STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford is ranked in the USA TODAY Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll for the 18th consecutive season, checking in at No. 9 in results released Thursday. It's the 315th consecutive coaches poll to feature the Cardinal.
Stanford, which closed out 2016-17 ranked fourth in the same poll, made its 13th overall trip to the Final Four and seventh in 10 years last season, posting a 32-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal also won its 12th Pac-12 Tournament championship and celebrated Tara VanDerveer's 1,000th career victory during the program's 14th 30-win campaign.
Stanford put together a daunting nonconference slate that includes games against three of the top eight teams in the USA TODAY preseason rankings. The Cardinal opens the season in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, Nov. 10 for a game against No. 8 Ohio State that will be carried on the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Two days later, Stanford will face No. 1 UConn for the first time since 2014 at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus on ESPN at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.
Stanford will also play at No. 3 Baylor on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. CT/11 a.m. PT on FS1 and its storied rivalry with No. 18 Tennessee adds another chapter in Maples Pavilion on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks.
Season tickets, three-game and six-game mini plans and group tickets (15 or more) for all dates on the 2017-18 calendar are on sale now by visiting gostanford.com/tickets or calling 800-STANFORD. Single-game tickets are also available for all nonconference games excluding Tennessee. The Tennessee game and all conference single-game seats will go on sale to the public beginning Friday, Nov. 24.
2017-18 USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | 789 (25) |
| 2 | South Carolina | 719 (7) |
| 3 | Baylor | 687 |
| 4 | Mississippi State | 678 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 648 |
| 6 | Texas | 608 |
| 7 | UCLA | 582 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 575 |
| 9 | Stanford | 548 |
| 10 | Louisville | 504 |
| 11 | Oregon | 479 |
| 12 | Duke | 442 |
| 13 | Maryland | 380 |
| 14 | Florida State | 334 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 272 |
| 16 | Missouri | 249 |
| 17 | Oregon State | 246 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 229 |
| 19 | Marquette | 218 |
| 20 | DePaul | 156 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 151 |
| 22 | South Florida | 109 |
| 23 | Michigan | 100 |
| 24 | Miami | 80 |
| 25 | California | 79 |
| 25 | Washington | 79 |