With the 2025–26 college women’s basketball season just around the corner, fans are getting excited to see their star players back in action and to check out the upcoming freshman class. So many top programs are bringing back experienced talent, while others are counting on their freshmen and transfers to make an impact on their program. With big offseason changes across the board, the battle for conference championships is going to be more competitive than ever. There’s no doubt this season will be more competitive than ever with this new freshman class.
Starting off with the NCAA’s No.1 ranked freshman of 2025 is 6-foot-1-inch guard Jazzy Davidson who was recruited by South Carolina. She is filling in the shoes of junior guard JuJu Watkins who made the decision to sit out this season due to an ACL tear that took her out last season. Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb agreed saying “JuJu’s health and well-being are our top priority, and we fully support her decision to focus on recovery this season.” Davidson brings her offensive playmaking ability and disciplined defense to this team. Last season USC made it to the Elite Eight. This season without Watkins, and Davidson coming to USC, Davidson can lead this team to the Elite Eight again. The 2026-27 season USC will be unstoppable. They may dominate for Davidson’s sophomore year, when Wakins comes back from her recovery.
The No. 2 ranked freshman is 6-foot-2-inch guard Blanca Quinonez. Last season’s program champions, the UCONN Huskies got a hold of this tough bucket. She played against professionals in Italy for four years, and her court awareness is unmatched. With the Huskies losing their dominant guard Paige Buckers who was the No.1 draft pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to the Dallas Wings, the Huskies have to adjust their offense. With Quinonez added to the roster and returning players such as senior guard Azzi Fudd, junior guard KK Arnold and Sarah Strong in the paint this group will potentially lead the Huskies to another championship.
Those two teams having the class of 2025 top-two recruits is going to keep everyone on their toes. This season with losing big names like Paige Bueckers, Georgia Amoore, Kiki Iriafen and Hailey Van Lith who finished their college years, and got drafted to the WNBA, every team has a great chance to make it to the Final Four or championship. With preseason underway the top teams to look at this year would be UCONN, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas. Last season all four of those teams made it to the Final Four.
UCONN has head coach Geno Auriemma who has led his team to success 12 times in the NCAA Championship. His team is disciplined and chemistry goes unmatched. The Huskies have Strong, who has a record-breaking performance on the court and Fudd a tough bucket who averaged 13.6 points per game last season.
South Carolina is a tough team to beat. Dawn Staley already has three national championship wins under her belt, including a win in 2024. South Carolina can make another run this year. South Carolina has Joyce Edwards who’s a dominant player who had 494 points last season, and rebounding machine Chloe Kitts who had 293 last season.
UCLA has team player KiKi Rice who had 170 assists last season and Lauren Betts who had 686 points last season. Finally for Texas, they have a sharp shooter Madison Booker, who is shooting 40% from the three and a big time playmaker Rori Harmon who had 230 assists last season.
We are expecting to see a similar turnout this season, but there are some teams who can cause some upsets like LSU, Duke or USC. LSU, which is known for quick playmaking, has senior guard Flau’Jae Johnson who greatly impacts this LSU offense. She is a prospect for the WNBA draft; she’s had the opportunity to call Van Lith and Angel Reese her teammates, who now play for Chicago Sky. For Duke, they have Toby Fournier who is aggressive on both ends of the court. She had 462 points and 39 blocks last season. USC has so many threats. Kennedy Smith who had 62 steals, Avery Howell who is shooting just shy of 40% from the three and with the addition of Jazzy Davidson, they are going to be dangerous on the court. Expect to see USC take over a lot of the season. Even though it is still too early to decide, from the new recruits of 2025 UCONN will definitely be in most fans’ March Madness brackets. Specifically, the Final Four or even winner of the NCAA Championship.
For awards this season, the Defensive Player of the Year statistically looks like it may be UCONN’s Strong. She holds several records at UConn including the all-time marks for rebounds and steals. Expect to see her receive that award this season. The Nancy Lieberman Award for the top point guard is a tough decision because each program has outstanding point guards, but the one that stands out the most is Rice at UCLA. Last season she had 170 assists and 434 points. Not only is she a playmaker for her teammates, she has her fair share of points. Her court awareness and chemistry with her team really shows how high her basketball IQ really is. The National Player of the Year is a tougher one to pin point. Looking at all these players Hannah Hidalgo is a great candidate for this award. Last season, she had 159 rebounds, 116 assists, 119 steals and averaged 23.8 points per game. She is a dominant player for Notre Dame. Expect to see her win this award.
Stats from ESPN as of Oct 22.
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