Opening Day is fast approaching for women’s college basketball, and this is shaping up to be a fascinating season. Paige Bueckers has left for the NBA and JuJu Watkins is out for the year due to an ACL injury, but there are plenty of intriguing storylines and star power to get our juices flowing.
Here are the hot topics I’ll be following as the season gets underway, but the best part about the games starting is that we know there will be lots of unexpected twists and turns between now and the NCAA Tournament. And we wouldn’t want it any other way!
1. Is the era of UConn supremacy over?
Remember UConn vs. the field? The 111-game win streak? The four-peat? The title game bloodbath? As long as Geno Auriemma is around it’s impossible to bet against the Huskies, but the drop in win rate — 87 percent in the past five years vs. 96 percent between 2015-16 and 2019-20 — reflects a key shift of the NIL era: Parity is coming to women’s basketball. No longer can UConn hoard the top talent. The program’s history, budget and coach, now in his 41st season, are enough to attract phenoms, but programs like USC, UCLA and Texas are too noteworthy and far too competitive to land on the nameless side of UConn vs. all.
2. SEC teams own the AP Preseason Poll
The AP voters are projecting another Southeast steamroll. Of the top 12 teams in the preseason poll, six hail from the SEC, namely No. 2 USC, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 12 Ole Miss. Vanderbilt (No. 19) and Kentucky (No. 24) round out the top 25, leaving just half of the conference unranked — a worthy follow-up to a 2024-25 campaign which saw 10 SEC teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament. With expectations sky-high, some key questions remain for the best of the best:
🏀 Does South Carolina have the versatility to play without Chloe Kitts?
ACL tears are the worst. With Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins ruled out for the season, USC is losing a huge amount of frontcourt potency. That means the Gamecocks will need to reorient around perimeter play. Dawn Staley landed the highest-impact transfer of the offseason in NCAAW scoring leader Ta’Niya Latson. With a deep backcourt and elite rim protector in Madina Okot to support her, I have faith that Latson will light up Colonial Life Arena and justify USC’s lofty ranking.
🏀 What’s the fate of LSU’s “1 Down“?
Bad news for fans of the “1 Down”: LSU is holding one of the deepest backcourts in basketball. A staple of Kim Mulkey’s playbook, the “1 Down” requires quality post players to set screens, throw to the block and finish with a dunk — famously delivered by Brittney Griner. With this year’s guard-loaded roster, including USC transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley and All-SEC returners in Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, Mulkey won’t have the post players to pull it off. Four-guard lineups are likely, and should spell tempo offense, ball movement and speed for LSU. If the Tigers can improve their distribution, the “1 Down” will be a fair price to pay for a deep tournament run.
🏀 Will Texas return to the Final Four?
The Longhorns are loaded this season. SEC Preseason Player of the Year Madison Booker and All-SEC second teamer Rori Harmon form one of the strongest backcourts in the nation. Jordan Lee is an adept three-point shooter, and portal pickups in Breya Cunningham and Teya Sidberry bring Texas some of the most prolific bigs in terms of scoring. Consistency king Vic Schaefer has made seven of the last Elite Eights, but I’ll take a gamble in guessing that the Longhorns are headed to their second consecutive Final Four.
Is Texas Ready to Take the Final Step?
The Longhorns made the Final Four last season despite being a poor three-point shooting team. Help is on the way.
3. Will the Final Four run it back?
Part of the reason I’m confident in projecting a Texas Final Four campaign is that last year’s semifinalists remain a cut above. The AP poll ranks them in descending order, from the reigning champion Huskies at No. 1 to Final Four losers in UCLA (No. 3) and Texas (No. 4). I plan to rank the handful of squads I find capable of breaking their bloc — note LSU, with its exceptional guard play — but for now, I’m betting we’ll see a repeat semifinal. Once they qualify, it’s anyone’s game.
4. Welcome to the Bermuda Triangle Area
The last time Duke, NC State and UNC went 1-2-3 in the ACC preseason poll was 2001-02, when Gail Goestenkors, Sylvia Hatchell and Kay Yow (my coach!) were running the show. They’re not quite there now, but with Kara Lawson, Courtney Banghart and Wes Moore at the helms, the (Bermuda) Triangle Area is looking treacherous once again. All three teams placed in the AP top 12, and all three are challenging themselves to some of the toughest nonconference schedules in basketball. At least one should become a bona fide title threat ahead of this year’s tournament.
5. Can Notre Dame crack the Elite Eight?
Notre Dame is holding an express pass to the Elite Eight: 5-foot-6 sharpshooter Hannah Hidalgo. In her sophomore season, Hidalgo logged a defensive breakout but had to split minutes at the one. The team’s 2025-26 lineup is more balanced, more versatile and returns key guard K.K. Bransford, who missed last season with a lower leg injury. With Hidalgo running the offense, expect to see strong ball-screen coverage, pressure and two-way play across the roster.
6. More parity, no juggernauts
Remember what I said about parity? Here’s my prediction: no Power Four regular-season champion will win its conference tournament. I have already covered the caliber of SEC and ACC competition, but the Big Ten (No. 3 UCLA, No. 10 Maryland, No. 13 Michigan) and Big 12 (No. 14 Iowa State, No. 16 Baylor, No. 17 TCU) are loaded with contenders as well. While I’m confident that UConn will take the Big East title and championship, I feel comfortable including the Big East in a second prediction: No Power Five school will log an undefeated season.
7. Does the Big 12 have an audible for Audi?
The Big 12 can not contend with 6-foot-3 Iowa State junior center Audi Crooks. Menacing and athletic, she is the best foul-drawer, the most proficient scorer and a top-10 rebounder in the league. In a conference stacked with talent, it is revealing that the biggest offseason question is who has aptly prepared for Audi. In order to defend her, squads should plan, re-plan and play adaptably when Lady Shaq hits the floor.
8. How far can the Richmond Spiders spin?
More power to them! For the first time since 2015, an Atlantic-10 school has cracked the AP preseason top 25. This is a well-deserved win for the Richmond Spiders (T-No. 24), who set an A-10 record by going 17-1 in conference play last year. Coach Aaron Roussel has pieced together one of the toughest non-con schedules in the mid-major ranks, including November matches against Texas and TCU. I spent a day with the Spiders last week and can personally attest to their chemistry and conditioning. Let’s see if they can parlay a top rank into a third consecutive tournament run.
9. Track these transfers
The proof is in the portal: This off-season was marked by high-impact transfers. South Carolina was the nexus of this portal, losing MiLaysia Fulwiley (the 25th-highest NCAAW athlete by NIL valuation) to LSU, but picking up Ta’Niya Latson. Dawn Staley called Fulwiley a “walking highlight reel” — a point guard and playmaker with a WNBA upside. She should excel as a point guard under Mulkey — one of the best women to ever play the position. Meanwhile, Latson is a combo guard and NCAAW scoring leader. On the deepest roster in the SEC, her distribution and motion offense will make her invaluable.
I’m also keeping my eye on junior forward Khamil Pierre, who led the SEC in field goals at Vanderbilt last season. Her 17 double-doubles set a 25-year Commodore record and helped earn her WBCA All-America and Naismith Midseason DPOY nods. Pierre looked sensational in NC State’s exhibition against Maryland on Sunday (despite fouling out) and is quickly assuming a frontcourt leadership role.
This was a massive offseason for UCLA, who brought in 6-foot Utah guard Gianna Kneepkens. Long and dynamic, Kneepkens is a three-time first-team all-conference selection, a flamethrower from the arc and a passable defender. With reliable shooting and IQ, Kneepkens is a direct upgrade on Londynn Jones, who UCLA lost to the portal in April.
I should also mention Charlisse Leger-Walker, who transferred from Washington State to UCLA last season but sat for a medical redshirt. As a Cougar, Leger-Walker picked up four all-conference selections and led the pre-dissolution Pac-12 in scoring. Before her ACL tear in January, she logged two triple-doubles, surpassed 1,500 career points and earned all-conference honors in just 21 games. Her Bruins debut — especially alongside Kneepkens — will be electric.
10. Last but certainly not least…
Everyone is hereby forbidden from complaining about ticket prices. We hoped for decades that our league would grow — in size, in scale, in viewership and in market. This is what we wanted. I have taken to calling Caitlin Clark the “great disruptor” who changed the way in which we consume the women’s game. #Clarkonomics is where we’ve landed, but the media, the crowds and the energy will justify the prices — I promise.
