The women’s college basketball season is about to get underway and after one the most exciting seasons in history, a lot of change is expected.
A year after stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese brought women’s basketball some of the highest ratings in all of sports, expectations are high. However, after a loaded WNBA draft, a new set of players will look to step up and advance their programs to the National Championship.
Reflected in these power rankings is the expectation of continued success from mainstay powerhouses, but also the emergence of new threats.
- South Carolina
- USC
- UConn
- UCLA
- Texas
- Notre Dame
- LSU
- NC State
- Oklahoma
- Iowa State
- Duke
- Kansas State
- Baylor
- Ohio State
- North Carolina
- Louisville
- Maryland
- West Virginia
- Creighton
- Florida State
- Ole Miss
- Nebraska
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Iowa
Reigning champion South Carolina remains where it finished last season, at the top of the women’s basketball mountain. The Gamecocks are returning four of their five starters from last year’s squad and are welcoming the No. 2 2024 class as ranked by ESPN.
USC and Connecticut follow the Gamecocks as they both added impact transfers and were highly successful in the recruiting sphere. USC landed six top 100 recruits, highlighted by forward Kennedy Smith (No. 6). The Trojans also added two former All-Pac-12 transfers in Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State) to assist Naismith Player of the Year frontrunner JuJu Watkins. UConn brings in the second-ranked freshman class with No. 1 prospect Sarah Strong leading the way and get a prized transfer in Princeton guard Kaityln Chen. The Huskies are looking to bounce back from the health issues of last season and take advantage of the offensive firepower of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.
Former WSU star Charlisse Leger-Walker find herself on an early favorite squad in UCLA. The Cougs’ third all-time leading scorer joins the Bruins as a graduate transfer in a transfer group that also includes a familiar face in Oregon State’s Timea Gardiner. Gardiner averaged 10.2 points on 39.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc and was named Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year.
Some teams to watch out for in the early part of the season are Kansas State and Louisville. K-State was picked over Iowa State to win the Big 12 in media preseason polls and is coming off a season in which they were one of the strongest defensive teams in the country and shot the ball with excellent efficiency. The Wildcats’ senior center Ayoka Lee was also tapped for Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year. Louisville, picked fourth in the ACC preseason poll, could rise quickly if their sixth-ranked freshman class reaches its potential. The Cardinals have four top 100 commits, led by dynamic scorer Imari Berry (No. 19) and all-around forward Mackenly Randolph (No. 23).
As for WSU, the Cougs are not currently in a firm position to get into the top 25. With success in the non-conference schedule though, WSU could quickly see itself in conversation for a spot in the rankings. WSU takes on fringe top-25 teams in Stanford and Iowa and will get two chances to beat a Gonzaga team that are the WCC favorites.
