| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Baylor | After finishing 40-0, the question is not if this is the best team this year, but the best team ever. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Stanford | Stanford played well until they ran into Baylor. And they even gave the Bears a relatively good game. | 2 |
| 3 |  | Notre Dame | The Irish proved once again that they were the best team in the Big East this year by knocking off Uconn. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Connecticut | Connecticut may have been a team that was able to beat Baylor, but they again fell to Notre Dame. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Maryland | Maryland had a tough road to the Elite Eight, but they made it…and fell to Notre Dame when they got there. | 5 |
| 6 |  | Duke | Like all of the top seeds, Duke made it to the Elite Eight, but could not find a way to beat the #1 seed. | 7 |
| 7 |  | Tennessee | The Lady Vols pulled together nicely during the NCAA Tournament. This team finished very strong. | 8 |
| 8 |  | Kentucky | Kentucky had some tough matchups in the NCAA Tournament, but survived until the Elite Eight. | 14 |
| 9 |  | Penn State | Penn State got a couple nice victories over UTEP and LSU in the tournament, but could not pull of a big upset. | 9 |
| 10 |  | Delaware | Delaware fell victim to surprise Sweet Sixteen participant Kansas in the second round. They'll be back next year. | 6 |
| 11 |  | Miami | Miami was another team that fell earlier than expected in the NCAA Tournament, with this group falling to Gonzaga. | 10 |
| 12 |  | Georgia Tech | After a very good season in ACC play, Georgia Tech followed it up with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. | 15 |
| 13 |  | Green Bay | Green Bay was woefully underseeded in the NCAA Tournament, but a 37-2 record speaks for itself. | 11 |
| 14 |  | St. John's | St. John's held serve as a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing to Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. | 17 |
| 15 |  | Georgetown | The Hoyas lost to Georgia Tech in the second round of the tournament, but had a fine year in a tough Big East. | 13 |
| 16 |  | Purdue | Purdue earned a #4 seed in the tournament after a very good regular season. In March, they struggled though. | 18 |
| 17 |  | Ohio State | Ohio State looked like better than a #8 seed, but they did not take care of business against Florida. | 12 |
| 18 |  | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure didn't have the toughest competition in the NCAA Tournament, but they reached the Sweet Sixteen. | 19 |
| 19 |  | Texas A&M | The Aggies went as far as they should have in the NCAA Tournament, losing to #2 seeded Maryland. | 24 |
| 20 |  | Louisville | Louisville seemed a little underseeded at #7 and they just couldn't compete with Maryland in the Second Round. | 21 |
| 21 |  | Gonzaga | Gonzaga had the luxury of playing at home and that is a big reason they upset Rutgers and Miami in the tournament. | 23 |
| 22 |  | Georgia | The Bulldogs were upset by Marist in the first round of the big dance, but that won't entirely ruin their good season. | 20 |
| 23 |  | South Carolina | South Carolina got a quality victory over Purdue in the Second Round to reach the Sweet Sixteen. | NR |
| 24 |  | Nebraska | Nebraska had a very good inaugural season in the Big Ten, but their failure in the NCAA Tournament stings. | 16 |
| 25 |  | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt finished the year with a 23-10 overall record and won one game in the NCAA Tournament. | 22 |
Postseason Women's Basketball Top 25
Sat, 04/07/2012
