Football has already seen the implications of what new SEC teams Texas and Oklahoma can bring and now the effects have trickled early on in women’s basketball.

Though Texas A&M finished ninth in conference play in the 2023-24 season, the media has bumped the Aggies down four spots in an early prediction of SEC rankings. Reigning champions, South Carolina, sit atop of the throne but new faces Texas and Oklahoma are predicted to finish second and fourth, moving several existing SEC teams down spots.

However, the Maroon and White are due to finish higher than their predicted spot. Headed into year three of the Joni Taylor era — and fresh off a gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics — the coach will bring that Olympic success pedigree into a consistently improving program.

 She’s righted the ship from year one, jumping from a 9-20 record to a ten-win improvement last year of 19-13. Though the team has won four more conference games between the two years, they still sat below .500 last year. Improving that record — and the predicted SEC ranking — will be on their minds.