Ole Miss women’s basketball team comes in at No. 20 in preseason AP poll

Preseason hype is growing for the Ole Miss women’s basketball team as Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s squad has come in at No. 20 in the Associated Press’ top 25.

This marks the second consecutive year and the 18th time in school history that the Rebels have received preseason honors from the publication. Ahead of last year’s No. 12 selection, Ole Miss had not been ranked in the opening poll since 1992.

Ole Miss returns eight letter-winners from last year’s outstanding squad, who set a school record with 12 SEC wins and notched its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Fifth-year Madison Scott leads the way for the Rebel returners, as she was recently named a Second Team Preseason All-SEC member.

To help bolster a solid roster, McPhee-McCuin hit the portal and nabbed additional reinforcements in Christeen Iwuala, Starr Jacobs, and Tameiya Sadler. Rounding out the 2024-25 roster, the Rebels went overseas to bring in four freshmen from four different countries to add some youthful energy to a team with eight upperclassmen.

Last year, the Lady Rebels finished with a 24-9 record and had their season come to an end courtesy of a 71-56 loss to Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32.

Fans have their first chance to catch a look at the Lady Rebels in Oxford for its lone exhibition of the season, hosting Christian Brothers on Monday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the SJB Pavilion. Ole Miss will then head overseas to begin the regular season against USC for the 2024 Aflac Oui-Play on Monday, November 4, set to air nationally on ESPN at 11 a.m. CT.

Ole Miss is one of 10 programs to enter the regular season ranked in both men’s and women’s hoops. The other schools on that list are UConn, Texas, UCLA, Iowa State, Duke, Baylor, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Alabama.

RELATED: Ole Miss ranked in AP preseason men’s basketball poll, Mississippi State receives votes

The full women’s basketball top 25 can be found below:

1. South Carolina 
2. UConn 
3. USC 
4. Texas 
5. UCLA 
6. Notre Dame 
7. LSU 
8. Iowa State 
9. North Carolina State 
10. Oklahoma 
11. Duke 
12. Baylor 
13. Kansas State 
14. Ohio State 
15. North Carolina 
16. West Virginia 
17. Louisville 
18. Maryland 
19. Florida State 
20. Ole Miss 
21. Creighton 
22. Kentucky 
23. Nebraska 
24. Alabama 
25. Indiana 

Mississippi State and Southern Miss did not receive and top 25 votes.