Let’s face it: This is UConn country.

The Huskies have their sights set on something bigger than Big East dominance; they’re eyeing a national title this year. Last season, they went 18-0 in the Big East. With Paige Bueckers back and transfers like Kaitlyn Chen joining the team, they’ve only gotten better, and no one appears primed to top them. According to the Big East coaches’ poll, the Huskies are favored to win the conference, followed by the Creighton Bluejays. The conference’s top five based on the coaches’ expectations is:

1. UConn
2. Creighton
3. Providence
4. St. John’s
5. Georgetown

Let’s breakdown the rest of the Big East into tiers, from most likely to threaten the conference title to the least:

Tier 1—Title contenders: UConn, Creighton, Providence, Georgetown

UConn is the clear favorite and could arguably be in a tier of their own, but in the spirit of competition, let’s just have them in the top tier along with Creighton, Providence and Georgetown.

The Bluejays pose the biggest threat to UConn. They are ranked No. 20 in the AP poll and finished 15-3 in the Big East last year. With Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly returning for one last dance, Creighton will be as good as ever and should not be taken lightly. Providence didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament last season, but they have many returning players this year and are building on their success. I think they’re due for another positive bump in play. Look out for Olivia Olsen and Grace Efosa; both players were named to the preseason All-Big East Team.

Though St. John’s was picked higher than them, I think Georgetown will surprise and be a top-four team in the Big East. Kelsey Ransom is a walking bucket for the Hoyas, averaging 14.1 points per game. With her returning, I expect a jump in her play and Georgetown to have a historic year.

Tier 2—In the mix: St. John’s, Villanova, Seton Hall, Butler

St. John’s finished 11-8 last year and has had a lot of turnover on its roster. They do have a handful of transfers, and are hoping a guard like Lashae Dwyer (Miami) can have a breakout year. If she does, they could be a Tier 1 team.

Villanova has been a beacon of consistency with three 20-plus win seasons. If they can replicate that this year, they’ll surprise a lot of people. But with all the changes the Wildcats have gone through, I think they’ll miss that mark and lose a bit more in the Big East, putting them closer to the middle of the pack.

When it comes to Seton Hall, Savannah Catalon will be getting a bigger workload. As a freshman, she averaged 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31 games. Year two should bring a sophomore jump for her, especially given that their top two scorers from last year are gone.

Butler is an up-and-coming program that will rely on Caroline Strande to push them closer to a .500 record in the Big East. Last year, she averaged a team-high 15.1 points per game. They can be a fun, middle-of-the-pack team to watch if she takes another leap.

Tier 3—The others: Xavier, DePaul, Marquette

The bottom of every conference is where the wins are few and far between, and the Big East is no different. Everyone should be pulling for Xavier to get at least one victory. Last season, they went 0-18 in conference play. The year before that, they also went winless in the Big East.

DePaul is expected to remain near the bottom as well, and Marquette will likely be right there with them. The Golden Eagles have a new coach and look vastly different from the team that won 11 Big East games last year. This will be a rebuild for them, likely involving more losing than winning while head coach Cara Consuegra gets things in order.

The 2024-25 women’s college basketball season is going to be epic as we watch some of the sport’s brightest young superstars grow in their games. Last year, USC’s JuJu Watkins led the freshman phenoms as one of the country’s best players, even in her first season. Now as a sophomore, Watkins has a bit of experience under her belt, and we have a whole new class of rookies to get to know.

We are in a fun era of college basketball. The talent is widespread throughout the country, meaning that there are players to watch at every turn. Here are 10 of the most exciting freshmen:

Sarah Strong (UConn)

As the No. 1 recruit for the 2024 class, Sarah Strong had her pick when it came to where to play college basketball. The 6-foot-2 forward has size, strength and IQ to boast, something that UConn head coach Geno Auriemma values in his players.

Coming off a senior season where she was the Naismith Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American, Strong is ready for college. She was a double-double machine, averaging 21 points and 16.8 rebounds per game as a senior. She also has experience at the FIBA level in both U18 5×5 and 3×3 competitions, making her a versatile player. It will be great to see how that translates to the college game.

She’ll be paired with two other former No. 1 recruits in Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, and UConn is ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll. One thing UConn somewhat lacks is size and depth in their frontcourt, but Strong will contribute to that greatly.

Syla Swords (Michigan)

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Syla Swords fan, and while I am not often too biased, let me make my case on why you should be too.

Swords is from Sudbury, Canada, the daughter of Canadian basketball player Shawn Swords of the 2000 men’s Olympic basketball team. After he accepted a coaching position with the Long Island Nets, the family moved to New York, and Syla played her junior and senior seasons at Long Island Lutheran High School. The school sent all five of their 2024 seniors to Division I basketball programs.

Swords made an impact on the high school basketball scene, becoming a McDonald’s All-American and the New York Gatorade Player of the Year. She committed to Michigan as the No. 4 recruit in the class of 2024. More impressively, Swords is heading to Ann Arbor fresh off becoming an Olympian. After making the Canadian women’s national team rosters for two Olympic qualifying tournaments, Swords made the final Olympic roster, playing at the 2024 Games in Paris. She got minutes too—impactful minutes. Despite the team going 0-3 in Paris, Swords showed that she could defend some of the best players in the world. She made smart reads, knew when to pass and when to shoot and proved her advanced skill.

Going into college as a freshman with so much experience is huge for her and for Michigan. They also hired her former Team Canada teammate Natalie Achonwa as an assistant coach. The future is incredibly bright for Swords.

Kate Koval (Notre Dame)

MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another one of the Long Island Lutheran seniors, Kate Koval will be heading to Notre Dame this season. Coming in right behind Swords as the No. 5 recruit in the class, and the No. 1 post player, Koval is a 6-foot-4 forward with a lot of size and power. Along with dominating in the post, she can shoot from the perimeter. As a junior, she shot 60.7 percent from the field.

Also a McDonald’s All-American, Koval already has international experience as well, playing in the U16 and U18 European Championships for Ukraine. Koval moved from Ukraine to America in 2021, and in 2022 played in the U18 3×3 World Cup. Notre Dame will look to pair her with their extremely talented guards.

Olivia Olson (Michigan)

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The No. 2 recruit in this year’s class will be heading to Michigan to join Swords. From Minnesota, Olivia Olson was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 24 points, 4.4 assists and 10 rebounds per game in her senior season. Another guard to add to Michigan’s roster, the 6-foot-1 Olson’s size will come in handy against the country’s talented guards.

She joins one of Michigan’s most stacked rosters in program history, with two McDonald’s All-Americans coming into the program; they are the first McDonald’s All-Americans to commit to the program. Olson’s playmaking prowess was put on display during the All-American game when she made the “prettiest pass of the night” to future teammate Swords.

Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Joining the reigning national champions at South Carolina, Joyce Edwards is staying close to home. The South Carolina native was the No. 3 recruit in this year’s class, and she didn’t have to travel too far to find the right program for her.

Head coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks have been pumping out WNBA talent for years now, all while still dominating the college world. They have not lost a game since April of 2023, and there is no slowing them down any time soon. It’s very possible they go undefeated again this season. The team could use depth in the front court, now that Kamilla Cardoso has left the program for the WNBA. Edwards averaged 31.3 points, 13.6 rebounds per game as a senior at Camden High School. Staley knows how to find great players, and Edwards will only get better.

Kennedy Smith (USC)

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

USC boasts maybe the strongest freshmen class in the country this year, right on the heels of JuJu Watkins’ historic freshman season. Along with Kennedy Smith, the No. 6 recruit, USC was able to sign the No. 13 recruit (Kayleigh Heckel), the No. 16 recruit (Avery Howell), the No. 47 recruit (Vivian Iwuchukwu), the No. 54 recruit (Rian Forestier) and the No. 92 recruit (Laura Williams). USC’s power this season will be in their depth. With a stacked class of freshmen, USC is launching themselves to the next level, and is ranked No. 3 behind South Carolina and UConn in the AP preseason poll.

In committing to the Trojans, Smith is staying close to home, having grown up close to LA in Chino, California. She was the California Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024, and won gold with Team USA at the U18 AmeriCup. A guard, she averaged 20.2 points per game as a senior.

Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State)

Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Coming into college as the No. 2 recruit in the class, Jaloni Cambridge committed to Ohio State. Raised in Tennessee, she averaged 20.7 points per game as a senior at Montverde Academy in Florida. As a junior at The Ensworth School in Nashville, she posted 26.9 points per game. She won the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year in her senior year.

With Jacy Sheldon now graduated from Ohio State, Cambridge is a fantastic recruit for the program.

Toby Fournier (Duke)

Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images

Another Canadian, of course! Toby Fournier is one of the most exciting prospects to come out Canada. As the No. 10 recruit in the 2024 class, Fournier played high school basketball at Crestwood Prep in Toronto.

After going viral for dunking at 14 years old, Fournier has only gotten better. She’s played for Canada at various U18 levels, and yes, she can still dunk. At 6-foot-2, Fournier has a unique skill set, with her under the basket skills mixed with a growing ability to operate on the perimeter. If she’s able to develop that in college, she will be an explosive prospect.

Allie Ziebell (UConn)

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Another recruit headed to Storrs, Allie Ziebell joins a talented UConn program. It was the pair of freshmen in KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade who helped boost the Huskies through an injury-ridden season last year. This season, Strong and Ziebell may see important minutes, too.

Ziebell is the No. 7 recruit in this year’s class, coming from Wisconsin. She averaged 27.5 points per game as a senior at Neenah High School. She also won the 3-point shooting contest at the McDonalds All-American game. UConn could use the depth of a sharp shooting guard, especially since Azzi Fudd has not yet been cleared to return to the court after an ACL injury last fall.

Ava Heiden (Iowa)

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

With Iowa in their post-Clark era, a four-star recruit like Ava Heiden is big for the next chapter of the program. Heiden seems to be a dark horse in many preseason freshmen rankings. In a recruiting class filled with guards, she is a center at 6-foot-4 who averaged 17.2 points, 11.3 rebounds in her senior season at Sherwood High School in Oregon.

Adding size to the frontcourt alongside Hannah Stuelke will be great for Iowa as they face off against teams with excellent bigs.

With a stacked freshman class like this one, it was hard to only pick 10 players to watch. The women’s college hoops action is going to be super exciting this season, and the trend of freshmen taking over the conversation seems to be alive and well.

As the EuroLeague Women competition prepares to taken an international break until November 20, six teams have already clinched promotion to the next round:

• Casademont Zaragoza
• ÇBK Mersin
• Fenerbahçe Opet
• Umana Reyer Venezia
• Valencia Basket Club
• Žabiny Brno

And while there are two more gamedays to play until the competition’s second round begins, there are certain things that we can expect: Venezia will go as far as Awak Kuier and Kamiah Smalls take them; Olympiakos and Győr will put up a fight but ultimately lose; and Brno already has exceeded expectations, so don’t overlook them. Here are three other certainties that we have:

Fenerbahçe and ÇBK Mersin are the main contenders

There are only two unbeaten teams in the competition and they’re both Turkish. Fenerbahçe are the back-to-back champions and they’re playing as if they could go for three in a row with ease. The just beat last season’s runner up, Villeneuve d’Ascq, by 20 points and their lead was never in peril. Once again, that was primarily thanks to the one-two punch of Emma Meesseman and Gabby Williams. In the win, the Belgian center had 23 points, four boards and six assists, while the French wing added 20 points, four boards and three steals.

Coincidentally, Mersin also played host to a French team and the game was much closer, with the win requiring another strong performance from Natasha Howard, who’s played her way into serious MVP consideration in the last two weeks. This time, she had 29 points, 14 boards, four assists, three steals and three blocks. And her team indeed needed every single one of those numbers to beat Bourges. The other vet on the team, Yvonne Anderson, got her first EuroLeague start this season and she had 20 points—shooting 66 percent from the field—and six dimes.

Alina Iagupova has ice in her veins

Valencia scored a big win against the Czech champs in Week 1, beating them by 18, so we were in for a treat, as Praha has nicely bounced back after that defeat, winning two in a row. The teams traded punches and there were no standout, dominant performances, as three Praha and four Valencia players scored in double figures. But the ending of the game belonged to Iagupova. With 40 seconds left in the game, the Ukrainian got a steal and scored on the fast break, tying the game at 64. The score remained unchanged until three seconds remained on the game clock, when Stephanie Mavunga was fouled and Valencia called a timeout. The in-bounds pass went to Nadia Fingall, who found Iagupova. With time running out and Valerie Ayayi (game-high 14 points) all in her face, she fired a deep 3 that went in, winning the game for the Spaniards

Week 4 scores

Group A

Basket Landes 66, DVTK HUN-Therm 56

Beretta Famila Schio 79, Perfumerias Avenida 69

Group B

Žabiny Brno 77, Olympiacos B.C. 64,

ÇBK Mersin 80, Tango Bourges Basket 76

Group C

Casademont Zaragoza 72, KGHM BC Polkowice 63

Fenerbahçe Opet 95, Villeneuve-d’Ascq LM 75

Group D

Valencia Basket Club 67, ZVVZ USK Praha 64

Umana Reyer Venezia 82, UNI Győr 68

For the second-straight year, the Big 12 has added four new teams to the conference. Pac-12 refugees Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah have all found asylum in the conference. The top two conference-play teams from last season, Oklahoma (15-3) and Texas (14-4, Big 12 Tournament champions) have departed for the SEC.

Four Big 12 teams found their names in the AP preseason top 25: Iowa State (No. 8), Baylor (No. 12), Kansas State (No. 13), and West Virginia (No. 16). The Big 12 coaches preseason poll picked Kansas State as early favorites to win the conference. The full rankings are:

1. Kansas State
2. Iowa State
3. Baylor
4. TCU
5. West Virginia
6. Utah
7. Arizona
8. Kansas
9. Colorado
10. Texas Tech
11. Oklahoma State
12. BYU
13. Cincinnati
14. UCF
15. Arizona State
16. Houston

It’s not often that a conferences loses its two most dominant teams in the same season. Without Texas and Oklahoma, the opportunity for both experienced and youthful teams to win a Big 12 title has never been greater. So, how do the teams stack up?

Iowa State

Audi Crooks, stomping into her sophomore season, may never be overlooked again. Crooks was only the No. 57-ranked women’s basketball recruit in the class of 2023 according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz. She ended her freshman year as one of the most promising young players in the country. Crooks set the Iowa State record for most field goals made in a season, and was the first freshman in school history to be named an AP All-American honorable mention. She was the third highest scoring freshman in the country, trailing USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.

Don’t let the heliocentric nature of Crook’s usage fool you—this Iowa State team has depth. Last season they took No. 9 ranked Stanford to overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing by only six despite Crooks shooting an abysmal 3-for-21. Addy Brown, also entering her second season, averaged 13 points, eight rebounds, and five assists as a freshman.

Iowa State will make the NCAA Tournament. That seems like a foregone conclusion. However, their ability to contend for a Big 12 championship, and a national championship, may be intrinsically tied to whether Crooks can take a sophomore playmaking leap and expand her horizons beyond scoring.

Kansas State

Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

This season may be one last ride for Kansas State’s current roster, and expectations have never been higher. Kansas State has been voted conference favorites by the Big 12 coaches for the first time in program history.

6-foot-6 super-senior Ayoka Lee was named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 20 points and eight rebounds last season. She led the conference in field goal percentage, win shares and plus minus. She was second in blocks and third in rebounds. Lee is K-State’s lone graduate student, but their roster champions five other seniors. Serena Sundell joins Lee on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team after leading the conference in assists per game last year.

Experience and age spawn questions and answers for K-State. With only one notable departure, it’s hard to believe that the Wildcats don’t at least replicate their previous 12-5 conference record. However, when the vast majority of rotational pieces are upperclassman, it’s unclear how much they can improve upon last years results.

Calling K-State preseason favorites feels more like an ode to the departure of Texas and Oklahoma, rather than a testament to prospective roster improvements. Compared to Iowa State’s dynamic underclassman, the Kansas State core may have an already-defined peak. Sudden improvements aren’t common for older players without a dramatic shift in usage. With a near-identical roster, usage doesn’t project to change.

If the younger Big 12 teams bust, Kansas State could win a title with ease. If not, the Wildcats will have to claw their way atop a competitive conference.

TCU

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Hailey Van Lith had a busy summer. She graduated from LSU with a master’s degree in business, won a bronze medal in Paris with Team USA 3×3 Basketball and swapped her Tigers jersey for the Horned Frogs black and purple,

A year ago, Van Lith’s transfer to LSU sent shockwaves through the college basketball world. This year, her arrival in Fort Worth sparks only mild curiosity. Her and Angel Reese weren’t the one-two punch that they were pitched to be, and Van Lith faded into an openly awkward role under Kim Mulkey. If the 5-foot-7 three-level scoring threat can rediscover the success she had at Louisville, TCU could easily be conference favorites. If not, who knows.

TCU ended the 2023-2024 season 6-10 in conference play. Mentioning their program is a testament to an aggressive offseason, but nothing’s been earned. After a breakout junior campaign, sharpshooter Madison Conner will likely continue to run the show for head coach Mark Campbell. Sedona Prince and Agnes Emma-Nnopu are phenomenal pieces for a team looking at a title run. The talent is undeniable, but games aren’t won on paper. TCU has to prove that they can put everything together on the hardwood.

Baylor

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Baylor was one of two current Big 12 teams to make the Elite Eight in last season’s NCAA Tournament. They finished ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll, running through Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech before falling to USC in Portland.

The Bears weren’t content with what would be considered a successful season by most. They swiped 6-foot-3 post force Aaronette Vonleh from Colorado— the leading scorer on the only other current Big 12 team to reach the Elite Eight last season. Vonleh and Sarah Andrews will make up one of the scarier duos in the conference.

There are miscues that need to be cleared up if Baylor wants to sustain the success they found last March. The Bears are prone to the turnover bug, and are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the conference. Vonleh’s scoring will introduce a new dimension to Baylors offensive attack, but she isn’t known as a needle-moving interior stopper. Baylor hangs their hat on the defensive end of the floor, and will need to support Vonleh’s contradiction. Nevertheless, every team coming through the doors of Foster Pavilion will be in for a cage fight.

West Virginia

Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Mark Kellogg’s first year at the helm of West Virginia was a notable success. As the third head coach in three years, Kellogg improved the Mountaineers’ offense by nearly eight points per game, all while allowing four fewer points a night. They peaked at No. 22 in the AP Poll, and enter this season ranked No. 16, which is the best preseason ranking for the program since 2017. They had the misfortune of drawing Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but they turned heads after competing with the Hawkeyes in a wire-to-wire showdown.

Senior guard J.J. Quinerly was one of three unanimous selections to the preseason All-Big 12 Team, and will be a convincing candidate to take home a scoring title for the second straight year. Quinerly makes her mark on both ends of the floor, adding a conference-best three steals per game to her 19.8 points per game average. The Mountaineers run through No. 11.

Quinerly’s sidekick is junior guard Jordan Harrison, whose game is eerily similar to her counterpart. Quinerly led the conference in steals, while Harrison was second. Both ended top 10 in points produced by Big 12 players last season. Both have a bit of a turnover issue. West Virginia will go as far as their two-way superstar guards will take them.

Tier 2: Arizona, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Texas Tech

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Utah, Arizona, and Colorado are all new to the Big 12, but could quickly prove to be tough matchups for opposing teams. Utah has been peaking as of late, entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed and No. 2 seed over the past two seasons, respectively. Colorado stampeded into the Elite Eight earlier this year, but losing offensive engine Aaronette Vonleh leaves the Buffaloes with a world of unanswered questions. New life outside the Pac-12 may be welcome change for an Arizona program whose win percentage has been dropping for four-straight seasons. It won’t help that leading scorer Kailyn Gilbert left the Wildcats to join SEC powerhouse LSU.

Kansas sophomore S’Mya Nichols will be an all-league prospect, fighting to improve upon an 11-7 conference-play record last season. Nichols will captain the Jayhawks on her own after three of the teams top five scorers graduated. Texas Tech has repeatedly struggled in Big 12 play, but will be returning all seven of their top scorers, including breakout junior Jasmine Shavers.

Tier 3: Oklahoma State, BYU, Cincinnati

Mitch Alcala/The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK

BYU struggled to move any mountains in their first year amongst Big 12 competition. They shoot well from beyond the arc, but their paint-heavy shot selection doesn’t seem to match their sharpshooting strengths. Kailey Woolston, who lead the conference in 3-point percentage at 47 percent, will make the Cougars a fun watch nonetheless.

Oklahoma State continues to rebuild two years after their most recent NCAA Tournament appearance. Stailee Heard’s scoring maturity as a freshman was both promising and needed for the Cowgirls, who will look to build on her skillset. Cincinnati is stuck in limbo. Centerpiece Jillian Hayes is returning for her fifth season, but the team lacks underclassman prospects that project to become meaningful rotational pieces in the near future.

Tier 4: UCF, Arizona State, Houston

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The bottom of the barrel is, well, the bottom of the barrel. UCF’s Kaitlin Peterson led the Big 12 in points per game last season, but she would assuredly prefer to finish better than 3-15 in league play. Houston head coach Ronald Hughey in entering his 10th year with the program, but hasn’t been able to work through endless unpredictability. His team has alternated between winning and losing conference seasons for six-straight years. Last season was a losing one, so maybe Hughey can pull another winning campaign out of thin air. Arizona State guard Jalyn Brown jumped from 1.1 points per game at Louisville as a freshman to 17.3 as a sophomore with the Sun Devils, but team success didn’t follow. All three teams will be welcome sights for Big 12 opponents all season.