southern California​

19. Vanderbilt​

20. Louisville​

21. Iowa​

22. Oklahoma State University​

23. Michigan State​

24. Kentucky and Richmond (Tie)​

Others receiving votes: Washington 79, Ohio State 46, West Virginia 17, Princeton 17, Minnesota 15, Kansas State 15, Kansas 7, Stanford 3, South Dakota State 3, Illinois 2, Nebraska 2, Columbia 2.

 

[BoxsterCy]

By League with RV:

1. Half of Top 10 are SEC teams, eight of the Top 25.
2. Six ranked and four more in RV.
3. ACC with five teams ranked.
4. Big 12 got OSU in so four ranked and three receiving votes.

 

[acoustimac]

I really believe KSU might surprise folks if their coach doesn’t screw things up. Not a big fan of what he’s done with loads of talent in the past. OSU also has the pieces.

 

[BoxsterCy]

I really believe KSU might surprise folks if their coach doesn’t screw things up. Not a big fan of what he’s done with loads of talent in the past. OSU also has the pieces.

I don't see why they are even in the receiving votes category. They had their "what could have been" moment with Lee but she could never stay healthy and their guards were never as good as everyone in the league seemed to think they were. Not looking for much from them this year, at all, which is a little contrarian. I get the top HS class coming in and a couple of EU recruits but they will be REALLY inexperienced and they are all guards for the most part. I just don't see them making any noise in the Big 12 this season.

And the NCAA took months and months to just now tell them Kennedy Taylor won't be eligible. Bit of a self-inflicted wound by thinking the NCAA would approve it though. They should have maybe not signed a hundred guards and gone after some, any, size. I am not counting the 6'-5" "project" gal from the portal

Currently, the Wildcats have just one player on the roster taller than 6-foot-1 in sophomore Virginia Tech transfer Ramiya White. Taylor was in line to be a full-time starter this season, but now K-State’s depth at the center spot is almost nonexistent.​

​

NCAA denies eligibility waiver of senior K-State forward Kennedy Taylor

Kansas State women’s basketball might be without a valuable part of its frontcourt this season, pending the appeal of a denied NCAA eligibility waiver.

themercury.com

 

[ZorkClone]

I really believe KSU might surprise folks if their coach doesn’t screw things up. Not a big fan of what he’s done with loads of talent in the past. OSU also has the pieces.

May I ask why? Looking through their roster, I hardly recognize any names, so I really don't know what to expect. Jeff Mittie is a mid-coach IMO.

 

[acoustimac]

May I ask why? Looking through their roster, I hardly recognize any names, so I really don't know what to expect. Jeff Mittie is a mid-coach IMO.

As I mentioned in another post, they have a completely new roster. But, that roster has a lot of talent in it. Your last comment mirrors, what I said as well… I’m not sure their coach can pull them together.

 

[mred]

And the NCAA took months and months to just now tell them Kennedy Taylor won't be eligible. Bit of a self-inflicted wound by thinking the NCAA would approve it though.

I understand being frustrated by the timing. But Mittie is flat out false when he says "they keep changing the goal post in that this is a case that would have been successful 95% of the time previously". I'm no NCAA defender, but they are nothing if not consistent 99% of the time in enforcing their rules with regards to medical hardships and redshirts. The only place they had been more lenient in the past is waiving mandatory redshirt years for transfers, which isn't as much of an issue anymore.

Kennedy Taylor played in 8 games for 19 total minutes in the 21-22 season. 7 of those games were in non-conference play between 11/22/2021 and 12/20/2021. One was 2/6/2022, playing one minute vs Washington. Was she injured at any point? It doesn't seem like it -- I see old posts on a Colorado message board indicating she was dressed to play for games in January. And if she had been injured, it wouldn't be a season-ending injury if she came back to play in February, which is clearly after the midpoint of the season.

The ONLY way I would see someone with a gamelog like hers getting a waiver is if they got injured in late December, tried to come back, and then got reinjured immediately after returning. The NCAA can be more lenient in that sort of case -- I think they've sometimes allowed waivers for people who got injured very early in a game that put them over the 30% limit for a medical hardship.

But none of this appears to apply to Taylor.

 

[BoxsterCy]

I understand being frustrated by the timing. But Mittie is flat out false when he says "they keep changing the goal post in that this is a case that would have been successful 95% of the time previously". I'm no NCAA defender, but they are nothing if not consistent 99% of the time in enforcing their rules with regards to medical hardships and redshirts. The only place they had been more lenient in the past is waiving mandatory redshirt years for transfers, which isn't as much of an issue anymore.

Kennedy Taylor played in 8 games for 19 total minutes in the 21-22 season. 7 of those games were in non-conference play between 11/22/2021 and 12/20/2021. One was 2/6/2022, playing one minute vs Washington. Was she injured at any point? It doesn't seem like it -- I see old posts on a Colorado message board indicating she was dressed to play for games in January. And if she had been injured, it wouldn't be a season-ending injury if she came back to play in February, which is clearly after the midpoint of the season.

The ONLY way I would see someone with a gamelog like hers getting a waiver is if they got injured in late December, tried to come back, and then got reinjured immediately after returning. The NCAA can be more lenient in that sort of case -- I think they've sometimes allowed waivers for people who got injured very early in a game that put them over the 30% limit for a medical hardship.

But none of this appears to apply to Taylor.

^ I had looked more into it and was going to post something similar. NCAA should have said no faster but what in the heck was KSU thinking? Seems, like you said, that if there was an injury involved they could try and make a case but it seems that would have been mentioned in the coverage.

 

[acoustimac]

^ I had looked more into it and was going to post something similar. NCAA should have said no faster but what in the heck was KSU thinking? Seems, like you said, that if there was an injury involved they could try and make a case but it seems that would have been mentioned in the coverage.

Of course we have zero access to her medical records. But, if things were like they are at ISU, if you’re injured you don’t dress. That’s what makes Red's comments stand up from an outsider's perspective.

 

[CloneSt8]

KSU is used to the NCAA giving them special treatment. Afterall they gave Lee six years!

 

[Three4Cy]

KSU is used to the NCAA giving them special treatment. Afterall they gave Lee six years!

Actually, it was seven years, 2018-2025.

 

[mred]

Actually, it was seven years, 2018-2025.

She missed all of 18-19 with an injury. Played 19-20. Played 20-21 (free COVID year). Played 21-22. Missed all of 22-23 with an injury. Played 23-24. Played 24-25. Seven seasons, but two were redshirts due to medical issues and one was the free COVID year. Her two redshirts weren't even partial seasons -- she straight up missed them both entirely due to injuries. So it was a no-brainer to let her play seven.

 

[CloneSt8]

And yet, Stephanie Suares was not granted a fifth covid year because she was injured and did not play during that year! It never made sense that if you played in the covid year you got an extra year, but if you were injured and red shirted you could not! Where is the logic in that compared to Lee's seven years?

 

[CycloneT]

And yet, Stephanie Suares was not granted a fifth covid year because she was injured and did not play during that year! It never made sense that if you played in the covid year you got an extra year, but if you were injured and red shirted you could not! Where is the logic in that compared to Lee's seven years?

Not close to the same. Covid year just didn’t count no matter what. You couldn’t apply a redshirt to it and still get a Covid year at the end. Not close to the same.

The argument for Soares was if the Oklahoma game should count since she tore it in the first 5 minutes and that was the game that put her games played percentage over the allotment to be eligible.

 

[mred]

The argument for Soares was if the Oklahoma game should count since she tore it in the first 5 minutes and that was the game that put her games played percentage over the allotment to be eligible.

That's not quite right. The denominator for her 30% determination was either 29 or 30 games -- we had 29 games scheduled plus you can count one conference tournament game, but the Drake game was cancelled and I'm not sure if that still counts. No matter the denominator, 30% rounds up to 9 games. She played in 13 games, which was four over the limit.

 

[CycloneT]

That's not quite right. The denominator for her 30% determination was either 29 or 30 games -- we had 29 games scheduled plus you can count one conference tournament game, but the Drake game was cancelled and I'm not sure if that still counts. No matter the denominator, 30% rounds up to 9 games. She played in 13 games, which was four over the limit.

Okay. I thought it was after the 12th game of the season for basketball being the cutoff

 

[mred]

Okay. I thought it was after the 12th game of the season for basketball being the cutoff

I'm not quite correct either. Re-reading the policy, the denominator is the max number of games + 1. For basketball, the max is 31. 30% of (31 + 1) = 9.6, which rounds up to 10. So 10 games is the max you can play and still get a medical hardship.

https://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D125.pdf

Legislative Services Database - LSDBi

Figure 12-1


NOTE: QRSMTE = qualifying regular season multi-team event. Basically any in-season tournament like the Thanksgiving ones ISU WBB usually does.

 

[ZorkClone]

Verifying Browser...

Barttorvik (not a poll) has ISU at 26.

 

[acoustimac]

Verifying Browser...

Barttorvik (not a poll) has ISU at 26.

What??? West Virginia is ranked ahead of us? What the heck?

 

[bozclone]

Based on what Bill said it sounds like Jada, AJ, Hare, Addy, and Audi will start. Harris will sub at the 4. Beaty will be backup PG and play some off guard. Williams and LT will back up Audi. EP is more comfortable at the 2 or 3.