The Women’s Other Top 25: Richmond sits No. 1 in preseason ranking

Mid-Major Madness introduces the Women’s Other Top 25. The Richmond Spiders claimed the top spot in the preseason ranking.

Princeton came in at No. 2 with three Ivy League teams in the top 11. Columbia and Harvard slotted 10th and 11th, respectively. South Dakota State was third. Fairfield sat fourth, and James Madison rounded out the top five. UNLV, South Florida, George Mason and Belmont ranked six through nine.

The Spiders come into the season ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25. That is their first ever appearance in the poll. They have reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years and won the program’s first NCAA Tournament game this past March.

Richmond is 37th in BartTorvik entering the upcoming campaign. The Atlantic 10 preseason favorites have gone 37-4 against conference foes the last two seasons.

Aaron Roussell brings back a loaded squad headlined by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Maggie Doogan and All-Conference First Teamer Rachel Ullstrom. Doogan notched 17 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season. Ullstrom scored 15.3 points per contest and shot 42.3% from 3-point range.

The Tigers sit one spot behind Richmond at 38th in Torvik. They have a top-30 ranking in adjusted offensive efficiency. They have reached the last six NCAA Tournaments and have gone 12-2 or better in the Ivy League seven straight years.

Princeton brings back four starters from last year’s squad: Ashley Chea, Skye Belker, Fadima Tall and Olivia Hutcherson. Chea averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds a game. Belker poured in 13 points a night. Tall was also in double figures with 10.6 per contest. Madison St. Rose is also back after playing just four games last season. She averaged 14.8 points and 1.7 steals per game in 2023-24.

The Jackrabbits are 58th in Torvik. They have dominated the Summit League to an impressive 92-3 record against conference opponents since the beginning of the 2020-21 season. They are 81-1 in the conference regular season during that time and have run the table the last three years.

The Jacks are led by Preseason Player of the Year Brooklyn Meyer, who tallied 17 points and 5.9 rebounds a game last season. Madison Mathiowetz is the lone other returning starter and contributed 8.9 points per game.

The Stags have it rolling. They have made the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the last four. Carly Thibault-Dudonis’ club has lost just one MAAC game and has gone 59-7 over the last two campaigns. That’s the second-best winning percentage (.893) over that span.

Meghan Andersen was named MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. She averaged 14.8 points per game, while shooting a conference-best 48.3%. She ranked top five in both blocks and 3-point shooting. Janelle Brown is back in the fold after playing in just eight games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. The 2024 MAAC Player of the Year posted 13.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game that season while shooting 57% from the floor. Kaety L’Amoreaux returns as well after averaging a career-best 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game last season.

The Dukes are 54th in Torvik. They posted a program-record 30 wins last season and went a perfect 18-0 in Sun Belt play. They won 20 straight games – a streak that was snapped with an overtime loss to Arkansas State in the SBC title game.

Reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Peyton McDaniel is back after averaging 16 points and 8.2 rebounds per game with 16 double-doubles. She is one of two players to have averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with at least 250 makes from three since 2020-21. The other is Caitlin Clark. Ashanti Barnes returns as well after averaging 10.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

Here is the complete Other Top 25: