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Oct 01, 2023

Women’s basketball Top 25: Where is LSU after adding HVL, Morrow?

The transfer portal has finally closed, the coaching carousel has stopped

The transfer portal has finally closed, the coaching carousel has stopped turning and the WNBA Draft came and went. The LSU Tigers visited the White House to commemorate their national championship win over Iowa, so we can officially put the 2022-23 women's college basketball season – the Angel Reese versus Caitlin Clark discourse, Kim Mulkey's wild outfits, Hailey Van Lith's trash-talking battles, Dawn Staley's swagger-filled fits, and chanting Virginia Tech fans – in our rearview.

In just a few months, the 2023-24 season will get underway. Some teams look very different, some are running it back with familiar units, and others made a few small tweaks.

From now through November though, rosters should largely stay the same. So, we feel like it's a good time to take stock after the craziness of the portal, look toward the future and assess some expectations.

Here is the way-too-early-top-25, coming to you five months before next season starts.

Also considered: Texas A&M, Texas, Creighton, Washington State, Illinois

The Golden Eagles bring back three of their top four scorers from a team that went dancing, plus they added Frannie Hottinger, who averaged 20.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game at Lehigh last year. Lee Volker, a transfer from Duke, could provide a boost too.

The @PatriotLeague Player of the Year in women's basketball is @LehighWBB's Frannie Hottinger.@MarchMadnessWBB @espnW @LehighU pic.twitter.com/IOaba1U7qx

— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) March 3, 2023

Sarah Andrews, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Aijha Blackwell and Co. are back and the Bears added Jada Walker and Madison Bartley, a pair of double-digit scorers at their previous schools. Nicki Collen will have the Bears competitive in the Big 12 again.

Duke guard Shayeann Day-Wilson warms up before facing North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 26, 2023. (Mitchell Northam / For The Win)

No Cavinders? No problem.

Miami is reloading after making a run to its first-ever Elite Eight this past season. Just two starters return, but one of them is guard Jasmyne Roberts, who averaged 19 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during the NCAA tournament last season. Ja’Leah Williams is back too, and she and Roberts will be paired with Duke transfer Shayeann Day-Wilson, Columbia transfer Jaida Patrick and Pepperdine transfer Ally Stedman. If Katie Meier can make all the pieces fit, the Canes should be a tough out in the ACC.

Yes, the Wolfpack saw three starters transfer and a fourth graduate, but this program is about to receive an influx of new, young talent. N.C. State is bringing in a recruiting class that includes four top 75 recruits, led by dynamic guard Zoe Brooks, a five-star prospect ranked ninth by ESPN. Wes Moore's side also brings back athletic guards in Madison Hayes, Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James, veteran post players in Mimi Collins and River Baldwin, and added Katie Peneueta, who shot 45.5 percent from 3-point land at Sacramento State last season.

NC State 5🌟signee Zoe Brooks (@zoebrooks35) finished with a triple-double with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the @HoophallClassic.

Yeah, the future is very bright for @PackWomensBball 👀pic.twitter.com/xEeGbrOFRG

— Cory Smith (@RCorySmith) January 16, 2023

(Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)

As long as Ta’Niya Latson is healthy, FSU will be must-watch. After leading the ACC in scoring as a freshman, the sky is the limit for Latson as a sophomore in Tallahassee. With a solid surrounding cast, FSU should be dancing for the 11th straight season.

Remember Ayoka Lee? She once scored 61 points in a single game, and after missing all of last season as she recovered from an injury, she's expected to be back with the Wildcats this year. She rejoins a Kansas State team that also returns Gabby Gregory, who averaged 18.5 points per game last season. The Glenn sisters and Serena Sundell also return to form a solid supporting cast around Lee.

61 POINTS!!! (23/30 FG)

Ayoka Lee broke the NCAA scoring record. She almost outscored the other team by herself 😳

pic.twitter.com/ksaRueqKqK

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 23, 2022

The top four scorers return for a Buffaloes team that won at Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in two decades. Plus, Colorado added sniper Maddie Nolan, who made more than two 3-pointers per game in each of her past two seasons at Michigan. The Buffaloes added a pair of top-75 recruits too.

Michigan's Maddie Nolan has a flame thrower 🔥

Nolan hit seven 3-pointers today in the Wolverines' huge win over Maryland 🎯 @maddienolan20 pic.twitter.com/9DIsdyjJAA

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) January 17, 2022

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Five of the Cardinals top six scorers are gone, including Hailey Van Lith who joined the Death Star in Baton Rouge.

But Jeff Walz rebuilt this roster quickly, adding Jayda Curry and her 15.5 points per-game, Sun Belt Player of the Year Kiki Jefferson, Sydney Taylor and her 16.1 points per-game, Florida transfer Nina Rickards. Olivia Cochran is back as the Cardinals’ top post player as the program seeks its sixth straight Elite Eight appearance.

In Sam Purcell's first year on the job, this team took Notre Dame to the brink in the second round of the tournament. This offseason, all the Bulldogs did was get better by combing the transfer portal, adding a former All-SEC selection in Erynn Barnum, an All-Big East selection in Darrione Rogers, and Seton Hall's Lauren Park-Lane – an electric guard who averaged 20.8 points and 6.3 assists per game last season.

No SEC opponent will take Mississippi State lightly this season. Talk to them nice.

Mississippi State HC Sam Purcell (@SamPurcellMSU) released his "Talk to me nice" list (includes all the people who don't believe in MSU):

Charlie CremeCandace ParkerA'ja WilsonPresident BidenBarack Obama

"Barack, I know you're from Illinois, but you're a girl dad."

More: pic.twitter.com/vj4aFluoxf

— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) March 17, 2023

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The Irish were perhaps the hardest team to rank here. Everything hinges on the health of star point guard Olivia Miles, who missed the postseason after suffering a knee injury in the regular season finale at Louisville. With Miles – and her 14.3 points and 6.9 assists per-game – the Irish could repeat as ACC champs and make another deep tournament run. Without her, Notre Dame's future is a bit murkier.

Still, with a core led by Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld, the Irish will be competitive, with or without Miles.

Am I underestimating the Cardinal? Probably. But Stanford lost a host of key contributors, including Haley Jones, Indya Nivar, Fran Belibi and Lauren Betts.

Still, this is a team that has Cameron Brink — fresh off leading Team USA to a gold medal in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup — Hannah Jump and Talana Lepolo, and this is still a team coached by Tara VanDerveer. Simply put: they’ll still be a factor in the race for the Pac-12 title.

Cameron Brink's ability to basically stalk her opponent until the perfect time to block their shot has always impressed me. 🫣#3x3WC | @usab3x3 pic.twitter.com/ZpEpwudKNT

— Women's Hoopz (@WBBWorldWide) June 3, 2023

Ole Miss basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin during the Sweet 16 game against Louisville in the NCAA college basketball tournament at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA on Friday, March 24, 2023.

The Rebels were one of the big winners of the transfer portal after upsetting Stanford to advance to the Sweet 16 last season. Yolett McPhee-McCuin landed all-conference talents and starters in Kennedy Todd-Williams from North Carolina and KK Deans from Florida. Three of Ole Miss’ top four scorers return too, including leading rebounder Madison Scott.

Grace Berger is gone, but everyone else is back, including All-American forward Mackenzie Holmes. A supporting cast that includes Yarden Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil will have Teri Moren's Hoosiers competing at the top of the Big Ten again.

Just gotta get Mackenzie Holmes a clean touch in the paint. She'll do the rest pic.twitter.com/okmk66cvkQ

— Gabe Ibrahim (@gabe_ibrahim) February 26, 2023

Doubting Brenda Frese's ability to reconstruct a roster quickly is a fool's errand. After losing five of her top seven players from the 2021-22 roster, all Frese did last season was put together a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 before running into the South Carolina buzzsaw.

This year, some continuity returns. While Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers departed for the WNBA, Shyanne Sellers, Faith Masonius, Lavender Briggs and Brinae Alexander all return. Add in N.C. State transfer Jakia Brown-Turner, top 20 recruit Riley Nelson and sophomore Bri McDaniel, and the Terps once again have a formidable roster.

Brinae Alexander ( @BruhhNaeNae ) StealShyanne Sellers ( @shyannesellers3 ) AssistLavender Briggs ( @lavbriggs ) FOR THREEEEEEEEE!!!#MarchMadness & @TerpsWBB pic.twitter.com/DvgRVSkeLe

— Antonio Garcia (@Iruk_WomenSport) March 28, 2023

Lindsay Gottlieb got the Trojans back into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014 last season. This season, the expectations will be much higher. USC returns 6-foot-4 Rayah Marshall, who – as a sophomore – broke Lisa Leslie's single season program record for blocks. Gottlieb will aim to mesh her with the nation's No. 1 overall recruit, Juju Watkins, and a trio of solid transfers from the Ivy League in Penn's Kayla Padilla, Harvard's McKenzie Forbes, and Columbia's Kaitlyn Davis. On paper, that's a pretty good group of five players.

JuJu Watkins showing why she's the best in the nation, Klutch's first female athlete and future star at USC.

60 PTS (Sierra Canyon record), 21 REB, 5 STL on senior night. She scored 45 last week. pic.twitter.com/Lt20QwcDMg

— David Astramskas (@redapples) February 1, 2023

The Utes are running it back. All five starters – including Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili – return from a team that pushed LSU to the brink in the Sweet 16 last season.

#Pac12WBB Player of the Year, presented by @Nextiva: Alissa Pili 🙌

Full release ➡️ https://t.co/KjPFPPJjOH#GoUtes | @UTAHWBB pic.twitter.com/HDVzqM7rWI

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) February 28, 2023

UNC guard Deja Kelly takes a shot against N.C. State on Jan. 15, 2023 in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Mitchell Northam / For The Win)

Losing Kennedy Todd-Williams was a bummer for the Tar Heels, but Courtney Banghart regrouped quickly and made this UNC roster better for the future. The additions include Iowa State sharpshooter Lexi Donarksi (who is also a former Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year), young and athletic Stanford guard Indya Nivar and 6-foot-4 shot-blocker Maria Gakdeng from Boston College. Pairing those transfers with veterans Deja Kelly, Alyssa Ustby and Anya Poole – and No. 4 overall recruit Cierra Toomey – should make the Tar Heels contenders in the ACC.

This Gamecocks roster is going to look very different from last season. South Carolina had five players drafted by WNBA teams in April, four of which were starters, and the fifth starter – Kierra Fletcher – exhausted her eligibility.

But Kamilla Cardoso, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall are back, and they’ll pair with Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao and Sakima Walker – one of the top JUCO players in the country last season who started her career at Rutgers. Dawn Staley is also bringing in four top 40 recruits.

Just because Aliyah Boston and co. have moved on, don't expect the Gamecocks to fade.

Rickea Jackson is back for another season and Tamari Key is expected to return after missing the majority of last season with blood clots. The Lady Vols also added a pair of supremely talented guards in the transfer portal, including Belmont's Destinee Wells and Wake Forest's Jewel Spear. Wells averaged 19.5 points and 4.9 assists per-game last year while shooting 45.5 percent from behind the arc, while Spear posted per-game averages of 16.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Tennessee looks like a team that could be stacked in the front and backcourt.

Tennessee fans: this is who you'll get to watch next season. And from this description, she'll fit perfectly with next season's roster https://t.co/uwfNw53rDY

— Cora Hall (@corahalll) May 5, 2023

John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Charisma Osborne and Kiki Rice are back. That would’ve been enough to have the Bruins ranked in the top 25 again, but then UCLA landed former No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 sophomore with tons of potential who left Stanford for a bigger role. For the Bruins, Betts could be the key to the program winning its first conference title since 1999.

Virginia Tech's Georgia Amoore holds the ACC Tournament Championship trophy in Greensboro, N.C. on Sunday, March 5, 2023. (Mitchell Northam / For The Win)

Georgia Amoore, Elizabeth Kitley and Cayla King – the core of the Hokies’ Final Four run – are returning to Blacksburg for another season. Kitley is the two-time reigning ACC Player of the Year, and Amoore only got better as the season went on last year. And King is a stout defender and a sharpshooter from behind the arc.

To bolster this core, Kenny Brooks is bringing in four top 100 recruits and a trio of transfers in Rose Micheaux (Minnesota), Matilda Ekh (Michigan State) and Olivia Summiel (Wake Forest).

The new-look Hokies will be tested early with a Nov. 9 matchup in Charlotte against a fellow Final Four team, Iowa. Speaking of which…

Does this team still have Caitlin Clark on it? Yes? Then pencil the Hawkeyes in for a deep postseason run.

The reigning consensus National Player of the Year is ready for her encore after averaging 27.8 points per-game, while also leading the nation in 3-pointers made and assists. The Hawkeyes also return Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin, both of whom were starters in the national championship game for Iowa in April.

Caitlin Clark 41 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST

Broke South Carolina's 42 game winning streak and will be playing in the national championship tomorrow 🐐 pic.twitter.com/9R2dZOTHq8

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) April 1, 2023

Three of the top four scorers return from a team that defeated UConn in the Sweet 16 last season and gave Virginia Tech a good fight in the Elite Eight. That group includes Jacy Sheldon and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cotie McMahon.

On top of the returning players, the Buckeyes got better in a big way when they picked up Duke guard Celeste Taylor in the transfer portal. Taylor was a finalist for National Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last season, and nearly had a quadruple-double in her final game in a Duke uniform. Taylor would’ve been a first-round pick had she entered the WNBA Draft. Instead, she makes the Buckeyes look like a contender.

While Ohio State (@OhioStateWBB) won the game with defense, Cotie McMahon (@cotieballer32) took over offensively and had a team high 2️⃣3️⃣ points. Explosive, spacing, and reading the defense, Cotie did it all. #MarchMadness #WBB #NCAAWBB #GoBucks #SmallsSnippets pic.twitter.com/M7KoMdHdI2

— Carolyn Smalls (@carolyn__smalls) March 26, 2023

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the names of some of the players on the Huskies’ roster: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Nika Muhl, Aaliyah Edwards, Aubrey Griffin, Caroline Ducharme, Ayanna Patterson, Jana El Alfy, Ice Brady.

Unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to see all these players healthy and playing together, but that time seems to – hopefully – be coming soon.

UConn's streak of consecutive Final Four appearances ended last year, but this group has the talent to start a new one, and perhaps add to Geno Auriemma's collection of championships.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

There's not much else to say about this team, but let's recap quickly: The Tigers won the national championship over Iowa, and then added Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow – two All-American talents – to a team that was already returning superstar Angel Reese and rapper-slash-guard Flau’jae Johnson. Oh, and LSU is also bringing in two top 10 recruits in Mikaylah Williams and Aalyah Del Rosario.

On-paper, this team is absolutely loaded. The expectation for Kim Mulkey's squad will be to repeat as national champs, nothing less.

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