A year ago, the national player of the year race in women's college basketball looked settled, with UConn's Sarah Strong the consensus choice for every major top player award. Strong returns for her junior season, and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo is back for one final run with the Fighting Irish. But the field is deeper this year, with plenty of contenders ready to challenge them when the 2026-27 season tips off in 11 days.
Ju Ju Watkins, the consensus 2025 national player of the year, missed all of last season while recovering from a knee injury but is back in USC's starting lineup. Her official return comes on Nov. 2 against UNLV in Las Vegas, and all eyes will be on how she looks on her surgically repaired knee. Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, who led the country in scoring as a sophomore, also returns to the conversation.
ESPN's preseason top tier features four players: Watkins, Strong, Hidalgo and Blakes. Each has a stacked résumé. Watkins and Strong have both been named the country's top player in previous seasons, Blakes holds a national scoring title with 27.0 points per game in 2026, and Hidalgo set the single-season NCAA record with 202 steals last year. Strong's all-around production, including 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, is unmatched, though she sat out formal summer activities to rest lower leg issues.
The race is expected to dominate the college basketball conversation through March. If the national player of the year is not one of these four, it would be the college basketball story of the year.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing