The UCLA Bruins might be the defending national champions, but it's their crosstown rivals that have all the fanfare going into the 2026-27 women's basketball season.
The USC Trojans land at No. 3 in the preseason USA TODAY Women's Basketball Coaches Poll released Tuesday, fueled by the return of Juju Watkins. UCLA, meanwhile, will start the year at No. 12 after most of their championship core departed for the WNBA.
The Bruins, after years of coming brutally close, finally broke through and won the 2026 NCAA Women's Tournament for their first national title in program history. But as confetti fell on their heads in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 22, the realization settled in: this was it for this generation.
Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, Angela Dugalić, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker were all taken in the WNBA draft three weeks later; a new record for most players selected in a single round (5) and most players drafted from a single school in one draft (6).
This year's roster looks a little different with two incoming freshmen and a top five-ranked transfer portal class anchored by Addy Brown, Donovyn Hunter, KK Bransford, Bonnie Deas and Elina Aarnisalo – who returns to Westwood after a yearlong-stint at North Carolina.
Aarnisalo, a 5-foot-10 junior guard who shot 40.4% from 3 for the Tar Heels last season, strikes the balance between the rookies and vets – five total returners – on this team. That's crucial for a UCLA team that says they're not rebuilding.
"We understand the standard," head coach Cori Close told reporters at Big Ten media day. "The road map has sort of been set forth for us and I think this team – the transfers, the freshmen – they have purposely signed up because of the championship standards, because of a process that we have created, that we really believe in. And it’s not for everybody."
But even if the standard remains the same in Westwood, the spotlight has undeniably shifted to South Central.
JuJu Watkins missed her entire junior year with a torn ACL. She's back, along with reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson. Kennedy Smith, an All-Big Ten defender, also returns for her junior season.
Watkins and Davidson were each the No. 1 recruit in the nation when they signed with the Women of Troy; they'll welcome one more member to that club this year in Saniyah Hall, a 6-1 guard out of SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio. And she's not the only highly ranked prospect in this USC recruiting class.
Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb also added Sara Okeke and Sitaya Fagan, a pair of international forwards from Spain and Australia, respectively. Okeke was the MVP of the 2025 FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket.
USC opens their season against UNLV on Monday, Nov. 2 in Las Vegas as part of the Hall of Fame Series while UCLA hosts Lehigh at Pauley Pavilion.
LA has been a hub of women's college basketball this decade. Rankings aside, that's set to continue this year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JuJu Watkins' return powers USC to No. 3 as UCLA begins title defense at No. 12 in Coaches Poll