Duke and Illinois round out the top three, while defending champion Michigan lands at 16th after losing four starters and head coach Dusty May.
Florida is back on top. The Gators were named the overwhelming choice as No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 released Monday, pulling in 47 of 59 first-place votes from the national media panel. It marks the first time Todd Golden's program has sat atop the poll since the final rankings of 2025, when Florida beat Houston for the school's third national championship.
"It's cool," Golden said of the ranking, "but like, we've been No. 1 before. We won a national championship before. That's what I want our program to expect. That's what we want to kind of go into every season at."
Duke picked up 10 first-place votes and slots in at second, with Illinois taking the other two first-place votes to round out the top three. The coaches' poll largely agrees, though it tabbed Arizona for the fourth spot instead of UConn.
Defending national champion Michigan finds itself well outside the top tier, ranked 16th after losing four starters, including first-round talents Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara, along with head coach Dusty May, who left for the Dallas Mavericks.