After pulling off an unlikely upset over No. 15 Duke last Friday at The Greenbrier with just five available players for the second half of action, the WVU women's basketball team has been rewarded with a spot in the latest AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll.
The appearance marks West Virginia's return to the poll for the first time this season. The Mountaineers were omitted from the AP Top 25 in this year's preseason poll despite never leaving the poll last season, where they debuted at No. 16 in the first edition and finished the season at 21st in the final edition. The Mountaineers received votes in the 2025-26 preseason poll, as well as the first poll last week.
We're back 😀 pic.twitter.com/rbJ3VN0ldc
— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) November 17, 2025
The team that the Mountaineers beat, the Duke Blue Devils, fell out of the poll after their loss to WVU, but they were the team outside of the Top 25 that received the most votes (89). The Mountaineers are one of five different Big 12 teams to be included in the poll, and the lowest-ranked team in the conference among programs that did appear – ahead of the Mountaineers were No. 7 Baylor, No. 10 TCU, No. 12 Iowa State, and No. 18 Oklahoma State.
The Mountaineers will be in action just once this week, as they host Appalachian State on Thursday with a special 10:15 AM tip-off for Education Day, where they will welcome local students for a day full of hoops and learning. Then they will prepare for holiday tournament action at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in The Bahamas.