NC State is No. 8 in ESPN’s early women’s basketball top 25 for 2022

With what it has returning next season, NC State will be among the nation’s elite in women’s college basketball, with a chance to again compete for an ACC title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack checks in at No. 8 in Charlie Creme’s early top 25 for next season.

NC State is hardly the only school returning a lot of experience thanks to the free season of eligibility, and the ACC is shaping up to be deeper as a result. Louisville is No. 6 in Creme’s rankings, while Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Notre Dame also make the rankings.

That should make the league less top-heavy, though the Cardinals and Wolfpack will be the class of the conference once more. And while State had a disappointingly short postseason, its window to do something special in the NCAAs definitely has not closed—not as long as Elissa Cunane is still around.