ESPN Ranks USC WBB High in latest 2026-27 Preseason Top 25 Poll

The 2026-27 USC Trojans Women's Basketball season has generated enormous fanfare —and for good reason. 

For the first time, Women's Collegiate basketball will get its first taste of the highly anticipated duo of rising sophomore Jazzy Davidson and coveted star Juju Watkins. 

With that in mind, ESPN released its annual Top 25 Preseason Rankings and has the Trojans sitting at the No.3 spot. 

Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her newly formed squad have risen to National prominence once more with the addition of Watkins alone. Since missing all of last season due to a torn ACL in the NCAA in March 2025, Davidson — who was touted as the latest upcoming star as a true freshman in the 2025-26 season — made leaps and bounds in Watkins absence. 

A lot has changed since Watkins stepped on the hardwood for the Trojans. 

A whole new roster and a whole new starting lineup. 

But even with a goose egg of game experience with Gottlieb's expected roster in Davidson, Kennedy Smith, Saniyah Hall, and Pania Davis, the addition of Watkins rounds out the roster to combat the newcomers and retainers. 

The tandem of Davidson and Watkins will spearhead the front court, but the newly established back court could ultimately be what lifts the Trojans for a 32-game season. 

Smith, junior guard, is the lone player who has actual minutes played with Watkins back in the 2024-25 season. In that year, she averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 29.1 minutes, but she improved in 2025-26, averaging 11.5 points and 3.6 assists in 32.5 minutes. 

Hall is the biggest name in the freshman class heading into this season, as she ranked No.1 in ESPN's 2026 High School basketball class. The 6'1 dual threat recently competed for Team USA during the 2026 Nike Hoop Summit, leading her team with 19 points and eight rebounds in a win against World Team Select.

Davis rounds out the newcomers for Gottlieb, as she transferred from the Florida State Seminoles after averaging 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 17.5 minutes played across 31 games. 

The 6'6 senior center provides plenty of length under the rim and will help boost the already adjacent rebounding total from last year. 

Gottlieb has arguably the most profound roster in her tenure at the helm, and that bonus comes with the immense pressure of playing in the conference like the Big Ten.