The women’s game has never been more exciting — and women's college basketball has never felt this competitive before. Yes there are still those teams that seem destined for a Final Four appearance but as we have seen over the past few years, it is not set in stone anymore. Parity has grown and it has made the road to March Madness that much more marvelous!
When looking at who could cut the nets down this year, you start with the guards. It doesn't matter if you're talking about women or men — in college the world now runs through the guards. Dominant bigs are the cheat code but not the must have these days. Perimeter defense and veteran leadership also factor into my picks here. I'll give you a couple “duhs,” a couple squads with stars and depth and even a longshot to cut down the nets this season.
The “Duhs”
South Carolina (+180 on DraftKings)
All roads that lead to supremacy in women’s college basketball run through the Gamecocks. Why? Because everyone is back (ok — everyone but Kamilla Cardosa).
Dawn Staley returns a squad full of experienced players and has added 6’3” freshman Joyce Edwards — who in two exhibition games this year has totaled 39 points; she will likely be the most versatile player in the country. You should expect MiLaysia Fulwiley to fully mature into the superstar she's destined to be after a breakout freshman campaign. The 5’10” guard is an early favorite for SEC Player of the Year.
This team will have a different identity this season and that is the scariest thought. With Cardosa they just bludgeoned opponents inside. Now with the length and athleticism, you may see a more wide-open approach offensively to go with suffocating defense. This team may not lose a game, AGAIN!
UConn (+450)
Last season they won the Big East again and, although the season had a few rough food spots, they came within two points of returning to the championship game. They lost a couple really good pieces off that squad but they brought back the Big East Player of the Year Paige Bueckers who decided to give college one more run before heading to the WNBA. If not for missing a year and a half due to serious injuries in the middle of her college career we would likely be talking about her the way that we talk about Caitlin Clark — and there’s a chance that we still will. That's how good she is. When you add that to the normal embarrassment of riches, which includes forward Sarah Strong (the top recruit in the country) along with two other top 11 recruits (according to ESPN) AND the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year Kaitlyn Chen? There is no reason that this squad can't compete to cut down the nets.
“Stars and Bars”
USC (+450)
The Trojans have the best bucket-getter in the country — the Carmelo Anthony-esque JuJu Watkins. She is where it will start and end for USC this season. Last year the argument against them winning it all was a lack of help. Well the Trojans went out and procured the services of grad transfers Talia von Oelhoffen from Oregon State and Kiki Iriafen from Stanford. Both averaged double digit points last season and are on the Naismith preseason watchlist this year. They also signed three of the top 16 in the class of 2024. It's safe to say that rainforest reinforcements are on the way. The only question is how quickly can all this talent gel together and can JuJu hold it down until they do? They fell in the Elite Eight last season, they want to cut the nets down this year.
LSU (+2000)
If you look at the ESPN high school recruiting rankings you will not see the Bayou Bengals prominent in the top 100 recruits. In fact, they only have one recruit inside the top 100 and that's Jada Williams, a point guard from Louisiana, who was ranked 90th. So why are they a top 10 team after losing Angel Reese to the WNBA and Hailey Van Lith to the transfer portal? It's because they still have Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson, who were both selected as preseason SEC players of the year. They also return a good amount of quality from last season's team and grabbed veteran ballers from the transfer portal. With all that, LSU will go as far as Johnson takes them. She is poised to ascend to superstar status this year as she becomes the top option in this offense. She has weapons they people have not seen on full display. They will get sick of seeing them this year.
Realistic Longshot
UNC (+8000)
During last season’s 47-point second-round loss to South Carolina, the Tar Heels saw exactly what they needed to do to be a national contender. This offseason head coach Courtney Banghart made changes to their offensive style and to the roster to make them a more formidable offensive unit.
Even with leading sorcerer Deja Kelly leaving for Oregon there is a ton of optimism about this team because they are led by veterans. They have three senior or graduate starters returning, led by forward Alyssa Ustby. She was second in scoring and first in assists last season. They will be joined by Ciera Toomey who was a top five recruit in the 2023 class and redshirted her freshman season. They also added veterans from the transfer portal to stretch the floor and facilitate. And they signed three of the top 100 players in the 2024 recruiting class. UNC may be that darkhorse that you are looking to follow this season.
