Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2024-25: No surprise at No. 1
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Charlie Creme, ESPN.com
The landscape of women’s college basketball is going to look very different when November arrives and the 2024-25 season begins.
Caitlin Clark will be gone. So will Angel Reese. The Pac-12 will be no more.
USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will be in the Big Ten. Oklahoma and Texas will be calling the SEC home. They will be replaced in the Big 12 by Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. Gonzaga will have to hold off newcomers Oregon State and Washington State to remain the dominant program in the WCC. Stanford and Cal, along with SMU, will be forging new rivalries with Notre Dame and NC State in the ACC.
The NCAA tournament could have some changes, too.
And with transfers still making decisions and so many players eligible to use a fifth year per the COVID-19 waiver, this top 25 will likely change too. Plenty. But the offseason starts now. Here’s our Way-Too-Early Top 25.
A third consecutive undefeated regular season might be too much to ask, but that doesn’t mean South Carolina won’t be the favorite. At this point, Kamilla Cardoso is the only player set to leave. Her inside dominance will be missed, but the Gamecocks won five games this season without her. The deep backcourt of Raven Johnson, Bree Hall, Te-Hina Paopao, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson looks even better heading into the 2024-25 season. Sania Feagin, Ashlyn Watkins and Chloe Kitts should be ready to take over the frontcourt and will welcome 6-foot-2 Joyce Edwards, the No. 2-rated recruit in the country, according to HoopGurlz.
Expect Madison Booker to slide back to the wing and form what could be the nation’s best backcourt with Rori Harmon returning from knee injury. Aaliyah Moore and DeYona Gaston are expected to anchor the frontcourt, and Vic Schaefer has two top-10 recruits on the way in 6-2 Justice Carlton from Texas and 6-0 Jordan Lee from California. The Longhorns might not be battling South Carolina for just SEC supremacy. This could be a season-long battle to be the top team in the country.
The idea of Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles playing together is tantalizing even if it begs the question of how the two point guards will share the ball. Coach Niele Ivey likely welcomes the opportunity to figure it out. Having Sonia Citron to receive passes from either also helps Notre Dame’s chances of getting to the Final Four for the first time under Ivey.
For the second straight offseason, the biggest wish in Storrs is for some sustained health. Six players suffered season-ending injuries either before or during this season. In her return after missing 2022-23 with injury, Paige Bueckers had her best season to help the Huskies back to the Final Four, and she’s coming back for another run at a title. She won’t have Aaliyah Edwards or Nika Muhl by her side, but if veterans Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Aubrey Griffin can shake their injury histories, Bueckers and the Huskies might be back in the championship business, especially if incoming freshman Sarah Strong delivers as the nation’s top recruit.
Lindsay Gottlieb transformed the USC program by landing 2023’s top recruit. She gave JuJu Watkins the freedom to be a star and it landed the Trojans in the Elite Eight. Now, Gottlieb will be bringing in the top recruiting class in the country to play with Watkins as USC makes its way to the Big Ten. Kennedy Smith, a 6-1 wing, headlines the six-player class that will help replace the loss of grad students Kayla Padilla, McKenzie Forbes and Kaitlyn Davis.
Since the Bruins fell short of expectations with a Sweet 16 loss to LSU and no Pac-12 title, it might be hard to remember that all of Cori Close’s best players, except for Charisma Osborne, were sophomores. Lauren Betts and her dominance in the post, along with guards Kiki Rice, Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez, will lead UCLA into the Big Ten, where the Bruins and fellow newcomer USC might be the favorites to win the league. Rice’s high school teammate, 6-2 Kendall Dudley, is a top-20 recruit who headlines a top-five class for Close.
The losses of Reese (declared for WNBA) and Hailey Van Lith (transfer portal) are notable but hardly devastating for Kim Mulkey. In fact, there now might be room for Flau’jae Johnson to become the new face of the program and for Mikaylah Williams and Aneesah Morrow to put up much bigger numbers. The further development of 6-6 Aalyah Del Rosario and the healthy return of Sa’Myah Smith, who missed most of the season with a knee injury, will be key.
Guard play got NC State to its first Final Four since 1998, and all three guards — Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks — are expected back. Finding replacements for River Baldwin and Mimi Collins inside will be Wes Moore’s top priority in the offseason, but the signing of 6-5 Lorena Awou as part of a top-20 recruiting class is a good start.
With the departures of Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump, the Cardinal become Kiki Iriafen‘s team. One of the most improved players in the country this season, Iriafen will enter the ACC next season as the league’s top post player. Elena Bosgana, Brooke Demetre and Talana Lepolo form a solid, if inconsistent, core around Iriafen.
Before Emily Ryan elected to return for her fifth year, the Cyclones were a top-20 team, but Ryan elevates them into the top 10. She can continue to guide a young team as a point guard with the ability to score, as she did against Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament (36 points, 6-for-9 from 3), when the situation requires. The core group of rising sophomores, led by Audi Crooks and Addy Brown, had Iowa State set to be a Big 12 title contender even before Ryan’s decision. Crooks will show up on many preseason All-American lists.
Six of the top seven players in Kara Lawson’s rotation were freshmen and sophomores, and the Blue Devils are coming off their best NCAA tournament finish (Sweet 16) since 2018. Reigan Richardson was Duke’s breakout player of the first two rounds and could be ready for a big jump from her 12.4 PPG average. Duke’s defense under Lawson has always been good and was rated fourth in the country by HerHoopStats. That shouldn’t change in 2024-25.
The breakup of the Pac-12 and the Beavers’ move to the WCC already prompted Talia von Oelhoffen to leave Corvallis. More players could follow, but if Scott Rueck somehow keeps his talented group of freshmen and sophomores together, this team could challenge for another trip to the Elite Eight or beyond. Sophomore Raegan Beers, the country’s leader in field goal percentage, and classmate Timea Gardiner would likely dominate in their new conference, along with a backcourt of sophomore sharpshooter Lily Hansford and freshmen Dominika Paurova and Donovyn Hunter.
Dre’Una Edwards and Aijha Blackwell are gone, but the rest of Nicki Collen’s core is expected back. The most crucial returning player is point guard Sarah Andrews, who elected to play her fifth year in Waco, Texas. If Jada Walker‘s play in the NCAA tournament is a sign of things to come, the Bears could have a potent and deep backcourt. Bella Fontleroy and Yaya Felder were also important contributors. Junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs taking the next step will be a key to the Bears staying near the top of the new-look Big 12.
Lexi Donarski, Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly are not on the WNBA draft list, but they have not officially announced their intentions to return to Chapel Hill. If they do, Courtney Banghart might have her most talented group at North Carolina. Five-star recruits 6-5 Blanca Thomas and 6-4 Ciera Toomey, who redshirted this year, are set to join the active roster and join 6-3 Maria Gakdeng on the front line. Lanie Grant, a 5-10 point guard who is the Virginia state player of the year, reclassified from the Class of 2025 to join the Tar Heels next season.
The decisions by forward Olivia Cochran and guard Merissah Russell to return for their fifth years, plus junior Jayda Curry and sophomore Nyla Harris, give Jeff Walz a more complete core returning than he has had in the past two years. The Cardinals lose two of their top three scorers in Kiki Jefferson and Sydney Taylor, but Walz has also added a pair of top-25 recruits in 6-0 Mackenly Randolph and 5-10 Tajianna Avant-Roberts.
The first year under Mark Kellogg was a big success. Picked in the preseason to finish eighth in the Big 12, the Mountaineers tied for fourth. Prior to the Final Four, the team that gave Iowa its biggest challenge in the NCAA tournament was West Virginia. Based on her comments after that game, the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, JJ Quinerly, plans to return alongside sophomore Jordan Harrison, giving Kellogg what could be the conference’s best backcourt.
Ayoka Lee, whose name isn’t on the WNBA draft list, appears to be returning to the Wildcats. Having the dominant post play of Lee surrounded by what will be an experienced group of guards in Serena Sundell, Jaelyn Glenn and Brylee Glenn means Jeff Mittie will be able to build on the momentum of this season’s third-place Big 12 finish and No. 4 NCAA tournament seed.
Other than Sara Bejedi, the Seminoles are expected to bring back the rest of their starting lineup. Ta’Niya Latson is one of the best scorers in the country and should be on most preseason player of the year lists. Finding more consistency will be the key for a Florida State team that beat Virginia Tech and North Carolina in consecutive games this season, only to follow with a loss to Virginia and a 42-point drubbing by Duke.
All of the Sooners’ seniors — Lexy Keys, Aubrey Joens, Nevaeh Tot and Skylar Vann — are expected to use their extra year and return, which means Jennie Baranczyk can essentially run back the team that won the Big 12 regular-season title. Liz Scott, who missed this season with a shoulder injury, is also slated to return and would be a big addition. Freshman Sahara Williams was playing at an all-conference level by the end of the season and could be ready to break out in 2025.
Lauren Jensen, Emma Ronsiek, Morgan Maly and Molly Mogensen have all been at Creighton seemingly forever, but because of the extra season granted by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they each have one more year of eligibility. No formal announcement has come, but none is in the WNBA draft pool. If they do all return, the Bluejays are second only to UConn in the Big East and have Sweet 16 potential.
The loss of Jaz Shelley hurts, but top-30 recruit Britt Prince can soften the blow if she’s able to make an impact right away. Natalie Potts and Logan Nissley were solid as freshmen, and if they are even better as sophomores, Nebraska will be an NCAA tournament team for the third time in four years. Alexis Markowski has gotten better every season and has All-American potential as a senior.
It’s the end of the Jacy Sheldon era and, with Rebeka Mikulasikova and Celeste Taylor using up their eligibility, things will look different in Columbus. Kevin McGuff will build around Cotie McMahon, who has shown the potential to be one of the nation’s top players. McGuff also landed the No. 3 recruit in point guard Jaloni Cambridge and combo guard Ava Watson to remake his backcourt.
Seniors Sarah Ashlee Barker, Aaliyah Nye and Loyal McQueen are all eligible to return and have not applied for the WNBA draft. Add underclassmen Essence Cody, Jessica Timmons and Karly Weathers and the entire core could be back for an Alabama team that made the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years.
The return of a healthy Gianna Kneepkens will give Lynne Roberts a go-to player. Her knee injury and the loss of Isabel Palmer for most of the season derailed Utah’s big expectations. Replacing Alissa Pili‘s production will be impossible, but Jenna Johnson, Palmer, Ines Vieira and Kennady McQueen give Roberts a solid group of veterans to put around Kneepkens for the move to the Big 12.
A disappointing 2023-24 season ended well with Illinois winning the inaugural WBIT championship. Last year, Kansas rode the momentum of a WNIT title back to the NCAA tournament. Makira Cook and Kendall Bostic already have said they will play their fifth year in Champaign, and Genesis Bryant and Adalia McKenzie hinted they plan to return, so expect the Fighting Illini to build on this season’s postseason title as well.
Also considered: Arizona Wildcats, Michigan Wolverines, Ole Miss Rebels, Texas A&M Aggies, Villanova Wildcats
