11. Missouri Tigers
Sophie Cunningham will enter the season on every preseason All-America team. Her all-around talent has been the centerpiece of the Tigers' rise over the past two seasons. Cunningham, versatile 6-4 post Cierra Porter and guard Amber Smith give coach Robin Pingeton a core, but can Missouri get past the NCAA tournament's second round for the first time since 2001?
No. 12 Oregon State Beavers
The Beavers were the most efficient 3-point shooting team in the country and return all of their chief contributors: Kat Tudor, Katie McWilliams, Mikayla Pivec, Taya Corosdale and Aleah Goodman. Coach Scott Rueck also adds Destiny Slocum, who was the 2017 WBCA national freshman of the year during her rookie season at Maryland, to the mix. The centerpiece of this year's Elite Eight team, 6-5 Marie Gulich, is gone, but 6-8 Joanna Grymek could take on a bigger role. Rueck also brought in 6-9 Paraguay native
Andrea Aquino, a top-10 recruit and potential program game-changer.
No. 13 Georgia Lady Dogs
Coach Joni Taylor's recruiting efforts started to pay off with a top-16 seed in the NCAA tournament. The core of the Lady Dogs is back in 2018-19, beginning with 6-3 post Caliya Robinson and point guard Taja Cole. Defense has become Georgia's calling card, and that won't change. The addition of 6-3 Maryland transfer Jenna Staiti , a former Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, will help in that area, giving Taylor another rim protector to go with Robinson.
No. 14 DePaul Blue Demons
Depth was a hallmark of the Blue Demons in 2017-18 and much of it is back next season. Top scorers Mart'e Grays and Ashton Millender return to lead a team that was second in the country in 3-pointers made and sixth in scoring. A better start (DePaul began 3-2 this season) will go a long way to the Blue Demons earning a top-four seed.
No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks
Having to replace three first-round WNBA draft picks last year was difficult for Dawn Staley. Replacing A'ja Wilson, the consensus national player of the year and the program's best and most important player, this coming season might be harder. Big jumps by 6-2 Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and 6-foot LeLe Grissett will help, as will a big senior season from 6-3 Alexis Jennings. Getting Tennessee transfer Te'a Cooper on the court, and top-10 recruit
Destanni Henderson's arrival in Columbia, South Carolina, should help Tyasha Harris at the point guard spot.
No. 16. NC State Wolfpack
In 2016-17, the Wolfpack were a guard-oriented team. The emphasis shifted to the frontcourt this season as Chelsea Nelson emerged as Wes Moore's best player. With Nelson and 6-5 center Akela Maize departing, and Kiara Leslie, Kaila Ealey and Aislinn Konig all back, guards will once again drive NC State, which is hoping to secure a second straight top-four finish in the ACC.
No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes
Megan Gustafson is back for her senior season after leading the country in scoring (25.7 PPG) and field goal percentage (67.1 percent), and finishing fifth in rebounding (12.8 RPG). But three of four other starters also return, including double-digit scorers Kathleen Doyle and Makenzie Meyer. One big question is whether point guard Tania Davis can come back again after having surgeries on both knees in the past two years.
No. 18 Marquette Golden Eagles
If the Golden Eagles are going to take that next step, then 2018-19 is the season. The entire starting lineup is back, and all five will be seniors for the defending Big East regular-season champions. Allazia Blockton is coming off a conference player of the year season, and is joined by classmates Natisha Hiedeman, Amani Wilborn, Erika Davenport and Danielle King. An improvement in outside shooting for all five would go a long way to Marquette reaching its first Sweet 16.
No. 19 South Florida Bulls
Having Kitija Laksa back for her senior season is a good place to start for coach Jose Fernandez and his quest to get the Bulls deeper into that NCAA tournament. Laksa will miss having Maria Jespersen on the other wing, but she might score even more than her 21.1 PPG this season. How sophomore-to-be Alba Prieto does assuming the point guard role from Laia Flores will also be a key for Laksa's scoring and South Florida's success.
No. 20 Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils will have a decidedly different look with the graduations of Lexie Brown and Rebecca Greenwell. The focus of the team will shift to the frontcourt, where 6-2 sophomore Leaonna Odom is on the verge of becoming a star. The return of a healthy Haley Gorecki, who missed the final 10 games of the season with a hip injury, would give coach Joanne P. McCallie a solid one-two punch. Health is the key word in Durham, with the Blue Devils also hoping for healthy seasons for guards Mikayla Boykin and Kyra Lambert, who are both returning from knee injuries.
No. 21 UCLA Bruins
Coach Cori Close has to replace so much with the departure of Jordin Canada, Monique Billings and Kelli Hayes, the core of the recruiting class that brought the Bruins back to prominence. But the play of Japreece Dean in the NCAA tournament gave hope that the blow of losing Canada will be softened. Lajahna Drummer and Kennedy Burke, a pair of 6-1 forwards, are two more seniors Close will have to build around.
No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies
The backcourt of Chennedy Carter and Danni Williams is expected back, giving coach Gary Blair the potential for a high-scoring offense. Louisville transfer Ciera Johnson, the top-rated post recruit in 2016, becomes eligible to help replace Khaalia Hillsman. The decision by rebounding extraordinaire Anriel Howard to transfer is a blow that might be overcome if sophomores-to-be N'dea Jones and 6-5 Emer Nichols show improvement.
No. 23 Syracuse Orange
Having the nation's assist leader and the team's top scorer in Tiana Mangakahia back is a good place to start for the Orange, who have lost in the second and first rounds of the NCAA tournament in the two years since reaching the national championship game in 2016. Miranda Drummond and Gabrielle Cooper, the second- and third-leading scorers on the team, also return and will be joined by Ohio State transfer Kiara Lewis and a four-player recruiting class rated as the country's eighth best.
No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils
Coach Charli Turner Thorne returns the entire roster from a team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, something the program has done four of the past five seasons. The biggest returnee is junior guard Sabrina Haines, who missed all but nine games with a knee injury. Balance and depth, led by forward Kianna Ibis, will once again be a Sun Devils trademark.
No. 25 Central Michigan Chippewas
Three of the top five scorers from a dynamic offense return for coach Sue Guevara. Losing Tinara Moore, who swept the MAC player and defensive player of the year awards, hurts, but with first-team all-conference guard Presley Hudson, plus all-freshman team Micaela Kelly leading the way in the backcourt, Central Michigan should be primed to repeat as league champs. Reyna Frost, who rank
id say there 15-20 but far from unranked... if Texas A&M is ranked off one player that’s the real joke they lost four starters and 3 of the starters were high impact players for the aggies. 
