BATON ROUGE – LSU women's basketball will begin its sixth season under Kim Mulkey ranked among the nation's elite, checking in at No. 9 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 released Tuesday.
The ranking continues an impressive stretch for the Tigers, who have now appeared in the AP top 10 during six consecutive seasons. That matches the longest such streak in program history, previously established from 2002 through 2008.
Mulkey enters her 27th season as a Division I head coach approaching another significant career milestone. With 783 victories and a career winning percentage of .857, she needs just 17 more wins to reach 800. Her overall record stands at 783-130, including a 151-26 mark during her first five seasons at LSU.
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The Tigers return several important pieces from last season, led by first-team All-SEC guard Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley, the 2026 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year.
Also returning are sophomores ZaKiyah Johnson, Grace Knox and Meghan Yarnevich. Johnson earned SEC All-Freshman recognition last season, while all three were members of LSU's highly regarded recruiting class.
Mulkey also added considerable talent through the transfer portal, bringing in Jada Williams from Iowa State, Laila Reynolds from Florida and Chloe Larry from Tennessee Tech.
The newcomers also include Indiana freshman Lola Lampley and international additions Noa Morro of Spain and Anna Minaeva of Russia.
Altogether, LSU's 11-player roster features five returnees and six newcomers.
The Tigers will play two free exhibition games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on October 22 and October 29 before opening the regular season November 2 against Southeastern Louisiana.
LSU will face a demanding schedule that includes several nationally ranked opponents.
Seven SEC programs appear in the preseason rankings, led by No. 1 South Carolina. Texas checks in at No. 6, followed by Vanderbilt at No. 8, LSU at No. 9, Kentucky at No. 14, Ole Miss at No. 19 and Oklahoma at No. 21.
Outside conference play, the Tigers will meet No. 2 UConn at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, travel to No. 12 North Carolina for the SEC/ACC Challenge and face No. 25 NC State at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on November 28.
2026-27 AP Women's Basketball Preseason Top 25
1. South Carolina
2. UConn
3. USC
4. Duke
5. Michigan
6. Texas
7. Louisville
8. Vanderbilt
9. LSU
10. Iowa
11. UCLA
12. North Carolina
13. Notre Dame
14. Kentucky
15. TCU
16. Washington
17. Minnesota
18. Ohio State
19. Ole Miss
20. Maryland
21. Oklahoma
22. Oklahoma State
23. Illinois
24. West Virginia
25. NC State
