Fresh off a second straight ACC Tournament title and a run to the Sweet 16 after earning the program's first ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, NC State women's basketball is ranked No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25.

The Wolfpack finished last year 22-3 overall and returns its top eight scorers plus added a talented group of newcomers that included sophomore transfers Diamond Johnson, a second-team All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers, and Madison Hayes, a SEC All-Freshman Team member from Mississippi State.

It is NC State's highest preseason ranking since it was No. 5 in 1979. The highest ever rating to begin the year was No. 4 in 1978.

NC State has now been ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll every week since Dec. 9, 2019 and reached No. 2 last year.

The Pack will open the season Nov. 9 against preseason No. 1 South Carolina in Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. NC State defeated the Gamecocks, ranked No. 1 at the time, last season in Columbia, S.C.

NC State is also set to take on No. 4 Maryland in the Bahamas on Nov. 25 and No. 8 Indiana on the road Dec. 2 in non-conference play.

The Wolfpack was one of five ACC teams rated, joining Louisville (No. 6), Florida State (No. 16), Georgia Tech (No. 17) and Virginia Tech (No. 24).

Here is the full AP preseason top 25.

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