UCLA was voted the No. 1 team in the 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bruins placement in the top spot was unanimous receiving all 32 first-place votes. They enter the 2021 season where they finished a year ago at No. 1 when play was halted due to the pandemic.
| 1 | UCLA (32) | 800 | 25-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Washington | 748 | 23-2 | 2 |
| 3 | Arizona | 717 | 22-3 | 4 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 708 | 20-4 | 6 |
| 5 | LSU | 644 | 21-3 | 5 |
| 6 | Texas | 611 | 24-3 | 3 |
| 7 | Florida | 605 | 23-4 | 7 |
| 8 | Alabama | 588 | 14-8 | 10 |
| 9 | Louisiana | 565 | 18-6 | 8 |
| 10 | Oregon | 481 | 22-2 | 9 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 476 | 19-5 | 12 |
| 12 | Florida State | 403 | 17-7 | 12 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 359 | 20-4 | 11 |
| 14 | Georgia | 352 | 23-5 | 14 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 317 | 21-4 | 16 |
| 16 | Arizona State | 295 | 22-7 | 17 |
| 17 | Michigan | 264 | 15-8 | 18 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 244 | 19-6 | 19 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 227 | 17-6 | 15 |
| 20 | Mississippi State | 180 | 25-3 | 20 |
| 21 | UCF | 159 | 21-5-1 | 21 |
| 22 | Baylor | 147 | 19-5 | 23 |
| 23 | Missouri | 117 | 19-7 | 25 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 114 | 15-9-1 | 22 |
| 25 | Duke | 64 | 23-4 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Fresno State (62), Tennessee (54), Stanford (33), Utah (13), Cal State Fullerton (12), Clemson (9), North Texas (8), Texas Tech (8), Northwestern (7), James Madison (6), Liberty (1), Notre Dame (1), San Diego State (1).