The Women's basketball season is upon us! The PAC-12 is well represented in the AP Preseason poll with two of the top three, three of the top seven and five teams overall. Before the opening tipoff, lets take a quick trip around the PAC-12 and look at each team.

The Painted Desert.

ASU. As long as the Sun Devils are coached by Charli Turner Thorne you just know that you'll have to be ready to outwork them. Despite being unable to recruit a quality post player, her teams have remained competitive and a constant participant in the big dance. Like Tara, Charli has her eyes squarely on March with her in insistence on a hockey line change approach to playing time. This worked very well last year in the NCAA as the Sun Devils went to FL to book a spot in the sweet sixteen. Returning players Robbi Ryan and Reili Richardson will have to lead the way for a team without a true post player.

ASU will vie for the 5/6 seed in the PAC-12 and receive an at large bid to the NCAA.

AZ. The plan is coming together for head coach Adia Barnes. Returning to her alma mater has resulted in a climb up the relevance ladder. Returning all five starters adds to the continuity of a squad that won the WNIT. Perhaps just as important is the renewed interest from the fan base. As the Wildcats progressed through each round as a host school, attendance went up. At the semi-final over 10,000 and sold out the McKale Center for the final. Continuing to give fans a reason to come out and support the team will go along way towards the goal of making the NCAA. Aari McDonald is a star, no one is faster with the ball in her hand than she. They are an exciting team on the rise.

AZ will challenge for the 5/6 seed in the PAC-12and achieve their goal of an NCAA invite.

SoCal.

USC. No team saw more player turnover than Mark Trakh's Trojans. 9 players have left the program through graduation and transfers. He has 7 incoming freshmen in a class that ranks fifth in the country. In the long run this may help Mark as he tries to rebuild the Trojan program as he now has more of his own recruits than that of the previous coaching staff. It will be a big ask of this freshmen dominated team to make the NCAA and a visit by Texas A&M will provide any early barometer. A more reasonable expectation would be the WNIT.

USC will be a 7/8 seed in the PAC-12 and while missing the NCAA, they accept an invitation to the WNIT.

UCLA. From where the Bruins started, to where they finished, Cori Close was coach of the year in the PAC-12. Her team blossomed during the conference season with the emergence of Michaela Onyenwere as a star. The 10th ranked recruiting class and Japreece Dean returning for a fifth year has the Bruins well positioned to challenge the top teams in the country.

UCLA will finish in the 3/4 seed in the PAC-12 and host NCAA games.

Mountain climbing

CU. A window of opportunity has closed for coach JR Payne. Kennedy Lenard has graduated. The Buffs were never able to draw any top level recruits to Boulder. She was such a good player it's a shame she never had a good team around her.

Colorado will be in the bottom 4.

UT. No team saw their fortunes rise and fall as dramatically the Utes. Coach Lynne Robert's team reached their acme with a home victory against Stanford and a national ranking. They would not win another game against a significant opponent and lose to Washington in the PAC-12 Tournament. To add insult to injury, PAC-12 freshman of the year Dre'Una Edwards would transfer out.

The Utes will be bottom four.

How 'bout them apples

WU. Coach Jody Wynn has slowly rebuilt the Huskies in the post Kelsey & Chantel era. Amber Melgoza is worth the price of admission to watch her drop 45 points on someone. Unless it happens to be your team, in which case it is definitely not fun. Other than Missy Peterson there is not much quality around them to compete. A surprise run to the semi finals of the PAC-12 Tournament should give them some confidence.

They will be in 7/8 seed in the PAC-12.

WSU. Kamie Ethridge is having her number retired by Texas A&M. The Cougars have the all United Nations team with players hailing from France, Bulgaria and Rwanda. I have this vision of a promo video where Kamie is talking to her team during a time out. As she lays out the plan, her players are responding in their native languages. At the end the voiceover says something like, " basketball; a universal language".

The Cougars will be bottom four.

Oregon Trail

OSU. Outside of Tara, my favorite coach in the PAC-12 is Scott Rueck. He took a program that was in the dumps and turned it around. Successfully recruiting Sydney Wiese was his pivotal moment . But he has continued to recruit well and the Beavers remain relevant in the post Sydney Wiese era. With his self deprecating style, the 'shortest coach with the tallest roster' has a team that may struggle early in the year with some inexperience and players returning from injuries but should be there late into the NCAA.

The Beavers will be 3/4 seed in the PAC-12 and will host in the NCAA.

OU. The Ducks are the two time defending regular season champs. A final four participant. The preseason number one in the AP and they return four starters. Hard to argue with that. They have a strong input of freshmen and grad transfer Minyon Moore from USC. How quickly she integrates will be important. Injuries robbed the Ducks of depth last year forcing key players to absorb huge minutes. How Kelly Graves uses the freshmen will be something to keep an eye on. His charges, however, remain the team to beat.

Oregon will vie for the 1/2 seed in the PAC-12 and a one seed in the NCAA.

Cities by the Bay

Cal. The coaching change in the PAC-12 occurred in Berkley. In April Charmin Smith left for the WNBA. Then head coach Lindsay Gottlieb left for the NBA. Cal brought Charmin back to lead Cal. She is a terrific coach with not much to work with this year. It will take her a season or two to reset the program. Her pedigree says it will happen.

Bottom four.

Stanford. The excitement is palpable. The number two ranked recruiting class. The number one ranked recruit. The dunking video sensation. And an athletic post. Three McDonald's All Americans. The returning players. Fans can't wait for the season to start. Stanford is the main competition for first in the conference. Tara has as deep a roster as she has ever had. It will be fun watching the coaching staff try different player combinations as the season progresses. All with an eye towards March.

Stanford will vie for the 1/2 seed in the PAC-12 and a one seed in the NCAA.

Go Card!