NEW YORK – The 2025 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll was announced Wednesday with UConn as the unanimous preseason favorite. The Huskies collected 100 points and 10 first-place votes in the poll for the third straight year. The Huskies have won the conference regular season 24 times, along with 23 BIG EAST Tournament titles, sweeping both in 2024-25.

 

BIG EAST Women’s  Basketball Preseason Poll

1. UConn – 100 (10 first-place votes)

2.Marquette– 85 (1)

3. Seton Hall – 80

4. Villanova - 78

5. Creighton – 61

6. St. John’s – 56

7. Georgetown – 48

8. DePaul – 32

9. Butler – 30

10. Providence – 20

11. Xavier - 15

 Marquette finished second in the Preseason Poll with 85 points. Seton Hall earned third with 80 points and the remaining first-place vote, followed by Villanova  (78) and Creighton (61) to round out the top five. St. John’s (56) was picked sixth, Georgetown earned seventh (48) and DePaul took eighth (32). Butler heads into the season ranked ninth in the preseason poll with 30 points, followed by Providence (20). Xavier rounded out the 11-team poll with 15 points.
 
 In 2024-25, UConn went 37-3, including a perfect 18-0 record in BIG EAST play, capturing both the regular season and tournament titles. The team claimed their 12th national championship to top off a historic season. No.1 UConn’s top returners include graduate student Azzi Fudd, sophomore Sarah Strong, junior KK Arnold, and junior Ashlynn Shade. Strong, National Freshman of the Year, led UConn with 12 double-doubles and averaged 16.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Fudd, 2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, led the Huskies with a 43.6 three-point percentage. The Huskies will look to replace 2025 National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers with five new players, including two transfers and three freshmen. The Huskies have another tough non-conference schedule, including notable matchups against Louisville, Michigan, USC, Iowa, Notre Dame, Tennessee, and others. 
 
 Cara Consuegra will coach her second year at Marquette after guiding the Golden Eagles to a 21-win season and earning BIG EAST Co-Coach of the Year honors. The Golden Eagles went 21-11 overall and finished fourth in BIG EAST play with a 12-6 league mark. They made an appearance in the WBIT where they defeated Drake before losing to James Madison in the second round. Marquette looks to build on its success last season, returning all five starters, including Skylar Forbes, who averaged 15.8 points per game and received All-BIG EAST First Team honors.  
 
Savannah Catalon and Jada Eads are back and will look to lead Seton Hall in 2024-25. Catalon heads into her junior season after averaging 13.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24 games. Eads finished last season ranked eighth in conference play, averaging 15.9 points per game. The Pirates lost their top scorer, Faith Masonius (15.0 ppg), but have brought in an experienced group of transfers, including Mariana Valenzuela from Florida State, Jordana Codio from Texas, and Cam Rust from Penn State. 
 
Villanova recorded its fourth consecutive 20-win season with a 21-15 overall record and an 11-7 conference mark. The Wildcats earned a spot in the WBIT where they registered wins over Boston College, Saint Joseph’s, and the University of Portland before losing to Belmont in the semifinals. The Wildcats return First Team All-BIG EAST honoree, Jasmine Bascoe, who led the team with 16.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Villanova will look to replace their top three-point shooters, Maddie Webber and Maddie Burke. The Wildcats welcome graduate student transfer Kylee Watson from Notre Dame, who was the No. 17 recruit in the class of 2020 but missed last season due to injury. 
 
Coming off a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth, Creighton loses its top three scorers from last year, including Lauren Jensen, Morgan Maly, and Molly Mogensen. Head Coach Jim Flanery begins his 23rd season as Creighton’s all-time victory leader with a record of 427-268 (.614). Creighton went 26-7 overall and 16-2 in BIG EAST play a season ago, finishing in second place in the standings and advancing to the BIG EAST Tournament finals before losing to UConn. The Bluejays have earned six NCAA Tournament berths since joining the BIG EAST before the 2013-14 season. They most recently lost in the first round to Illinois (66-57). 
 
St. John’s returns three of their top scorers. Two notable returners include Kylie Lavelle and Skye Owen. Lavelle led the team with a 52.2 field goal percentage and an 84.0 free throw percentage. Owen shot 81.3 percent from the free-throw line and 38.3 percent from 3-point range, both marks ranked second-best on the team. The Red Storm went 16-15 overall and 5-13 in BIG EAST play in 2024-25 and reached the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. 
 
Georgetown finished 10th in the standings last season with a 4–14 conference record and a 12–19 overall mark. The Hoyas return senior Victoria Rivera, who ranked first on the team in three pointers (62), and Brianna Scott, who missed the 2024-25 season due to injury. Georgetown adds six transfers, including Laila Jewett from UCF, who averaged 8.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 29 games in 2024-25. 
 
DePaul returns veteran Kate Clark and their number three scorer in Meg Newman. The Blue Demons added seven transfers to their roster. DePaul fell to Xavier in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament, finishing the year 13-19 overall and 8-10 in conference play. Jill M. Pizzotti was named head coach of the Blue Demons in April of 2025 after serving on staff for 14 seasons, including 11 as associate head coach. 
 
Butler’s third-year head coach, Austin Parkinson, returns two players, including sophomore Lily Zeinstra and senior Lilly Stoddard. The Bulldogs added sophomore guard McKenna Johnson from Minnesota, who was ranked No. 60 in ESPN’s class of 2024 ranking. They also added redshirt sophomore Mallory Miller from Arizona State, who missed the 2024-25 season due to injury. Butler went 16-18 overall and 5-13 in BIG EAST play for ninth in the standings.
 
Providence (13-19, 6-12 BIG EAST) looks to replace leading scorers Grace Efosa and Olivia Olsen. Orlagh Gormley returns from injury, averaging 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 11 games. The Friars welcome three transfers, including Fairleigh Dickinson’s Teneisia Brown, who started all 33 games for the Knights. 
 
Billi Chambers enters her third year at Xavier after a 7-24 overall record in 2024-25. The Musketeers return Meri Kanerva, Petra Oborilova, MacKenzie Givens, and Lucía Martínez López, and welcome Mariyah Noel and four others.