The Indiana women’s basketball team eked into the preseason AP Top 25 rankings, coming in at No. 25 ahead of the 2024-25 season.
That ranking is down 13 spots from where Indiana ended the 2023-24 season at No. 12 following a Sweet 16 run with a loss to eventual national champion South Carolina. But that drop was expected: the Hoosiers lost five-year center and program leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes following the season, as well as 3-point single-season record-holder Sara Scalia.
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In the offseason, IU reloaded with talent. The Hoosiers first bolstered their frontcourt with Karoline Striplin, a 6-3 transfer out of Tennessee. They also picked up guard Shay Ciezki, a proven 3-point sharpshooter from Penn State with a 46.1% career clip from long range.
The Hoosiers also have three returning starters in Sydney Parrish, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Yarden Garzon.
Indiana is one of six Big Ten teams in the preseason AP Poll. USC, with sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins, leads the league at No. 3. UCLA comes in at No. 5, while Ohio State is No. 14, Maryland is at No. 18 and Nebraska is at No. 23. Iowa, which went to the national championship game in 2023-24 but lost NCAA all-time leading scorer and two-time national player of the year Caitlin Clark, is just out of the poll, receiving 37 votes for an unofficial No. 26.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women’s basketball draws preseason top 25 ranking with key additions
