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Women’s college basketball, which tips off this week across the country, is not lacking in star power.
UConn's Sarah Strong, USC's JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, Texas' Madison Booker, Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, Oklahoma State's Audi Crooks, Oklahoma's Aaliyah Chavez, South Carolina's Joyce Edwards, Duke's Toby Fournier, Virginia's Kymora Johnson — they’re all back.
Of course, some things look a little bit different. Crooks is on a new team, joining Oklahoma State from Iowa State. Johnson has a new coach, with Aaron Roussell from Richmond taking the reins at Virginia. Booker, Hidalgo and Watkins have new supporting casts around them.
As for Strong and Edwards — anchors at iconic programs, UConn and South Carolina — the expectations are the same: national championship or bust.
With the 2026-27 season beginning, USA TODAY Sports has assembled a panel to vote for preseason All-Americans and make predictions for conference champions and the Final Four. Voters include members of the Studio IX team: Heather Burns, Meg Hall, Cydney Henderson, Callie Fin and Mitchell Northam.
Let’s dive in.
Strong received four of five first place votes for Preseason Player of the Year, with the other going to Watkins.
The reigning consensus National Player of the Year, Strong is back at UConn. This season, as a junior, she’ll be asked to lead a Huskies team with new faces and big expectations. A year ago, while playing with an Achilles injury, Strong averaged 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game while leading the nation in win shares (9.5) and defensive rating (56.4).
Since 2009, the only players to average at least 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block per game while shooting north of 55% from the floor in a single season are all from UConn. They are Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Strong — putting the 6-foot-2 forward from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, in elite company.
"She is, to me, a No. 1 draft pick whenever she decides to go to the (WNBA),” Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said of Strong after facing UConn in an exhibition this preseason. “It could be four kids from middle school and Sarah Strong, and they got a chance to win."
With Azzi Fudd off to the WNBA to join Paige Bueckers, this UConn team now belongs to Strong.
Joining Strong on USA TODAY Sports’ five-player preseason All-American team are:
She’s back.
After sitting out last season after tearing the ACL in her right knee in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, one of the most electric, skilled and entertaining players in the country will return for USC. Watkins won National Player of the Year in the 2024-25 season after averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, leading the Trojans to a regular season Big Ten championship.
In what could be her final season in college basketball, the 6-foot-2 native of Los Angeles will aim to lead her hometown Trojans to the Final Four for the first time since 1986.
The lightning-quick 5-foot-6 guard from New Jersey has proven to be an elite scorer and an absolute menace on defense. As a junior last season, Hidalgo secured her second ACC Player of the Year award while also being named the National Defensive Player of the Year by the Naismith committee and the WBCA.
Hidalgo was third in the nation in scoring with 25.3 points per game and led the country in steals with 5.6 steals per game, becoming the fastest player in ACC history to reach 2,000 points while also setting the NCAA’s single-season and single-game record for steals. With Hidalgo leading the way, the Fighting Irish made the Elite Eight for the first time in under head coach Niele Ivey.
“She’s a fantastic player. There's no question about it,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said of Hidalgo. “She's a crafty kid. She plays hard. That's the one thing you can never question her on — is she going to show up and play hard? She does it every single night. It's really impressive.”
A versatile 6-foot-1 forward from Mississippi, Booker has been the bus driver for the Longhorns as they’ve gone to back-to-back Final Fours. Along the way, she has piled up a boatload of accolades, as a three-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year and conference tournament MVP last season.
Booker averaged 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 50.8% from the floor last season. She’s one of two returning starters for Texas and will be tasked with leading a young team bolstered by arguably the best recruiting class in the country.
The 5-foot-8 guard from New Jersey led the nation in scoring last season with 27.1 points per game. Blakes was also voted SEC Player of the Year and powered Vanderbilt to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2009. Alongside reigning National Coach of the Year Shea Ralph, Blakes has pushed the Commodores back into contending status.
In the offseason, Blakes was invited to a camp with the senior U.S. National Team. Then, this preseason, she was tabbed as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year by the USA TODAY Sports Network.
Honorable Mentions: Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), Audi Crooks (Oklahoma State)
The Blue Devils were the unanimous choice to be ACC champions, which would mark their third consecutive conference championship under head coach Kara Lawson. Duke returns All-American forward Toby Fournier, brought in Texas transfer Aaliyah Crump, and will see Emilee Skinner in the backcourt after an injury-riddled freshman season.
Alongside Watkins, the Trojans are armed with last season’s National Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson and the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Saniyah Hall. Under the direction of Lindsay Gottlieb, the Trojans won the Pac-12 Tournament in 2024, their final year in the conference.
Fresh off their second appearance in the Elite Eight in program history, Michigan returns a stellar junior class core of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords, Mila Holloway and Kendall Dudley. In the transfer portal, they added Courtney Ogden, who averaged 12.9 points per game at Stanford last season.
The Gamecocks were the unanimous choice to be SEC champions. Last season, South Carolina’s run of three straight conference tournament titles came to an end when it lost to Texas. Dawn Staley’s team returns All-American Joyce Edwards and sharpshooting guard Tessa Johnson, while also getting Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins back after they sat out last season because of injuries.
Both of these teams rebuilt their rosters through the transfer portal. To surround All-Big 12 forward Stailee Heard, the Cowgirls added Audi Crooks, Liv McGill, Callin Hake, Ellie Brueggemann and Nene Ndiaye.
TCU, meanwhile, brought in Lanie Grant, Lara Somfai, Jadyn Wooten and Australian semi-pro Jessie-May Hall to surround towering 6-foot-7 center Clara Silva. On paper, both teams have the makings of high-powered offenses.
USC and South Carolina will face off in the regular season on Nov. 15 in Greenville, South Carolina. We could see a potential rematch at the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio.
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