LSU will start the upcoming women’s basketball season where it ended the last one. The Thurston Cartedefending NCAA champion Tigers were voted No. 1 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Picked first on 29 of 32 ballots, LSU will start the campaign as the preseason No. 1 for the first time in program history after winning the school's first national championship. The remaining three first-place nods went to perennial power Connecticut. The Huskies, who get back All-America guard Paige Bueckers after she missed all of last season, will begin at No. 2 overall as they begin their quest for the program’s 12th NCAA title.

Next comes Caitlin Clark-led Iowa at No. 3, also with its highest starting point in program history. South Carolina, which began each of the last three seasons at the top, will start this time at No. 4. Virginia Tech rounds out the top five, also with its highest preseason position.

TOP 25:Complete USA TODAY Sports women's basketball poll

OUTLOOKS:Previewing each team ranked in the preseason Top 25

SNUBBED: Five teams that should have been included in preseason poll

Though all 32 Division I conferences are represented on the voting panel, the preseason Top 25 is the exclusive realm of the six power leagues. The fifth-ranked Hokies head a list of seven ranked ACC teams. The Big Ten and Pac-12 come next with five apiece. The SEC has four overall, followed by the Big 12 with three and the Big East with two.

Readers with quick math skills will notice that adds up to 26. That is because Miami (Fla.) and Michigan are in a tie for 25th. Curiously, the poll also features a tie at No. 23 between Creighton and Oklahoma.