| Year: | 2021 |
| Gender: | women's |
| Preseason Number 1: | South Carolina |
| Ncaa Champions: | South Carolina |
Two human polls make up the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls.
| Increase in ranking | |||
| Decrease in ranking | |||
| Not ranked previous week | |||
| Italics | Number of first place votes | ||
| (#–#) | Win–loss record | ||
| т | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
The Coaches Poll is the second oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll. It is compiled by a rotating group of 31 college Division I head coaches. The Poll operates by Borda count. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25. Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the highest points is then ranked No. 1; second highest is ranked No. 2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first place votes noted the quantity next to their name. The maximum points a single team can earn is 775.