Texas Women's Basketball Opens at No. 6 With Final Four Expectations

Expectations remain enormous for Texas women's basketball, and the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll released Tuesday confirms the Longhorns are once again considered legitimate national championship contenders.

Texas will open the 2026-27 season ranked No. 6 nationally, the highest ranking among the state's women's college basketball programs.

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For head coach Vic Schaefer, the ranking reflects a program that has established itself among the nation's elite but continues chasing the ultimate prize.

The Longhorns are coming off consecutive Final Four appearances and have already captured both an SEC regular-season championship and conference tournament title since joining the league.

Now the challenge is turning that sustained success into a national championship.

Senior Madison Booker will be central to those ambitions.

Booker earned preseason All-SEC First Team recognition after establishing herself as one of the country's premier players. Her offensive versatility, ability to create scoring opportunities and leadership will be critical as Texas navigates another demanding schedule.

The SEC presents considerable competition.

South Carolina opens the season ranked No. 1 nationally, followed by No. 8 Vanderbilt and No. 9 LSU. Kentucky, Ole Miss and Oklahoma also earned preseason Top 25 recognition.

Texas was picked second behind South Carolina in the SEC preseason media poll, reinforcing expectations that the conference championship race could again feature the Longhorns and Gamecocks.

Nationally, UConn begins at No. 2, followed by USC, Duke and Michigan. All four represent potential obstacles between Texas and a national title.

The Longhorns are testing themselves before the regular season even begins.

Texas visited UConn for an October 19 exhibition and will face defending national champion UCLA in another exhibition October 25 in Cedar Park.

The regular season opens November 4 against Fairleigh Dickinson at Moody Center.

For Texas, merely reaching the NCAA Tournament or advancing to the second weekend no longer represents a satisfactory season.

Schaefer has built a program expected to compete for championships every year.

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With Booker leading the way and another talented roster surrounding her, the Longhorns enter November with the opportunity to deliver the one accomplishment still missing from their recent run.

A national championship.