Women’s college basketball is coming off one of the most entertaining seasons ever and is ready to keep the momentum going as a new season tips off.
With so much talent across the country, intrigue is at an all-time high entering 2024-25. Who can stop South Carolina from repeating? Which star will leave the season with the John R. Wooden Award? Which teams might make a surprising NCAA tournament run?
Here are predictions for the big season headlines:
Player of the Year: Paige Bueckers, UConn
This is generally considered to be a two-horse race between Bueckers and USC sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins. Bueckers got the upper hand in their Elite Eight matchup last season, and the prediction here is that she beats out Watkins for the sport’s highest individual honor in 2024-25.
Bueckers is set to be the absolute hub of UConn’s offense and plays in an easier conference; Watkins is the No. 1 option at USC but will be tasked with helping to incorporate many talented newcomers. It would be fascinating to see Bueckers win her second Naismith Trophy four seasons removed from taking the honor as a freshman.
Conference Winners
ACC: Notre Dame (Regular Season and Conference Tournament)
North Carolina State and Duke are threats here, but the Fighting Irish are the best team from top to bottom. They return three players who averaged over 14 points per game last season in Preseason All-American Hannah Hidalgo, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld, although Citron and Westbeld are dealing with injuries to start the season.
The key for the Irish is Olivia Miles, the guard who missed last season due to a knee injury. If she can return to the form that made her an AP All-America Second Team selection in 2022-23, Notre Dame will be fierce title contender.
Big 12: Iowa State (Regular Season and Conference Tournament)
The Cyclones feature one of the best frontcourt tandems in the entire country in sophomores Audi Crooks and Addy Brown. After filling out its guard depth through the transfer portal, Iowa State has the roster to make a major run this season.
The Cyclones may go largely as Crooks does, who showed the peaks and valleys of her game when she followed a 40-point first-round performance with a 10-point, 3-of-21 shooting stinker in the NCAA tournament.
Big East: UConn (Regular Season and Conference Tournament)
Bueckers is far from the only star on this team. Ashlynn Shade is back as Bueckers’ backcourt mate, Azzi Fudd is hoping for a healthy season and Sarah Strong (No. 1), Allie Ziebell (No. 7) and Morgan Cheli (No. 11) give the Huskies three of the top freshmen in the country.
The logic here is simple: UConn has won the Big East regular season and tournament titles in each of the past four seasons since it returned to the conference. There’s no reason to think the trend will stop now.
Big Ten: UCLA (Regular Season), USC (Conference Tournament)
It’s interesting to see two Los Angeles schools designated as the cream of the crop in the Big Ten, but that’s the college sports world we live in now.
The pick here comes down to continuity. The Trojans have as much talent as anyone in the country as they add transfers Kiki Iriafen and Talia von Oelhoffen as well as ESPN’s No. 1 recruiting class to a nucleus that already includes Watkins and Rayah Marshall. Still, it can take some time to get that amount of talent to gel, and Watkins and Marshall are the only returning starters.
UCLA, meanwhile, returns four starters and may be more ready to hit the ground running. Lauren Betts is back after leading the team in points per game last season, but the Bruins run a balanced system where every player on the floor is a threat. Look for UCLA to take the regular season conference crown, but USC’s top-end talent makes the Trojans the pick in Indianapolis once they’ve had a season to grow together.
SEC: South Carolina (Regular Season and Conference Tournament)
The Gamecocks have won both conference crowns in each of the past two seasons. At this point, Dawn Staley’s team is a machine that churns out wins, losing just three games across the last three seasons.
Replacing Kamilla Cardoso will be tough, but South Carolina has an incredible depth of returning experience. Between MiLaysia Fulwiley, Te-Hina Paopao and Ashlyn Watkins, among others, no team boasts quite the continuity that the champs do. Add in No. 3 recruit Joyce Edwards, and the Gamecocks are ready to run it back.
Final Four: South Carolina, USC, UConn, Texas
We’ve already touched on the first three teams here, so let’s focus on what Texas brings to the table. It all starts with Madison Booker, who won Big 12 Player of the Year last season and is the final Preseason All-America selection alongside Bueckers, Hidalgo, Iriafen and Watkins.
Rori Harmon is also back as one of the country’s ultimate stat sheet-stuffers, and Taylor Jones and Aaliyah Moore will hold down the interior. If top-15 freshmen Jordan Lee and Justice Carlton acclimate quickly, Texas can compete with any team.
National Champion: USC
Only one team in the country has two AP Preseason All-America selections. Only one team has the No. 1 class of freshmen. The Trojans already escaped against Ole Miss and will also face Notre Dame, UConn, UCLA and Ohio State during the season. While those tests may hurt their win percentage, they will prepare USC for the deep rounds of the tournament. Lindsay Gottlieb will have this team ready to play its best ball when it matters the most.
