Here are the NSCAA Women’s NCAA Division I Preseason Top 25 rankings as sanctioned and conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America:
| Rank/Team | 1997 Record |
| 1. North Carolina | 27-0-1 |
| 2. Notre Dame | 23-1-1 |
| 3. Santa Clara | 20-3-1 |
| 4. Connecticut | 23-4-0 |
| 5. Florida | 20-3-1 |
| 6. Virginia | 14-5-2 |
| 7. Portland | 14-5-0 |
| 8. Nebraska | 18-4-0 |
| 9. Hartford | 19-2-1 |
| 10. Duke | 15-6-0 |
| 11. Texas A&M | 18-3-0 |
| 12. Harvard | 13-4-2 |
| 13. William & Mary | 20-5-0 |
| 14. Clemson | 15-7-0 |
| 15t. Minnesota | 18-3-2 |
| 15t. UCLA | 19-3-0 |
| 17. Michigan | 18-4-1 |
| 18. Maryland | 12-9-3 |
| 19. BYU | 19-4-0 |
| 20. SMU | 17-5-1 |
| 21. George Mason | 14-6-4 |
| 22. Massachusetts | 17-5-0 |
| 23. Vanderbilt | 14-8-0 |
| 24. Stanford | 11-7-1 |
| 25. Penn State | 15-7-1 |