As college basketball season continues, players are making their cases for the national player of the year awards.

While the plethora of talent makes narrowing the list difficult, Just Women’s Sports takes a look at five front-runners for the end-of-season honors.

Caitlin Clark, Iowa

27.8 PPG / 7.9 APG / 7.9 RPG / 46% FG

At this point, the Naismith Player of the Year award could be Clark’s to lose. After featuring heavily in the conversation last year, Clark is having an even better season this time around.

To give a rundown of everything Clark has done so far this year: She became the only player to put up at least 40 points against a ranked opponent twice this season. Her triple-double against then-No. 2 Ohio State put her in the same conversation as Dwyane Wade and Courtney Vandersloot. And she is the only player in Division I basketball history to have four triple-doubles with 25 or more points.

She’s also the only D-I player in the past 20 seasons to have four straight games of at least 20 points and 10 assists. Her points and assists both rank second in the country, and if last year wasn’t Clark’s year to win the POY award, this one certainly could be.

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

12.9 PPG / 10.0 RPG / 60.1% FG

The reigning player of the year has dropped off a bit after her historic season in 2021-22. But she set the bar incredibly high.

That Boston has seen a dip in production as other players have stepped up for South Carolina isn’t unusual. But it also speaks to her leadership skills, as freshman Raven Johnson leads the team in assists and steals. Still, she’s one of just three players in this conversation averaging a double-double on the year.

📽️📽️ Aliyah Boston Film Room 📽️📽️

Fresh off of her record-breaking 73rd career double-double, @aa_boston and Assistant Coach Fred Chmiel sit down in the Gamecocks Film Room as we look at how she continues to dominate into her senior season even with all the extra attention. pic.twitter.com/YOxJTmyo1C

— Gamecocks Plus (@GamecocksPlus) January 30, 2023

Angel Reese, LSU

23.4 PPG / 15.5 RPG / 54.6% FG

The primary challenger to Clark’s player of the year bid appears to be Reese. The sophomore transfer has 22 double-doubles to start the season, which has coincided with LSU’s 22-0 start – the longest winning streak in program history. Her streak puts her just five back of the SEC record (set by Aliyah Boston last season), and she already has broken the LSU record set by Sylvia Fowles.

She also became the first SEC player to have at least 25 points and 25 rebounds in 20 seasons, putting up 26 points and an LSU record 28 rebounds in a win over Texas A&M in January.

Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana

22.3 PPG / 7.8 RPG / 69.2% FG

One of the most efficient shooters in the country, Holmes is a danger to her opponent anytime she steps on the court.

With six straight games of 20 or more points, Holmes has been a stalwart on an Indiana team currently ranked fourth in the country. Her average of 26.5 points per game over those contests is bolstered by the fact that three of those games were against ranked opponents: then-No. 21 Illinois, then-No. 13 Michigan and then-No. 2 Ohio State.

Aneesah Morrow, DePaul

25.4 PPG / 11.6 RPG / 41.9% FG

Aneesah Morrow is one of the best sophomores in the country, if not the best. And it doesn’t come as a surprise after she averaged 21.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game as a freshman. With multiple games of 40-plus points this season, she’s building on a résumé that likely will make her a top WNBA draft pick. She’s second in the Big East in scoring and leads the conference in rebounding all while taking on a bigger role for the Blue Demons.

As she should 😤@AneesahMorrow24 is a Top 10 candidate for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award!

🔗: https://t.co/bfM75ZlKqO pic.twitter.com/E4qRbQUDCn

— DePaul Women's Basketball (@DePaulWBBHoops) February 2, 2023

The Connecticut Sun is still on the chopping block, with reports surfacing Tuesday that the WNBA made a $250 million offer to buy the team in order to control its final landing place.

The Mohegan Tribe — the Sun's current owners — are reportedly still seeking clarity on the league's preferred relocation destination, after two prospective outside bids stalled in front of the Board of Governors.

Multiple offers remain on the table, including two $325 million bids from groups in Boston and nearby Hartford, Connecticut — as well as a plan to raise capital via minority investments rather than a full sale.

Recent reports point to the league's desire to control the Sun's fate while preserving certain markets for expansion, with the Mohegan Tribe under pressure to bend to the WNBA's interests.

The WNBA offer to buy the Connecticut Sun outright is reportedly part of a larger plan to flip the team to a different prospective ownership group without an additional relocation fee — and rumors say Houston is in the lead.

The Mohegan Tribe already turned down a low-ball bid out of Cleveland, with WNBA later awarding the Northeast Ohio city an expansion team for a $250 million fee.

NBA co-ownership was a clear priority during the league's most recent expansion, with officials now looking to force that strategy onto the Sun's future.

While the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx watch from above, the race for the No. 2 postseason seed is taking center stage, with teams like the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury eyeing 2025 WNBA Playoffs spots as the league nears the regular-season home stretch.

Big Tuesday wins helped boost the No. 2 New York Liberty and No. 5 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings, while the Mercury refused to lose pace with a 98-91 victory over the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries.

"We're just continuing to try to build," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters afterwards. "We're on the right step, but there's still work to be done."

Multiple talent-stacked teams are continuing to sharpen their form with the 2025 Playoffs looming, with only a half-game currently separating the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces on the WNBA table.

The Mercury have benefitted a healthy Big Three — Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper — with Copper leading Phoenix's five double-digit scorers by registering 25 points in Tuesday’s win.

"Our support staff has been great and our culture and my teammates have been great in helping me navigate through [early-season injuries] and just being able to get back out there," Copper said this week.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will have their work cut out for them on Thursday, when they'll visit Las Vegas to tip off against the surging No. 5 Aces and their eight-game winning streak at 10 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on Prime.

The No. 9 Sparks haven't given up the fight, with LA sitting just outside the 2025 WNBA playoff picture ahead of Wednesday night's clash with a No. 11 Dallas Wings side facing postseason elimination.

The Sparks have had an up-and-down season, arriving at a 16-18 record with six wins in their last 10 games.

"We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?" LA head coach Lynne Roberts said on Tuesday. "And I love that we're in that spot, but we'll see how competitive we are."

"Obviously we feel like there's some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on, but [you] can't change the past," echoed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. "We have good momentum right now still. We're still in good position to make the playoffs, so just take it a game at a time."

Meanwhile, Dallas will try to stave off joining the last-place Connecticut Sun in playoff elimination, though their draft lottery odds rise with every loss.

The Wings will be even more shorthanded on Wednesday after losing Li Yueru to a season-ending ACL sprain on Friday, with the center now joining star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is suffering from knee tendinitis, on the sideline.

How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. LA Sparks on Wednesday

The No. 9 Sparks will host the No. 11 Wings at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

The No. 6 Indiana Fever are officially down another guard due to injury, with the team confirming Tuesday that Sophie Cunningham suffered a season-ending right MCL tear during the squad's Sunday matchup against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

"If you're going to hurt your knee, that is the best possible case," Cunningham explained on her podcast on Tuesday. "A couple more inches to the left, [I] would've torn a whole bunch more s—t. I'm very thankful for where I am at, so it's all good."

Cunningham posted an average of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field on the season for Indiana.

In response to losing the seven-season WNBA standout, Indiana signed veteran guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract on Tuesday, one day after releasing previous hardship addition Kyra Lambert.

Cunningham became the third Fever guard sidelined with a season-ending injury in less than two weeks, after Indiana lost both Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald to an ACL tear and broken foot, respectively, in the same game on August 7th.

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The trio join superstar guard Caitlin Clark on the Fever's injured list, after the WNBA sophomore's lingering right groin issue has seen her on the bench since before the 2025 All-Star break.

That said, Clark has reportedly been participating in practice this week, ramping up her game fitness as she eyes a return to the 2025 WNBA court.