UConn basketball continues to pile on the preseason accolades, with ESPN's annual Top 25 women's NCAA player rankings listing star Sarah Strong at No. 1 ahead of her sophomore season with the Huskies.
Even more, UConn emerged as the only program with two Top 10 players, as ESPN put Strong's teammate Azzi Fudd at No. 8 entering her final NCAA season.
New UConn transfer Serah Williams also made the cut at No. 18, as the preseason AP No. 1 Huskies attempt to repeat their 2024/25 title despite losing superstar Paige Bueckers to the WNBA.
Last season's Final Four participants No. 2 Lauren Betts (UCLA), No. 4 Madison Booker (Texas), No. 11 Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), and No. 17 Kiki Rice (UCLA) round things out, accompanied by more individual standouts like No. 3 Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and No. 5 Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU).
The lineup also featured big-name offseason transfers, including highly touted newcomers No. 6 Olivia Miles (TCU), No. 7 Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), No. 14 Gianna Kneepkins (UCLA), and No. 19 MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU).
Freshmen were not eligible for ESPN's preseason rankings, though NCAA debutants can make the updated list as it shifts throughout the year.
How to watch the ESPN Top 25 players in action
The NCAA basketball elite will tip off the 2025/26 season on Monday, with a full slate of games beginning at 11 AM ET.
The ESPN 2025/26 NCAA basketball preseason Top 25 players
1. Sarah Strong (UConn)
2. Lauren Betts (UCLA)
3. Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame)
4. Madison Booker (Texas)
5. Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU)
6. Olivia Miles (TCU)
7. Ta'Niyah Latson (South Carolina)
8. Azzi Fudd (UConn)
9. Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
10. Audi Crooks (Iowa State)
11. Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)
12. Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
13. Raegan Beers (Oklahoma)
14. Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA)
15. Kymora Johnson (Virginia)
16. Zoe Brooks (NC State)
17. Kiki Rice (UCLA)
18. Serah Williams (UConn)
19. MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU)
20. Yarden Garzon (Maryland)
21. Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee)
22. Khamil Pierre (NC State)
23. Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss)
24. Toby Fournier (Duke)
25. Maggie Doogan (Richmond)
College basketball returns in less than two weeks, and the AP is gearing up for tip-off by dropping the 2025/26 preseason All-America First Team on Tuesday.
Reigning NCAA champion and last season's Freshman of the Year Sarah Strong made the preseason All-America Team cut, with the UConn Husky joined by Final Four participants Madison Booker (Texas) and Lauren Betts (UCLA) — the 2024/25 campaign's Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Rounding out the elite five-player lineup are Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo and recent South Carolina transfer Ta'Niya Latson, who led Division I in scoring last season.
While the transfer portal produced a few major roster shakeups — including Latson leaving Florida State to join the 2023/24 NCAA champs — many of last season's top programs are picking up right where they left off.
"There isn't a day that goes by that one of the coaches and I don't look at each other and go, 'Man, there's just something about her right now,'" UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of Strong.
Auriemma's reigning champs had some additional good news this week, with third-ranked 2026 recruit Olivia Vukosa, a 6-foot-4 center currently competing at the same Queens, New York, high school that produced basketball legends Sue Bird and Tina Charles, officially committing to UConn on Tuesday.
Ultimately, continuity could be the difference maker in the upcoming 2025/26 NCAA season, as known talents and newcomers alike look to prove themselves on the collegiate court.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is doubling down on NIL, spotlighting the offseason league's deep roster of NCAA talent in its "Future Is Unrivaled" (FIU) collection drop on Tuesday.
The new merch line features FIU-branded sports apparel and accessories alongside one-offs like pleated skirts, button-ups, and jackets, all backed by a social media campaign starring college stars Lauren Betts (UCLA), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Azzi Fudd (UConn), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Sarah Strong (UConn), Syla Swords (Michigan), and JuJu Watkins (USC).
After first signing NCAA stars Paige Bueckers and Flau'Jae Johnson in late 2024, Unrivaled added more than a dozen of college basketball's biggest names to its "Future is Unrivaled" Class of 2025 earlier this summer.
While they cannot play in the upstart league prior to turning pro, the NIL signees did participate in July's Unrivaled Summit, a multi-day event in Miami that focused on skill development, content creation, brand building, social media strategy, and community service.
Unrivaled basketball's investment in the next generation of superstars underlines the 3×3 venture's growing influence in the sport, as it becomes a wedge issue in the WNBA's ongoing CBA negotiations while prepping to tip off a second season in January.
How to purchase from the "Future Is Unrivaled" collection
The full merch collection is available now online at Unrivaled.
Upstart 3×3 league Unrivaled Basketball stole some of the WNBA's thunder over the 2025 All-Star weekend, with the offseason venture announcing Saturday the signing of 13 NCAA stars to new NIL deals.
Headlining the group is USC guard and 2025 National Player of the Year JuJu Watkins, with the Trojan junior joined by Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Syla Swords (Michigan), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Madison Booker (Texas), and Olivia Miles (TCU).
Rounding out the new signees are a pair of reigning national champions in UConn guard Azzi Fudd and forward Sarah Strong — the 2025 National Freshman of the Year — as well as a trio of UCLA Bruins: guard Kiki Rice, center Lauren Betts, and forward Sienna Betts.
The younger Betts sister, Sienna, is notably the only incoming freshman inked by Unrivaled.
Bringing the 3×3 league's current college class to a total of 14 players is LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson.
Unlike the 13 other players, Johnson's NIL deal is a renewal, with Unrivaled extending their partnership with their second-ever college signee.
Last season, Unrivaled inked just two NIL deals with NCAA stars, partnering with Johnson after signing former UConn guard and current Dallas Wings rookie All-Star Paige Bueckers.
While Bueckers and Johnson both secured equity in the league last year, this year's deals — with Johnson as well as the 13 other NCAA players — do not include that benefit, though Watkins holds an additional unique position as one of Unrivaled's initial investors.
Despite the NIL partnerships, Unrivaled does not guarantee any future roster spots to the 14 athletes.
While the league is targeting a two-team expansion for the league's 2027 season, Unrivaled plans to keep their core roster number at 36 next year, though injury replacement players are again on the table.
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.
Two of the biggest names in NCAA basketball revealed their transfer portal decisions on Tuesday, as student-athletes continue to weigh their options ahead of the April 23rd deadline.
Prospective top 2025 WNBA Draft pick Olivia Miles will instead play out her final year of collegiate eligibility at TCU, making the leap to the team that knocked her Notre Dame squad out of this season’s national tournament.
"I just want to be a pro without being a pro," Miles told TNT. "Every day on campus I want to be the way a pro would be, so I'm prepared when I do actually go to the league."
Similarly, Division I's 2024/25 leading scorer Ta'Niyah Latson announced her departure from Florida State to join 2025 NCAA runners-up South Carolina on Tuesday.
Latson already has connections in the Gamecock locker room, having played high school ball with South Carolina guard Raven Johnson — a draft-eligible junior who recently hinted she’ll be sticking around for one more NCAA season.
Strong teams prevail as NCAA transfer portal continues
As strong teams like South Carolina and TCU grew stronger this week, talent drain affected other top squads, including 2025 Final Four contender UCLA.
The Bruins saw three highly touted freshmen enter the transfer portal this week, with Elina Aarnisalo, Kendall Dudley, and Avary Cain seeking fresh starts to their sophomore years.
The talented young trio are likely seeking increased playing time, as the Bruins will return most of their 2024/25 starters next season, all while adding top recruit Sienna Betts — the younger sister of Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts — to the mix.
All in all, college basketball’s new era can be dizzying but, while the portal's carousel is far from done spinning, the 2025/26 field is starting to take shape as players make their transfer announcements.
UCLA-bound high school senior Sienna Betts led the West team to a decisive 104-82 victory over the East in the McDonald's All-American Girls Game held last night at New York's Barclays Center.
The 6'4" forward contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, earning MVP honors for her performance.
Betts is currently the class of 2025's No. 2 overall recruit. Only Texas-based point guard Aaliyah Chavez, who recently committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, ranks above her.
Betts to join sister Lauren Betts at UCLA next year
Betts's performance is a good indicator of her potential impact at UCLA next year. There, she'll join forces with her sister Lauren Betts, the junior center currently leading the Bruins to this season's NCAA Final Four after transferring in from Stanford.
The Betts sisters' arrival is highly anticipated, with Lauren opting to forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft in order to play out her final year of college eligibility alongside her little sister.
“For me, it [committing to UCLA] was a lot about how the coaches care about you off the court, and the coaches at UCLA, they really care about your mental health,” Betts told The Flagler College Gargoyle after committing last year. “Every team that I’ve ever been on, we’ve been a family… So, they really cared about that part of basketball for me, and they showed me that on my visits and when I called to talk to them.”
Betts in good company as McDonald's All-American Game MVP
In Brooklyn, Betts showcased her ability among the sport's best high school talent. Recent McDonald's All-American MVPs have all gone onto fuel prominent NCAA programs, including top-ranked recruits UConn's Sarah Strong, South Carolina's Joyce Edwards, USC's JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, and UCLA's own Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez.
The McDonald's All-American Game has a storied history of highlighting promising players, with past MVPs subsequently laying the foundation for future superstars.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, Olympic diver Kassidy Cook, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.
And in today's episode, the crew catches up on March Madness action as the NCAA tournament blows past the Elite Eight ahead of Friday's Final Four.
"The first team I want to review is South Carolina," O'Hara says, opening up the conversation. "They beat Maryland and Duke both by four points. Thoughts on South Carolina's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight showing?"
"As I said last week, they've made me incredibly nervous, to a point where I have doubts right now," answers Diaz, admitting she had the 2024 NCAA champs going the distance for a second straight year.
"Especially if they face a UCLA in the in the final, who is who's going to cover Lauren Betts?" she continues. "They don't have that that 6'7" Kamilla Cardoso that they had last year. And having that presence by the rim is super important, offensively and defensively. I just think that they're small."
"That's their biggest weakness," agrees O'Hara.
"And sometimes their bench shows up, sometimes they don't. And for me, that's a big problem. You need depth," Diaz says.
Later on, Sports Are Fun! dives into the upcoming USWNT friendlies, the NCAA transfer portal, Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton, NWSL goals, and so much more!
'Sports Are Fun!' hosts debate the NCAA transfer portal
Next up, the crew sounds off on the NCAA transfer portal as more top players opt to leave their programs in search of a new home. They subsequently ask the question: What matters more, team loyalty or an NIL payday?
"The women's basketball transfer portal is very much so alive and heating up," starts O'Hara, switching gears. "And we've seen some big names, including Taniya Latson from FSU and Cotie McMahon from Ohio State enter the portal."
"Obviously none of us experienced the transfer portal, but I'm curious what everyone's group thoughts are," she asks.
"Every year it gets crazier and crazier, but there's money to be made now," says Diaz. "So listen, go where the money's at. And as a coach, who am I to say, 'They're offering you $500,000. I don't got it.' Go make the bread."
"It would stress me out," says Cook. "When you start making money, all you can think about is, what if I could be making more? But some of these people are still teenagers — 19, 20 years old — and they're making these big decisions."
"Back in the day, you also had an allegiance to your school — you were playing for your school and playing because you love the sport," she adds. "Now you're playing where you can get the most money."
"Audi Crooks at Iowa State, she said 'The grass is greener where you water it. So quit asking,'" says O'Hara. "Because people were asking, 'Are you going to enter the transfer portal?'"
"I love that because I feel like I would have done the same thing," the proud Stanford grad continues. "If I was operating in this day and age, and had the opportunity to go make a ton of money, I think that my heart would still win out over my head."
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
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.
No. 2 UCLA basketball remains undefeated this season, in no small part due to Kiki Rice’s contributions against No. 6 UConn.
The sophomore guard dropped 24 points en route to her program’s first-ever win against the Huskies. She also grabbed 11 rebounds and eight assists. She led her squad to its fifth win of the season in its toughest match so far, 78-67.
“We wanted her to come out with an attack mentality,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said to Michael Voepel. “She has put so much work in. She’s just been a rock star for us.”
Charisma Osborne and Lauren Betts also showed out at the Cayman Islands Classic with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
“We really were confident that if we executed the game plan, that we were going to win,” Close said to the Associated Press. “I say that with great respect (for UConn) but I really believe in what this team is building.”
Paige Bueckers had a standout night for the Huskies, leading all scorers with her 31 points — almost half of UConn’s total. But no one else on the team scored more than 11 points. And head coach Geno Auriemma does not believe that is enough to win games.
“You can’t beat a really good team with one player,” Auriemma said. “It was disappointing that we didn’t get more contributions from more people. Our combinations are all screwed up right now, so that’s got to get sorted out.. We struggled, we had our runs, we just didn’t have enough.”