The comprehensive guide and picks for the women's college basketball season

• Michael Voepel

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  Michael Voepel

  ESPN Senior Writer

  Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
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• Kendra Andrews

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• Kareem Copeland

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• Charlie Creme

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  Charlie Creme

  ESPN.com

  Charlie Creme projects the women's NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN.com.

Oct 28, 2026, 08:45 AM ET

Seven months ago, UCLA broke through for its first NCAA championship. UConn's Sarah Strong won her first national player of the year awards.

But as the 2026-27 women's college basketball season looms, old favorites have emerged as front-runners. South Carolina opened at No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll for the fifth time in the past seven years. And Strong or 2025 consensus player of the year JuJu Watkins appear to be the early pick to win the honor this season.

Will it all play out that way? Which teams will challenge the Gamecocks in the SEC and beyond? What are we watching in other conference races? Which teams will make the biggest turnarounds from last season? And which coaches are we keeping an eye on?

Before the games tip off Sunday and the march to Columbus, Ohio -- site of the women's Final Four -- officially begins, ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel debate and predict what to watch for and expect over the next five months of women's hoops.

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Picks and predictions

Who is your preseason No. 1?

Michael Voepel: South Carolina. The Gamecocks, who lost in the national championship game last season to UCLA, lost four seniors, three of whom were drafted into the WNBA. But they're still loaded, especially in the post with Joyce Edwards, Chloe Kitts, Alicia Tournebize, Ashlyn Watkins and freshman Oliviyah Edwards. Guard Tessa Johnson is back for her final season and is joined by transfers Jordan Lee (Texas) and Brooke Quarles Daniels (Michigan). And that's not even all the talent they have. South Carolina lost to a senior-dominated Bruins team last time we saw the Gamecocks, but it will be hard for anyone to stop them this season.

Alexa Philippou: South Carolina. What a plethora of options Dawn Staley has to work with this year, including some intriguing newcomers like freshman Jerzy Robinson, Edwards, Lee and Quarles Daniels. Even if it takes some time to incorporate the new players -- and to get accustomed to the absence of Raven Johnson and Ta'Niya Latson -- I'm eager to see how this team looks in March.

Who is the preseason player of the year front-runner?

Charlie Creme: In recent years, the preseason favorite was obvious. But picking a singular front-runner this season is difficult, as four players -- Watkins, Strong, Hannah Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes -- look to be capable of winning the sport's biggest individual award. Since Strong is the reigning national player of the year, she's my pick. Of course, Strong was the clear choice in a year when Watkins was on the sidelines. With the USC star back, the race should be much tighter.

Philippou: I'm going with Strong, too. She feels poised to take the reins as the undisputed No. 1 option and top dog for the Huskies now that Azzi Fudd has left for the WNBA. There's some good depth around her, but without another huge star like Fudd or Paige Bueckers, Strong's role is even more defined. She knows they need her to be more aggressive, assertive and vocal as a leader for UConn to get to where it wants to go.

Voepel: Watkins last played on March 24, 2025, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The injury was devastating to see, and it has been a long wait for her to return. But wisely, she didn't rush it and her comeback is one of the most anticipated parts of the 2026-27 season. Understandably, some folks might want to wait to see how she performs post-injury before putting her atop the NPOY race. But based on what we saw in her first two seasons, it's not a stretch.

Which conference race are you most looking forward to?

Kendra Andrews: South Carolina, Texas, LSU and Vanderbilt make the SEC must-watch basketball. Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Tennessee add even more excitement. There is also a plethora of individual players who will make the SEC race intriguing. Vanderbilt's Blakes was voted SEC preseason player of the year, but South Carolina's Edwards and Texas' Madison Booker also have solid cases. LSU's Mikaylah Williams and MiLaysia Fulwiley, Oklahoma's Aaliyah Chavez and freshman Sahara Williams and South Carolina's Johnson and Kitts are also players I am excited to see.

Voepel: The Big Ten has defending national champion UCLA, which expects to be underestimated after losing six players to the WNBA. But don't write off the still-talented Bruins. Their crosstown rival, USC, is also loaded with talent. Michigan, which made the Elite Eight for the second time in program history last season, hopes to make a Final Four breakthrough. Iowa is No. 10 in the preseason poll. And this speaks to the Big Ten's depth: Washington, Minnesota, Ohio State, Maryland and Illinois are also in the preseason rankings.

Creme: The ACC is so competitive. In the past few years, it might not have had the elite teams of the SEC and Big Ten, and the conference's only national champion in the past 20 years was Notre Dame in 2018. But the lack of one or two dominant teams has made the seasonlong journey that much more fun. This year, Duke, Louisville and North Carolina all seem to be improved, and any game with Notre Dame's Hidalgo is a must-watch.

Which team will make the biggest leap from 2025-26?

Andrews: USC. Watkins returns after missing all of last year as she recovered from a torn left ACL. Now that she is back on the court, the Trojans' ceiling completely changes. During her freshman year, Watkins took collegiate basketball by storm, averaging a Pac-12-leading 27.1 points per game in an All-America season. The next season, she was the consensus national player of the year and led the Big Ten in points per game (23.9) while also averaging 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists. USC finished with a 31-4 record before losing in the Elite Eight two games after Watkins' injury. Without Watkins last year, USC finished 18-14 and went .500 in conference play. Now, with sophomore Jazzy Davidson beside her, USC has one of the most exciting backcourts in the nation. The expectations for USC are high as the Trojans seek their first national title since 1984.

JUJU IS BACK 🔥 JuJu Watkins is back on the floor for USC in its first exhibition game of the season ✌️ https://t.co/eYY3XVVoGX

— espnW (@espnW) October 25, 2026

Kareem Copeland: Michigan finished third in the Big Ten last season, but there could be an opening up top as UCLA restocks. The Wolverines bring back their top six scorers on a team that advanced to the Elite Eight. The program has never reached a Final Four, but this core of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords, Mila Holloway and Te'Yala Delfosse has grown up together as the players enter their third year in Ann Arbor. This feels like the opportunity to win the Big Ten for the first time in program history and be one of the last four teams still standing.

Creme: Iowa lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament last spring, but the Hawkeyes are an Elite Eight-caliber team this season. Ava Heiden keeps getting better in the post, and the additions of transfer point guard Dani Carnegie and 6-2 freshman McKenna Woliczko, who should help immensely on defense, make Iowa much better. The Big Ten is a gauntlet, but the Hawkeyes get USC, UCLA and Maryland at home in their only meetings of the year. The atmosphere when Watkins (Feb. 11) and then the defending champs (Feb. 14) play in Carver-Hawkeye Arena should be electric.

Voepel: Oklahoma State, which added top transfers Audi Crooks (Iowa State) and Liv McGill (Florida), has won its league's regular-season title just once. That was 1991, when the conference was still the Big Eight. But the Cowgirls are picked to be first in the Big 12 this season, thanks largely to Crooks and McGill. Coach Jacie Hoyt had to rebuild her roster after transfers and graduations following a 24-10 season in 2025-26, in which the Cowgirls fell in the first round of the NCAA tournament to UCLA. Now we wait to see if Oklahoma State's chemistry comes together.

Philippou: Will make the jump or can make the jump? I like the teams mentioned above for the former. Some other programs that could be in the latter are North Carolina behind star freshman Kate Harpring or maybe Washington, which has a good mix of returning talent like Sayvia Sellers and Avery Howell, as well as newcomers Tilda Trygger and Brooke Carlson.

Which coaches are you watching closely?

Voepel: All eyes will be on Tennessee's Kim Caldwell after the Lady Vols exited the NCAA tournament in the first round last season, losing their last eight games. Players transferred out, players transferred in. Caldwell doubled down on her up-tempo system of swarming defense and multiple substitutions to keep players fresh. She said the issue was not her system, but that she didn't have all the right players for it last season. Because this is Tennessee, with its great historical tradition, Caldwell is already on the hot seat even though she's just starting her third season.

Copeland: USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb, but not in a hot-seat type of way. She has been absolutely crushing the recruiting trail for years now and will have her star back in Watkins. The Trojans could be the most fun team to watch in the country with Watkins, Davidson, Kennedy Smith, Saniyah Hall and Sara Okeke. Gottlieb has gotten her group to the Elite Eight twice in the previous three seasons. Could this be the year she breaks through to the Final Four?

Philippou: A three-time national champion and previous perennial power, Stanford has missed the NCAA tournament in both seasons since Tara VanDerveer retired. This offseason has been particularly rocky with an exodus of players in the transfer portal and reported accusations of a toxic culture. Kate Paye is back for Year 3 at the helm, but can she right the ship and show some stability and progress after such a tenuous start to her tenure?

Creme: TCU's Mark Campbell. Typically, the answer to this is about a coach who has struggled or needs to win immediately. It's the opposite here. The intrigue lies with Campbell embracing the transfer portal and turning over his roster every season. He has won consecutive Big 12 titles and been to consecutive Elite Eights with almost entirely different teams the past two seasons. Can he do it again? Nine of the 12 players on the Horned Frogs roster are new, and his up-tempo, offensive approach is usually a fun watch.

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