SAN FRANCISCO Defending national champion Stanford is the unanimous choice to win the 2021-22 Pac-12 womens basketball title in a vote of 26 media members who cover the league.

The medias preseason assessment of the Conference race largely mirrors that of the coaches, whose preseason poll was unveiled prior to Pac-12 Womens Basketball Media Day on Oct. 12. The Cardinal, which received every first-place vote and totaled 312 points, is followed by 2020-21 NCAA Tournament teams Oregon, UCLA and Oregon State in the top four spots.

Defending national runner-up Arizona is fifth and Washington State, coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 30 seasons, is sixth. Colorado, Arizona State, USC, Utah, Washington and California complete the predicted order of finish.

The leagues media also selected the 15-member Preseason All-Conference Team, a total which mirrors the Conferences postseason process. Oregon leads the way with four selections, Stanford has three, Arizona and Oregon State two, and Colorado, UCLA, USC and Washington State one each.

The Ducks quartet on the leagues early-season list includes recent USA Basketball gold medalists in Te-Hina Paopao (FIBA U19 World Cup) and Sedona Prince (FIBA AmeriCup), along with Endyia Rogers and Nyara Sabally . Stanford is led by Cameron Brink , Lexie Hull and Final Four Most Outstanding Player Haley Jones . Arizona is represented by Cate Reese and 2021 Pac-12 Womens Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year Sam Thomas , and Oregon States selections include Taylor Jones and 2021 All-Freshman honorable mention pick Talia von Oelhoffen .

Colorados Mya Hollingshed makes her debut on the preseason team and UCLA is represented by the Conferences second-leading returning scorer in Charisma Osborne . The two most recent Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year in USCs Alissa Pili (2020) and Washington States Charlisse Leger-Walker (2021) round out the All-Conference Team.

All eleven of the Pac-12s 15 returning all-conference performers from last season are on the 2021-22 preseason list in Reese and Thomas (ARIZ), Hollingshed (COLO), Paopao, Rogers and Sabally (ORE), Taylor Jones (OSU), Hull and Haley Jones (STAN), Osborne (UCLA), and Leger-Walker (WSU).

The four openings left following the departures of WNBA Draft picks and 2021 all-conference performers Aari McDonald (ARIZ), Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA), Kiana Williams (STAN) and Aleah Goodman (OSU) are filled on the preseason list by Prince (ORE), von Oelhoffen (OSU), Brink (STAN), and Pili (USC).

In addition to honorable mention selections Gina Conti (UCLA), Dru Gylten (UTAH) and Nancy Mulkey (WASH), 13 of the leagues 17 selected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Starting 5 Watch Lists earned preseason all-conference recognition.

The 2021-22 season gets underway on Tuesday, Nov. 9 with five Conference teams in action and the leagues television schedule begins the next night at 7 p.m. PT, when No. 20 UCLA hosts Pepperdine on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Los Angeles.

There are a pair of ranked matchups during the first week of action, as No. 22 Arizona faces off against No. 6 Louisville at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday, Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m. PT, and No. 3 Stanford hosts No. 25 Texas on Sunday, Nov. 14 at noon PT on ESPN. Against nonconference opponents in the regular season over the past five seasons, the Pac-12 leads all leagues in winning percentage (466-114; .803) and AP Top 25 wins (151).

For the sixth consecutive year, five Pac-12 womens basketball teams are ranked in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 - No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 Oregon, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 20 UCLA and No. 22 Arizona. The Conferences six-year run with at least that many teams appearing in the APs debut poll is the longest active streak in the nation.

2021-22 PAC-12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

HONORABLE MENTION (received votes from three-or-more members of the media): Kennedy Brown (OSU); Gina Conti (UCLA); Natalie Chou (UCLA); Dalayah Daniels (CAL); Dru Gylten (UTAH); Taya Hanson (ASU); Krystal Leger-Walker (WSU) Brynna Maxwell (UTAH); Nancy Mulkey (WASH); Jaylyn Sherrod (COLO); Anna Wilson (STAN).

2021-22 PAC-12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL