NCAA basketball standouts are still making decisions on whether to remain in college or make the leap to the pros as the 2025 WNBA Draft looms on Monday — and many are choosing to stay in school.
In the most recent example of this trend, Texas senior Rori Harmon announced Wednesday that she’ll use her injury redshirt year to return to the Longhorns next season.
While most players in this year’s senior class began college in 2021 — after the cutoff to receive an extra year of eligibility following the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown — 2025’s draft-eligible group includes many players opting to stay in the NCAA.
Like Harmon, injuries resulting in redshirt seasons are allowing college standouts like South Carolina's Raven Johnson, newly announced TCU transfer Olivia Miles, and 2025 national champion and UConn star Azzi Fudd a final shot at the NCAA court.
LSU's Flau’jae Johnson and UCLA's Lauren Betts — current juniors who are draft eligible under the WNBA's age clause, which permits players who have not hit four collegiate seasons to go pro so long as they turn 22 years old within the draft's calendar year — have also declined to make the jump in 2025.
Star-power still up for grabs in the 2025 WNBA Draft
Despite the collegiate holdouts, there will still be significant NCAA names earning WNBA spots on Monday, led by UConn guard Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers is still considered a lock for the 2025 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick, which is held tightly by Dallas — in spite of speculation that the Wings might not be her preferred destination.
Other projected first rounders include Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, USC forward Kiki Iriafen, LSU forward Aneesah Morrow, South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao, Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore, and Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers — with TCU guard Hailey Van Lith also making an early-round draft case through her 2025 March Madness play.
Monday could also see international prospects making a splash, with some mock drafts expecting French prodigy Dominique Malonga to go as high as No. 2, with Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka and Lithuanian shooting guard Justė Jocytė also possibly earning WNBA invites.
All in all, the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft class boasts experience, solid shooting, and many winning resumes, but it's up to the pro scouts to determine who will fit their team best.
Fresh off announcing their 2024/25 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) semifinalists on Tuesday, the Naismith Awards dropped this year’s National Player of the Year (POY) semifinalist lineup on Thursday, with four NCAA basketball stars earning spots on both elite lists.
Eight of the 10 athletes in the running for POY hail from Top 10 teams, with all players coming from programs who finished the 2024/25 NCAA regular season with an AP Poll ranking.
With three semifinalists each, the ACC and SEC lead the field. The Big Ten boasts two POY semifinalists, while the Big 12 and Big East each claim one.
Only one team — No. 8 Notre Dame — saw multiple players named as POY semifinalists, with two Irish standouts making the cut.
Snagging nods on both DPOY and POY shortlists are No. 4 USC sophomore JuJu Watkins, No. 8 Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo, No. 10 LSU senior Aneesah Morrow, and No. 1 UCLA junior Lauren Betts — the only center to earn a POY semifinalist spot.
Five guards join the four defensive standouts, including No. 3 UConn senior Paige Bueckers, No. 6 TCU grad student Hailey Van Lith, No. 8 Notre Dame grad student Olivia Miles, No. 13 Kentucky grad student Georgia Amoore, and No. 23 Florida State junior Ta’Niya Latson.
Rounding out the 2024/25 POY contenders is No. 5 Texas sophomore Madison Booker, the only forward named to the list.
Star turns have Naismith semifinalists topping the NCAA
On the Division I scoring sheet, Latson and Watkins top all other NCAA players with 24.9 and 24.6 points per game, respectively. Hidalgo's 24.2 average also puts her as the nation's No. 4 scorer.
Capping her season as the No. 3 dime-dropper is Amoore, who averages just under seven assists per game.
As the nation's top overall and best offensive rebounder, Morrow's 27 double-doubles on the season — five more than any other Division I player — helped secure her DPOY and POY semifinalist spots.
Meanwhile, Miles also owns an elite multi-stat NCAA position, finishing 2024/25 regular-season play as the only DI athlete to post three triple-doubles.
Five of the 10 semifinalists have already claimed some POY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Van Lith, Bueckers, Watkins, and Booker all earning the honor for their respective conferences.
Notably, lone Big East representative Bueckers already owns a Naismith POY Award. The Husky booked the honor in 2021, and still stands as the only freshman winner in the award's now 42-year history.
Ultimately, just four of the 10 Naismith POY semifinalists will move on to March 25th’s final round, with the 2024/25 winner to be crowned on April 2nd — two days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.
While NCAA basketball conference champions celebrate their trophies and automatic entries into March Madness, top contenders on the losing side are facing more questions than answers — with limited time to regroup before Selection Sunday.
After No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 7 NC State both fell to tournament champion — and emerging dark horse — No. 11 Duke this weekend, projections shifted such that the ACC is not likely to field a No. 1 seed in the national bracket.
No. 9 LSU similarly struggled, losing 56-49 in the tournament semifinal to eventual SEC runner-up No. 1 Texas.
That said, the Tigers' woes, however, could be short-lived. LSU endured the entire conference tournament without leading scorer Flau'jae Johnson due to a shin injury, and then saw standout senior Aneesah Morrow — the team's second most prolific scorer — exit their SEC semifinal loss with a re-aggravated foot sprain.
Both are expected to be back in action when the NCAA tournament tips off.
Win-or-go-home NCAA tournament looms large
Other teams are confronting harder-to-identify issues.
"I feel like we played below our standard. So that's frustrating. We’ve got to get better, and that’s on me," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said after Saturday’s ACC semifinal defeat. "I need to make this team get better, and that’s something that, when we’re back on the court, we will be better for this loss."
Even squads that fell in conference tournament finals departed the arena knowing that next time, there will be no second chance.
"I certainly think we have established ourselves as one of the top two teams in the cup when it comes to seeding," said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer after Sunday’s championship loss to No. 5 South Carolina. "We’ll learn from that [loss].… We’ve earned our way, and we’ll trust the committee to make that [seeding] decision. Whatever they make, we’ll roll with it."
Not every talent-laden team will make it to April's Final Four, but with adjustments, a conference tournament stumble could become a mere footnote in a longer postseason journey.
How to watch the NCAA tournament Selection Sunday Show
The road to Tampa officially kicks off when the NCAA basketball committee reveals the 68-team Division I tournament bracket on Selection Sunday, March 16th.
The Selection Show will air live at 8 PM ET on ESPN.
No. 7 LSU survived an offensive shootout with No. 13 Oklahoma on Thursday, toppling the Sooners 107-100 in a chippy SEC battle that saw 53 personal fouls, five technical fouls, and two players ejected.
LSU forward Sa'Myah Smith and Oklahoma forward Liz Scott were both tossed in the first quarter following a shoving match in the paint. Just over four minutes into the game, Smith pushed Sooner center Beatrice Culliton to the ground, then Scott retaliated by shoving Smith.
"Pushing, I guess, is considered fighting," said LSU head coach Kim Mulkey after the game. "[Smith's reaction] was shocking. It hurt our team with her not being a part of tonight, because we're trying to develop her."
"My old mentor Leon Barmore always said you've got to keep a cool head in a hot game," commented Mulkey, who also booked herself a technical later in the matchup alongside Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk.
LSU, Oklahoma make SEC basketball history
Last night's attacking firepower made SEC women's basketball history, marking the first-ever game where each team scored at least 100 points in regulation.
Sophomore Mikaylah Williams scored a season-high 37 points to lead the Tigers over the finish line after nearly giving up a double-digit lead.
LSU stars Flau'jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow added a respective 25 and 21 points to the Tigers' tally, while Payton Verhulst led the Sooners' scoring with 26 points.
With the loss, Oklahoma falls to 4-4 in SEC play, a record that more accurately showcases the conference's strength rather than the Sooners' weakness.
NCAA teams to honor WNBA stars this weekend
The top-ranked NCAA action continues this weekend, with two WNBA superstars seeing their jerseys retired in ceremonies on Sunday afternoon.
First, No. 2 South Carolina will honor three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson alongside the Gamecocks' game against unranked Auburn, before unranked Iowa will commemorate all-time NCAA leading-scorer Caitlin Clark during a high-profile matchup with No. 4 USC.
Not long after, the Sooners will be back in the weekend's only Top 15 meeting, hosting No. 12 Kentucky late Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats improved to 7-1 in SEC play on Thursday, thanks to a 65-56 win over No. 22 Alabama.
How to watch this weekend's top NCAA basketball games
No. 2 South Carolina and Auburn will tip off Sunday's slate at 12 PM ET, live on ESPN, with Iowa's game against No. 4 USC following at 1:30 PM ET on Fox Sports.
No. 12 Kentucky's visit to No. 13 Oklahoma then begins at 4 PM ET Sunday, with live coverage on SECN.
The NCAA's hottest conference shows no signs of letting up, with the SEC serving college basketball fans two of Thursday's most anticipated top-ranked clashes.
After last week's loss to No. 2 South Carolina and Sunday's low-scoring victory over unranked Texas A&M, No. 7 LSU ready to reclaim their previous firepower by gearing up for an offense-heavy battle with SEC newcomer No. 13 Oklahoma.
The Tigers have only met the Sooners once before, falling in to Oklahoma in a December 2019 matchup. However, head coach Kim Mulkey, who joined LSU in 2021, brings her own experience, tallying a 27-20 record against Oklahoma during her time at Baylor.
Both teams enter Thursday's matchup ranked in the nation's Top 3 for rebounding and Top 6 for scoring, with each having a particular penchant for points in transition.
Between LSU scoring leaders Flau'jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow — the nation's top rebounder who also leads the country with 19 double-doubles on the season — Oklahoma will need to lean on both defense and Sooner center Reagan Beers to tame the Tigers.
Don't sleep on Kentucky
Joining the Wildcats one year after leading Virginia Tech to their first-ever Final Four in 2023, No. 12 Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks has taken the once-struggling team to the upper echelons of the SEC table. The Cats are currently in second place alongside LSU and No. 5 Texas, all trailing defending national champs South Carolina.
Much of Kentucky's success rests on star guard — and Virginia Tech transfer — Georgia Amoore, who leads the Wildcats in points, assists, and steals.
The Australian standout will look to defend the Wildcats' undefeated 2024/25 home record — and clinch the program's 500th win at Historic Memorial Coliseum — when No. 22 Alabama visits on Thursday.
How to watch Thursday's Top 25 SEC basketball games
Both of Thursday's ranked SEC matchups tip off at 7 PM ET, when No. 13 Oklahoma takes on No. 7 LSU on ESPN2 while No. 22 Alabama faces No. 12 Kentucky on SECN.
One of the NCAA's fiercest rivalries hits the hardwood on Friday, when undefeated No. 5 LSU travels to No. 2 South Carolina for yet another high-stakes SEC basketball battle.
Anticipation for the matchup has been building since Wednesday, when the NCAA postponed the game. Originally set for Thursday, winter weather disruptions in Louisiana delayed LSU's ability to safely travel to Columbia.
"It's a rivalry, it really is," newly re-signed South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said earlier this week. "It's not only a rivalry between the programs on the floor, but it's a rivalry with the fanbases."
A championship-fueled SEC basketball clash
With the last three national championships under their belts, LSU (2023) and South Carolina (2022, 2024) have seen WNBA superstars like Angel Reese and Aliyah Boston pass through their ranks.
This season's lot is just as talented, with LSU's Aneesah Morrow and Flau'jae Johnson preparing to lead the Tigers against the a dominant Gamecock defense anchored by team rebounds leader Chloe Kitts.
Coach Kim Mulkey's roster will have their work cut out for them in Columbia, where South Carolina is on a 68-game home winning streak. Even more, the Gamecocks haven't lost to the Tigers since January 2012, winning 16 consecutive meetings between the pair.
That said, while last year's South Carolina team ran the table on their way to a national title, LSU is one of just two Division I teams to still hold a perfect season. The Tigers' 20-0 record is the second-best start in program history, just below their 2022/23 team who strung together 23 wins before South Carolina handed them a first season loss.
If Staley's squad can do it again on Friday, they'll earn an eighth victory over currently ranked teams — and third over a Top 10 roster — so far this season. Their lone loss came at the hands of No. 1 UCLA, the only other program still holding an undefeated record.
On the other hand, LSU has just two victories over ranked teams so far, with Friday's matchup marking their first Top 10 test of the season.
How to watch LSU vs. South Carolina college basketball
LSU tips off against South Carolina at 5 PM ET on Friday, airing live on ESPN.
As the new year approaches, the college basketball season is heating up, and so is the player of the year race.
The Naismith Player of the Year award recognizes the best players in NCAA men’s and women’s basketball. Several players on the 50-player watchlist have lived up to their billing. One in particular has done even more.
Here are Just Women’s Sports’ contenders in the player of the year race heading into 2024, in no particular order.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Not much more needs to be said here. Last year’s Naismith Award winner is putting on an even better show this season. At the time of publication, Clark averages a league-leading 30.5 points per game and is seventh in NCAA Division I in assists (7.4 per game). At her current pace, Clark could overtake Kelsey Plum’s college scoring record by February. And while she’s a high scorer, she also spreads the wealth around to her team.
In what could be her final year in the NCAA, Clark has also stepped up her defensive play. She’s gathered 91 defensive rebounds through 13 games played, and her turnover rate is at a career low.
For the second year in a row, Clark may well be the best all-around choice for player of the year.
Alissa Pili, Utah
Few players on this list have taken their team on their backs the way Pili has. When she shoots, she rarely misses. When she defends, she gives her all.
Pili averages just under 25 points per game, good for fourth in D-I. She also has a 69.7 shooting percentage, the fifth-highest in the NCAA. And she is making 56.5% of her 3-pointers, which ranks first in the NCAA.
Pili’s WNBA potential has been debated. But after the show she’s been putting on this season, there’s no question that she could thrive in the pros. Her size, scoring ability and athleticism make her an ideal draft candidate in 2024 — and perhaps a player of the year candidate as well.
JuJu Watkins, USC
The freshman guard is already making a huge impact for the Trojans. In the seven-week old college basketball season, Watkins has taken home six Pac-12 freshman of the week honors. And for good reason.
Watkins is averaging a staggering 26.8 points per game, placing her at second in D-I as a first-year player. She shoots over 46% from behind the arc, and she’s snagged 62 rebounds in her nine games played.
Before finishing her first semester of college, Watkins has cemented herself as a regular in USC’s starting lineup and as a favorite for national freshman of the year honors. And if she keeps it up, she could set her sights even higher.
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Bueckers started the 2023-24 season with something to prove. The redshirt junior guard had less than 50 college games under her belt due to injuries — a good amount lower than many other players in her year. But she hit the court without missing a beat.
The 21-year-old averages almost 19 points per game, shoots 48% from the three-point line and leads her team in points this season. Bueckers also averages more than three assists per game, and she’s snagged 23 steals in 12 games. She is stepping up her defensive game as well. So far, she’s batted a team-leading 16 blocks as a guard and she’s collected 50 defensive rebounds.
If she continues to heat up despite the pressure of leading a depleted UConn squad, she could play her way into the national award conversation.
Aneesah Morrow, LSU
Morrow is another player whose all-around skillset is serving her well early in the 2023-24 slate. Her versatility is allowing her to shine at LSU after her transfer from DePaul in the offseason.
The 20-year-old forward makes her presence known on the scoresheet, averaging 18.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. But her excellence continues on the other side of the ball. Morrow leads the Tigers with 34 steals and 17 blocks in 13 games played.
Through many challenges LSU has faced this season, including a prolonged absence for star Angel Reese and the removal of former starter Kateri Poole from the team, Morrow has taken everything in stride and remained a consistent and reliable player for the Tigers.
Honorable mentions:
- Cameron Brink, Stanford
- Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
- Deja Kelly, UNC
- Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State
- Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
No.7 LSU topped Virginia at the Cayman Islands Classic, 76-73, with help from its transfers and younger players.
With two starters out of their lineup — Angel Reese and Sa’Myah Smith — head coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers had to look elsewhere for scoring production. And Aneesah Morrow delivered.
Morrow knocked down 37 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in her biggest game at LSU yet.
“That’s one of my prouder victories in all of my coaching career,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said to nola.com. “Under the circumstances this team has had to deal with, to win that game and have players playing out of position and ask them to do things that they’re not comfortable with, just a gutsy performance.”
The transfer from DePaul notched her second-consecutive double-double in a Tigers uniform after she collected 28 points and 10 rebounds against Niagara on Friday. Morrow is used to earning double-doubles — she only had 53 in her two seasons with DePaul.
Hailey Van Lith, a transfer from Louisville, also had a successful night for LSU. She was the only other Tiger to score in double-digits, scoring 12 points for her squad.
“Aneesah and Hailey bring experience to our team right now,” Mulkey said to Tiger Rag. “They’re experience having played at the college level is helping us right now. What they don’t know about our system, they know about the toughness of the game at this level.”
Angel Reese enters the 2023-24 NCAA basketball season as the clear star for defending champion LSU. But she’s more than happy to share the spotlight.
After the Tigers’ run to the NCAA Tournament title in April, they added two star transfers in Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith and DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow. They enter the upcoming season at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and as odds-on favorites to win another championship.
While Van Lith and Morrow could pull some attention (and some points and rebounds) from Reese, Reese is willing to take that trade-off.
“I wanted a superteam,” Reese told The Athletic. “They want greatness and I want greatness. They want a national championship and so do I. So why not do it all together?”
Reese joined LSU as a transfer from Maryland last offseason, and her first season with the Tigers outpaced every expectation. Reese set a single-season record with 34 double-doubles, including in all six NCAA Tournament games, en route to the program’s first national title.
Two questions hang over her senior season: Can LSU do it again with their reloaded roster? And is this Reese’s final hurrah, or will she stick around for an extra year?
She toyed with the possibility in a recent social media post, though she later added: “I love stirring the pot.” And she has talked about her WNBA ambitions, so while she has an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what she will do next is anyone’s guess.
“Personally, I aspire to make it to the WNBA,” Reese said in September. “While I do have the option for another year, I do want to get out of college, start life outside of school, and pursue my WNBA dreams. It’s been a challenging but rewarding four years, and I’m excited to continue improving at LSU and beyond.”
playing with @thesarahstrong @JoyceEdwards24 and @JaloniCambridge my last year would be crazy right? 👀🫣 @iGREDUS
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) October 30, 2023
i love stirring the pot😭😂🤭this what i doooo
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) October 30, 2023
Kim Mulkey welcomes the target on the backs of her LSU Tigers.
For the first time in program history, LSU basketball is ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. With the Tigers entering the season as the defending national champions, that was somewhat expected. But the pressure doesn’t bother them.
“We understand that with a championship and with the preseason ranking that we really have a target on our back,” Mulkey told Baton Rouge’s WBRZ. “We get that, we welcome it to an extent in that we keep it in perspective.”
The 61-year-old head coach called it “great recognition” for LSU and for the program. The No. 1 ranking is something to be celebrated, but the team isn’t putting to much stock into it.
For Mulkey’s part, she doesn’t talk much to her teams about being ranked, saying it’s the next game that matters most. Rankings make headlines, but championships make the history books.
So even though the Tigers enter the season with a loaded roster, including Angel Reese and star transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow, they still need to put in the work to live up to their sky-high expectations, Mulkey said.
“I’ve got some talent and that talent is not going to win championships unless we all get on the same page and we all pull for each other and so far it’s been great,” she said. “The deeper you dig the prettier the fruit and we know that people are going to know that that’s the defending national champions and we’re going to get their best shot.”