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With the WNBA season over and done with, the focus now shifts to the NCAA calendar.
Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing JuJu Watkins, as it’s already been announced that the reigning National Player of the Year won’t be playing for USC this season after she tore her ACL in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Yet, there is still plenty to look forward to, beginning with seeing if UConn can go back-to-back.
Before we look at the rest, we must look at the best.
Last year, Paige Bueckers won the title that had always eluded her as UConn beat South Carolina 82-59 for the championship. Now, Bueckers is in the WNBA, tearing it up with the Dallas Wings, but the Huskies are still at the top of the college basketball universe.
The AP preseason poll has them at No. 1 in the country, and for good reason. Azzi Fudd averaged 13.6 points last year and should be even better now. And with Sarah Strong dominating inside, they’ll be the team to beat until proven otherwise.
The Huskies will be put to the test right away playing No. 20 Louisville and then taking on No. 13 Michigan later in November.
While UConn beat South Carolina in the title game last year, the Gamecocks are right behind them, ranked No.2 in the nation. There’s also other top teams like No. 3-ranked UCLA to consider.
Head coach Geno Auriemma will certainly push to get the most out of this year’s UConn group. The last time the Huskies won it all that title was part of a four-peat. Will they go back-to-back again? Or will it be one-and-done for UConn?
Whatever happens with the national title race, the SEC will have something to say about it. Currently, eight teams from the SEC are in the top 25, and five are in the top 10.
With LSU, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas at the top of the conference, the South will once again dominate the college basketball world.
The Gamecocks are favored to win the SEC, but Texas and LSU aren’t too far behind. Once conference play begins, it’s going to be a blood bath in the SEC, and it’ll lead to some high-level basketball being played.
Another exciting WNBA Draft class
After college comes the pros, and the upcoming 2026 WNBA Draft class has a ton of talent ready to play their last year of amateur basketball.
Lauren Betts of UCLA is currently considered the leading candidate to be the top pick. She averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds last year for the Bruins. The only thing left for her to accomplish is a national championship. Last year, she pushed UCLA to its first Final Four appearance on the women’s side. Now she’ll try to replicate Bueckers’ story by going out on top collegiately and then going No. 1 in the draft.
Olivia Miles might be the best guard in the NCAA. She’ll be playing for TCU this season after four years at Notre Dame. Watching her fully unleashed and attempting to take the Horned Frogs to the next level will be entertaining.
UConn’s Fudd is also expected to be a lottery pick. She will have plenty of opportunities to shine, and now that Bueckers is gone, the Huskies will need her to be better than ever. Expect a career year from her, and for WNBA teams to relish the prospect of landing a top-five pick to select her.
From watching UConn trying to repeat to living and dying with the week-in-week-out battles within top conferences to keeping an eye on depth in this year’s draft class, the 2025-26 NCAA season is set to be as entertaining as ever.
