Women's college basketball is back, and the biggest story is Ju Ju Watkins' return. She sat out all of last season after tearing her ACL in March 2025 during the second round of the NCAA tournament. The national player of the year that season, Watkins guided the USC Trojans to a No. 1 seed and an Elite Eight appearance. Without her last year, USC won 18 games, finished mid-pack in the Big Ten and reached the NCAA tournament's second round as a No. 9 seed. With Watkins back, USC is again a national championship contender.
There are questions, however. Most of the roster has turned over since Watkins last played, and she has not played an official game with most of coach Lindsay Gottlieb's expected rotation. USC is not alone. Every team in ESPN's preseason top 25 faces questions as the race to the Final Four appears more wide open than a season ago.
At No. 1 South Carolina, coach Dawn Staley has no true point guard to start the season after junior Maddy Mc Daniel withdrew from the university in August to focus on her mental health. Expect the Gamecocks to run their offense through Joyce Edwards in the high post, a player among the country's five or six best. The return of Chloe Kitts, who missed last season with a torn ACL, adds needed frontcourt help.
At No. 2 UConn, sophomore forward Blanca Quinonez is the key to watch. Her 18 points against Ohio State in her second college game and her 20 points and eight rebounds against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight show her ability. If she learns from a freshman season marked by turnovers and lapses in attention, the Huskies can offset the loss of Azzi Fudd and pair Sarah Strong, 2026's consensus national player of the year, with a potential All-American.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing