This is the season Paige Bueckers has been waiting on for a very long time.
After spending the majority of her college career hampered by injuries and watching her teammates deal with their own significant bumps and bruises that sidelined them for months, Bueckers, the top player in the 2020 class, is finally healthy.
Even better news for UConn: So is Azzi Fudd, the top player in the 2021 class.
Does that lethal combo — which fans have only gotten a glimpse of the past few years — mean the Huskies are about to return to women’s basketball prominence?
It very well could. The 2024-25 women’s college basketball season is here and, while No. 1 South Carolina is certainly going to be a contender in trying to defend its national championship, Bueckers and Fudd are going to create plenty of noise, too.
It’s going to be a weird new world without superstar Caitlin Clark at Iowa, along with the expansion of some conferences and the contraction of others (Pac-12). Regardless of who is playing in which division, it’s setting up to be a wild, and fun, ride.
JuJu Watkins, last season’s national freshman of the year for Southern California, will make her Big Ten debut in December, in a conference loaded with probable NCAA women’s tournament teams. After a record-breaking first season in which she averaged 27.1 points, Watkins will be in a position to put up Clark-type numbers if she continues her current pace. She’s also trying to lead the Trojans to their first Final Four since 1986.
Another super sophomore to keep an eye on is Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame, who will finally get to play with All-American Olivia Miles, who missed last season with an injury. Good luck guarding that backcourt. The Irish are easily one of the most talented, experienced teams in the country and also will contend for a national championship.
IN-DEPTH: Team outlooks for the women’s basketball preseason poll Top 25
Speaking of stellar guards coming back from injury, how about Texas point guard Rori Harmon? Arguably the best two-way player in the country given her ability to score and create on one end of the floor and pester people on the defensive end, Harmon also is finally healthy — and hungry to take the Longhorns to the Final Four.
South Carolina, which has won three titles in seven years, will be interesting to watch. The Gamecocks lose star center Kamilla Cardoso but return guards Te-Hina Paopao, a terrific shooter, and MiLaysia Fulwiley.
As of now, forward Ashlyn Watkins is suspended from team activities after her August arrest on charges of first-degree assault and battery. She’s an impact rebounder and can do a lot for South Carolina on both ends of the floor.
There are plenty of other standout players, some of whom are familiar to their fan bases — like Flau’jae Johnson at LSU — and others who are known in the women’s hoops world but are playing for a new school, like Raegan Beers, who transferred from Oregon State to Oklahoma. Audi Crooks is still at Iowa State, and Lauren Betts is back at UCLA, but Deja Kelly is at Oregon after leaving North Carolina.
There are several talented freshmen to keep an eye on, too, including Sarah Strong (Connecticut), Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State) and Syla Swords (Michigan).
