Buckeyes ranked No. 14 in preseason AP women's basketball poll
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- After its best season since 2016-17, the Ohio State women's basketball team got itself into the first AP poll of the 2022-23 season.
The Buckeyes have been ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP poll, its highest preseason ranking in the poll since 2017-18 (5). This is the third successive season coach Kevin McGuff and company crack the top 25 before a ball has been tipped off.
Defending national champions South Carolina received the top spot, followed by Stanford, Texas, Iowa, and Tennessee in the top-five.
Ohio State went 25-7 last year, it's most wins in a season since 2017-18 that helped earned them a share of the Big Ten regular season title. As the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, OSU only one won game and fell to Indiana 70-62 in the semifinals.
As a six-seed in March Madness, the Buckeyes beat Missouri State and upset LSU in Baton Rouge to make the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years. They lost to two-seed Texas 66-63 in Spokane.
OSU brings back its top scorers from last year with senior guards Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell back for 2022-23. The Scarlet & Grey will play Notre Dame College in an exhibition on Halloween in Columbus before opening its season on Nov. 8 at home against No. 5 Tennessee at 8:30 p.m.
AP Poll (Preseason)
| 1 | South Carolina (30) |
| 2 | Stanford |
| 3 | Texas |
| 4 | Iowa |
| 5 | Tennessee |
| 5 | UCONN |
| 7 | Louisville |
| 8 | Iowa State |
| 9 | Notre Dame |
| 10 | NC State |
| 11 | Indiana |
| 12 | North Carolina |
| 13 | Virginia Tech |
| 14 | Ohio State |
| 15 | Oklahoma |
| 16 | LSU |
| 17 | Maryland |
| 18 | Baylor |
| 19 | Arizona |
| 20 | Oregon |
| 21 | Creighton |
| 22 | Nebraska |
| 23 | South Dakota State |
| 24 | Princeton |
| 25 | Michigan |