The John R. Wooden Award watch list, recognizing the top candidates for the most outstanding player in college basketball, is down to 25 players. Several teams have two candidates on the 2022-23 midseason list released last week, and players like Aliyah Boston and Catlin Clark have appeared on it multiple times. Others are seeing their name in contention for the award for the first time.

The list is chock full of talent, but some players stand out as better than the rest. Just Women’s Sports has narrowed the list down to the top seven, in no particular order.

Aliyah Boston, senior, South Carolina

Boston will be the player all others are compared to as the reigning National Player of the Year, and she sets a high standard. The senior forward is the best player on the No. 1 team in the country, and she’s just as good on offense as she is on defense. She impacts every aspect of the game for the undefeated Gamecocks, whether it’s scoring, blocking shots or rebounding. Even when she isn’t showing up in the stat sheet, Boston is helping South Carolina. The thing that will hurt her POY chances is actually the part of her game that shows just how talented and smart Boston is, as coach Dawn Staley referenced last week: Her numbers are down from last season.

During her POY and DPOY campaign in 2021-22, Boston averaged 16.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. This year, she’s contributing 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest. A lot of that comes down to the way teams are defending the forward. She’s been double- and triple-teamed every time she touches the ball, and often stopped from catching it entirely with defenders packing the paint. Instead of forcing the issue, Boston has continued to let the game come to her and deferred to her teammates when defenses throw multiple defenders at her. Boston knows she doesn’t need to put up the same numbers as she did last season for South Carolina to win games, and she is sacrificing her personal stats for the greater good of the team.

Cameron Brink, junior, Stanford

When Brink is on the floor, she’s arguably the most talented player in the country. The junior can score inside, pull defenders outside by hitting 3-pointers and block shots, all of which infuse the Cardinal lineup with energy. At 6-foot-5, her skill set makes her a mismatch for any opponent. The problem with Brink is one she has admitted on several occasions: foul trouble. Brink doesn’t have any speed other than 100 percent, and that costs her and Stanford at times. She commits 3.8 fouls per 40 minutes on average, which is why she plays only 21.5 minutes per game. Fellow Stanford stars Hannah Jump and Haley Jones, in comparison, average 29 and 28 minutes per game, respectively.

In her limited action, Brink contributes 13.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Now, imagine those numbers if she stayed on the court for an extra five minutes per contest. If Brink can stay disciplined in the second half of the season and guide her team to wins over top Pac-12 opponents like UCLA, Oregon, Utah and Arizona, then her case for POY becomes much stronger.

Aaliyah Edwards, junior, UConn

When the season started, it was Edwards’ UConn teammate, Azzi Fudd, who was a top candidate for Player of the Year. But as UConn has battled injury after injury — including one that’s sidelined Fudd since early December — Edwards was the constant calming force for the Huskies. Paige Bueckers went out before the season started, and freshman Ice Brady followed soon after. Then Dorka Juhász broke her thumb, Nika Mühl sustained a concussion and Caroline Ducharme battled neck stiffness. Through it all, Edwards continued to perform at a high level. Despite injuring her ankle last week against Xavier, Edwards is averaging 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists, all while shooting an efficient 63.4 percent from the field.

It’s safe to say that without Edwards’ contributions, the Huskies wouldn’t be 13-2. That only adds to her case for the POY award, which recognizes a player who brings irreplaceable value to their team. On the flip side, as a big, Edwards will be compared against Boston, who has similar but more polished skills. And when Fudd comes back, the guard will demand much of the national attention and likely eclipse Edwards as UConn’s top player in many peoples’ eyes. All that being said, Edwards deserves serious consideration because of the way she’s anchored her squad in the midst of chaos.

Caitlin Clark, junior, Iowa

Last season, Clark and Boston were locked in a two-way battle for POY. This year, there are other players with strong cases as well, but Clark remains one of the top options. The junior guard averages 27.2 points per game (third in the country), 7.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists (ninth in the country). Every team Iowa plays has to center its entire defensive game plan around Clark because she’s such a dynamic scorer. The junior has a plethora of moves, sees the court well and can shoot from long, long range. What she does on the court hasn’t been seen in the college game before, and that certainly gives her bonus points in the POY race.

Clark lost out to Boston last season because the South Carolina forward had a defensive edge. Clark isn’t a weak defender by any means; it just isn’t one of her strengths. Plus, with the heavy offensive load she carries, the Hawkeyes would rather she didn’t expend too much energy on defense. She still contributes in multiple ways: Clark leads her team in assists and has already set the record for the most triple-doubles in the Big Ten, among men or women, with seven in her career.

Aneesah Morrow, sophomore, DePaul

There is no denying Aneesah Morrow’s talent, which is why she remains one of the top candidates for the award. The sophomore averages a double-double with 26.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, which is fourth and sixth in the country, respectively. She’s also had multiple 40-plus-point games this season and has finished with fewer than 20 points in just three of her 16 games played. Morrow is consistently dominant, no matter the opponent, but the issue with her POY campaign comes down to the team she plays for.

DePaul is unranked after suffering losses to Marquette, Creighton, Louisville, Towson, Cleveland and Northern Illinois. The Blue Demons did upset Maryland in November behind Morrow’s 22 points and 10 rebounds, but the team as a whole needs to step up if Morrow has a shot at the award. DePaul must enter the top 25, at least, for her to become a legitimate contender.

Angel Reese, sophomore, LSU

The more I see from Angel Reese, the more I like her for this award. The forward’s numbers are incredible, with 24.2 points per game (sixth in the country), and an NCAA-leading 15.6 rebounds per contest. And while she’s done it against a lot of weak competition — LSU has had to answer to its conference schedule — Reese has two big things working in her favor. The first is that, even against lesser competition, she never has an off-game. Reese has had a double-double in all 15 of LSU’s games this season.

The second is that, in the few games LSU has been tested, Reese has answered, playing the same way she does against lesser opponents. She had 25 points and 20 rebounds against Oregon State on Dec. 18, and 19 and 16 against Arkansas a week later. LSU’s best competition is still to come, when the Tigers take on No. 1 South Carolina in February. Reese has a chance to cement herself as one of the league’s top players if she performs at a high level against the Gamecocks. If LSU keeps winning and establishing legitimacy in the top-25 poll, Reese becomes more and more attractive as a POY candidate.

Alissa Pili, junior, Utah

Despite being the best player on an undefeated, top-10 team, Pili manages to stay under the radar. It’s time the forward received national attention. In her first season with Utah after transferring from USC, Pili has taken the team to another level, with the 14-1 Utes ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll. Thanks to its high-powered offense, Utah is ranked fourth in the country with 87.3 points per game. In a sea of scorers, Pili still manages to stand out. The 6-2 forward leads her team in both points (19.3) and rebounds (5.9), while shooting 62.8 percent from the field.

Pili’s high shooting percentage becomes even more impressive when you look at the multitude of shots she takes. Though Pili is a strong big with a traditional build, her game has dimension. She can score down low or stretch the floor, where she shoots 40.6 percent from beyond the arc. Pili’s challenge in the POY race is lack of attention. Though Utah plays in a strong conference and is a top ranked team, the Utes don’t have the name recognition of teams like UConn and Stanford. Pili will have a chance to prove herself on the national stage however, with difficult Pac-12 matchups against Arizona, Stanford, Oregon and UCLA on their schedule.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The New York Sirens made PWHL history this weekend, as forward Abby Roque — who grew up in Michigan — scored the second-year league’s first-ever Michigan goal against the Ottawa Charge on Saturday.

With Ottawa leading 3-1 in the game's third period, Roque skated behind the Charge’s net, snapping the puck under the crossbar to register her sixth goal of the season.

A very rare trick shot, "The Michigan" entered the sport's lingo in the 1990s, after University of Michigan men's hockey winger Mike Legg successfully replicated minor-leaguer Bill Armstrong’s lacrosse-style "high wrap" goal during a 1996 NCAA Tournament game against Minnesota.

Requiring deft mechanics, the shooter lifts the puck with their stick, slotting it into the top near corner of the net behind an unsuspecting goalkeeper.

"There was a lot around the net and I just I knew I had time behind the net to pick it up, [so] I thought I may as well," said Roque after her performance. "It’s something that has become a joke and we say every day when I come to the rink: 'Michigan today.'"

"The opportunity presented itself, so I had to try."

Roque joins short list of "Michigan" goalscorers

Roque — Team USA's first-ever Indigenous hockey player — now inks her name onto a short list of athletes who have scored a Michigan goal.

The first successful major pro league attempt came in the NHL, when Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov converted the trick shot against the Calgary Flames in October 2019.

On the women's side, PWHL history-maker Roque is just the third athlete to claim Michigan goal success.

Slovakia's teen star Nela Lopušanová paved the way, flicking in the first-ever women's Michigan shot during the 2023 U18 IIHF World Championships at just 14 years old.

Leading the charge Stateside is Brown University forward Margot Norehad. As a freshman for the Bears, Norehad netted a Michigan during a February 2024 NCAA game against Quinnipiac.

While Roque's shot wasn't enough to secure a Sirens win on Saturday, she did manage to her individual 16-point season total with style.

USC star sophomore JuJu Watkins suffered a serious injury in the No. 1-seed Trojans’ second-round March Madness win over No. 9-seed Mississippi State on Monday, putting a dismal stamp on the final day of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's first weekend.

After taking contact from two defenders midway through the first quarter, a visibly distraught Watkins crumbled to the court with a season-ending ACL tear in her right knee. The season's second-leading Division I scorer will soon undergo surgery before beginning rehabilitation.

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"I'd be lying if I told you I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu lying on the floor and crying," said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb afterwards. "This is a human game, so I obviously tried my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot."

The arena mirrored Gottlieb's reaction, a testament to Watkins's impact on the USC community.

"You cannot tell me the energy of that crowd, and how sort of angry they were with the other team, and how much fire they showed for our team, is so much about what JuJu has given to this arena, to this program, to the city," added Gottlieb. "And you just want to give it all back."

A National Player of the Year frontrunner, Watkins’s injury will reverberate throughout USC’s tournament run, as the Trojans stare down a potential Elite Eight rematch with surging No. 2-seed UConn.

Trojans step up after Watkins injury

After seeing their teammate carried off the court, USC regrouped in a big way, converting their early 13-2 lead into a 96-59 blowout victory over the Bulldogs to clinch a spot in the Sweet 16.

In light of the Watkins injury, star transfer forward Kiki Iriafen took charge, putting up a season-high 36 points and nearly notching a double-double by adding nine rebounds to her stat sheet.

Also taking up Watkins' mantle were a pair of freshmen guards, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel, who came off the bench to add 18 and 13 points, respectively.

The added emotional tenacity the Trojans displayed was not lost on Gottlieb, who thanked her team in a post-game locker room address.

"I will never forget this game for as long as I live," the USC coach told her players. "You guys did something really special today."

"I have to say it with a calm face and tell you how incredibly proud I am of the way you stepped up for one another...it was a tidal wave of a team."

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Top NCAA tournament seeds dominate Sweet 16 berths

Ultimately, losing Watkins is a devastating blow not just to USC, but to college basketball at large, radically reshaping the competitive landscape as March Madness gears up for next weekend's Sweet 16 round.

Monday's final buzzer officially set that field, locking in every team seeded No. 3 and above, plus one No. 4 seed and a trio of No. 5 seeds.

In a day void of upsets, seven of Monday's games averaged a wide 28-point margin of victory. The lone outlier was Maryland's bombshell victory, as the Terps booked their Sweet 16 spot in an instant classic game against No. 5-seed Alabama.

After the Terrapins rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to push the game into overtime, Tide fifth-year guard Sarah Ashlee Barker forced double-overtime with a trio of free throws.

Though the Terps ultimately emerged with the 111-108 victory, Barker set records, notching a career-high 45 points — the most by any SEC athlete and the fourth-most by any Division I player in March Madness history.

"It didn't go our way but, at the end of the day, I'm gonna walk out and hold [my] head high," said Barker about the game that capped her NCAA career. "If you're a women's basketball fan, or anybody that loves basketball, I think that every single person could say that that was one of the best games they've ever watched."

With games between the NCAA's best stacking next weekend's Sweet 16 slate, this year's March Madness tournament is could see even more blockbuster clashes.

The world No. 1 USWNT has ordered up another shot, as forward Trinity Rodman — one-third of 2024’s Triple Espresso frontline alongside Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson (neé Smith) — returns to head coach Emma Hayes’s 24-player roster ahead of April’s Olympic rematch friendlies against silver medalists No. 8 Brazil.

After leading the USWNT’s attack throughout last summer’s gold-medal run, Rodman is the first of the trio to resume her place on Hayes’s lineup, and her return should bolster a US side looking to balance chemistry-building alongside continued rotation.

"I have to try and find the sweet spot in camp, to reintegrate her back in the team, but also to manage her, because she has a long season ahead," Hayes said of the Washington Spirit star.

Hayes continues to tap fresh USWNT faces

April’s international window will allow Hayes to continue to size up less experienced players on the USWNT roster bubble, furthering a lengthy and deliberate evaluation process that began at the start of 2025.

With USWNT veterans Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle, and Lynn Biyendolo (neé Williams) still unavailable due to injury, Hayes made room for first-time official invitees Houston Dash defender Avery Patterson and Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

The US has seen Hayes’s process hit both highs and lows since returning from last winter's European friendly tour, with the team most recently taking second place at this year’s SheBelieves Cup.

That narrow SheBelieves loss to No. 5 Japan is still the only one on Hayes's USWNT resume. While always hunting wins, the US boss is playing the long game, focusing on creating what she hopes will be a 2027 World Cup-winning team.

"All of the players know they have to earn every roster spot, every starting spot and every minute they get as a finisher off the bench," Hayes said in a statement. "Working with players who are striving for consistency in elite performance, so they can keep getting call-ups and keep excelling at this level, is an exciting process and one that continues with [April's] two games."

The USWNT will take on Ireland and another opponent

🗓️ June 26 in Commerce City, CO vs Republic of Ireland
🗓️ June 29 in Cincinnati, OH vs Republic of Ireland
🗓️ July 2 with an opponent and venue to be announced pic.twitter.com/z4OoILObXz

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) March 24, 2025

USWNT adds June friendlies against Ireland

The April roster drop arrives alongside a couple of schedule additions, with the US set to host the world No. 26 Republic of Ireland for two friendlies this June.

The teams will first square off in Commerce City, Colorado, on June 26th, before closing out the series in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 29th.

"Ireland is one of the most difficult European teams to play against, so I’m happy we could get these games," remarked Hayes. "We need to play teams that will push us and create an environment where our players have to solve problems and play under pressure."

A third summer matchup is also on the horizon for July 2nd, though both the opponent and venue are yet to be determined.

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The USWNT's April roster

• Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)
• Defenders: Alana Cook (Kansas City Current), Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC)
• Midfielders: Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Heaps (Olympique Lyon), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Jaedyn Shaw (North Carolina Courage), Lily Yohannes (Ajax)
• Forwards: Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)

How to watch the April friendlies between the USWNT and Brazil

Kicking off the series in LA, the USWNT will first host Brazil at 5 PM ET on April 5th, with live coverage on TNT.

The second match in San Jose is set for 10:30 PM ET on April 8th, and will air on TBS.

After early exits from the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, US standouts continued to struggle this week, failing to advance past the Round of 16 at the Miami Open.

After ending the dream of a single Sunshine Double winner by outlasting Indian Wells champion No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in Sunday's three-set Round of 32 battle, US contender No. 17 Amanda Anisimova fell to the UK's unseeded Emma Raducanu in straight sets on Monday.

The Round of 16 action also saw world No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka knock out US stalwart No. 14-seed Danielle Collins in two sets — a fate similarly suffered by No. 3-ranked Coco Gauff, who fell to Poland's unseeded Magda Linette by the exact same 6-4, 6-4 scoreline.

"It wasn’t great today," Gauff told reporters after the match. "It hasn’t been the last few weeks — I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it."

The 21-year-old star is in the midst of a particularly frustrating 2025 run, having yet to advance past the quarterfinals of any competition since winning the 2024 WTA Finals.

"It's just a series of not having great results and feeling confident on the court," she said of her current struggles.

The lone US player still on Miami's court is world No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who easily ousted Ukraine's No. 23-seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-3 on Monday.

Unseeded players shine at 2025 Miami Open

Though five of the WTA's Top 9 players — from Sabalenka to her next opponent, China's No. 9 Qinwen Zheng — advanced to this week's Miami Open quarterfinals, a trio of unseeded athletes are also making deep runs in Florida.

The aforementioned Raducanu is displaying the same tenacity that helped her win the 2021 US Open at just 18 years old, dispatching a trio of US players in No. 8-seed Emma Navarro, unseeded McCartney Kessler, and Anisimova to claim a Wednesday quarterfinal date with US star Pegula.

Also causing chaos in Miami is unseeded 19-year-old Filipino pro Alexandra Eala, who rolled over 2025 Australian Open champion and world No. 5 Madison Keys on Sunday, ultimately earning a shot at No. 2 Iga Świątek on Wednesday.

But first, Gauff's unseeded conquerer Linette will kick off the tournament's quarterfinals by facing No. 6-seed Jasmine Paolini.

The Italian star already ushered Japan icon Naomi Osaka out of the competition in Monday's three-set Round of 16 battle, and will take aim at Linette's similarly impressive unseeded run on Tuesday.

How to watch the 2025 Miami Open quarterfinals

The 2025 Miami Open quarterfinals will kick off on Tuesday, when Magda Linette will face No. 6 Jasmine Paolini at 3:20 PM ET, before No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka takes on No. 9 Qinwen Zheng at 7 PM ET.

The remaining two quarterfinals will take Wednesday's court, with the timing for Emma Raducanu vs. No. 4 Jessica Pegula and Alexandra Eala vs. No. 2 Iga Świątek yet to be determined.

All 2025 Miami Open matches will be covered live on the Tennis Channel.