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Oklahoma Ranked No. 6 in Preseason AP Top 25

Much is expected of Jennie Baranczyk's fifth OU squad as the Sooners bring back plenty of All-SEC talent and the nation's No. 1 freshman.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk
Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk | James Snook-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN – Oklahoma will open the 2025–26 season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25, its highest preseason mark since 2009 when the Sooners began the year fourth.

The ranking continues Oklahoma's rise under fifth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, whose program has finished in the AP poll each of the last four seasons, including No. 11 last year — the team's best final ranking since 2009–10. This year marks the seventh time OU has opened inside the top 10 (2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2024, 2025) and extends its active streak to 30 consecutive appearances in the poll, the fourth-longest in program history.

Picked fifth in the SEC preseason media poll, the Sooners return one of the nation's most talented rosters. Oklahoma features four McDonald's All-Americans, highlighted by preseason All-SEC first-team selection Raegan Beers, 2025 All-SEC honoree Payton Verhulst, junior standout Sahara William  and top-ranked freshman Aaliyah Chavez, the consensus national high school player of the year.

Beers, a senior from Littleton, Colo., was a consensus All-America honorable mention last season after averaging 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 63% from the field. A finalist for the 2025 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award, she led the SEC in player efficiency rating (35.9) and was the only player in the country to average 31.0 points and 16.0 rebounds per 40 minutes.

The Sooners were slotted fifth in the poll behind South Carolina, Texas, LSU and Tennessee. All five teams rank inside the top seven of ESPN's preseason poll, including Oklahoma at No. 6, one spot ahead of Tennessee.

OU is one of five SEC teams in the AP top 10, with the league leading the country with eight ranked programs. The Sooners are set to face 10 opponents in the poll in the regular season, including six top-10 foes.

Oklahoma opens the regular season Nov. 3 against Belmont at Lloyd Noble Center at 4:30 p.m.. Fans can get an early look at the Sooners in an Oct. 29 exhibition vs. Oklahoma Christian set for 6 p.m in Norman. Admission to the exhibition is free, and no broadcast is scheduled.

On Wednesday, Baranczyk will join Beers, Verhulst and Williams at SEC Basketball Tipoff in Birmingham, AL. Oklahoma's contingent will appear live on SEC Network at 4:20 p.m. and 5:35 p.m.

AP Preseason Top 25

1. UConn
2. South Carolina
3. UCLA
4. Texas
5. LSU
6. Oklahoma
7. Duke
8. Tennessee
9. NC State
10. Maryland
11. North Carolina
12. Ole Miss
13. Michigan
14. Iowa State
15. Notre Dame
16. Baylor
17. TCU
18. USC
19. Vanderbilt
20. Louisville
21. Iowa
22. Oklahoma State
23. Michigan State
T24. Kentucky
T24. Richmond

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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