The 2025-26 women’s college basketball season will tip off on Nov. 3, and it can’t get here soon enough. As usual, the transfer portal shook things up over the summer, but injuries, the departure of seniors and the arrival of freshmen also played major roles in reshaping rosters and expectations.
Teams have already returned to practice and conference media days are underway. There are a lot of questions to be answered, but for now, all we can do is make educated guesses about how certain moves will pan out. With less than 30 days until college basketball tips off, it’s time to review some of the biggest offseason occurrences.
Winner: UConn’s depth
Even though Paige Bueckers moved to the WNBA, where she waged a successful Rookie of the Year campaign, the 2025 national champions have a good chance at repeating, at least on paper. The Huskies have struggled with depth in recent years — not because they lacked talent, but mainly because they couldn’t shake the injury bug. But this might be the Huskies’ deepest roster in years.
The team will be led by super senior Azzi Fudd, the Most Outstanding Player in last season’s NCAA tournament, and sophomore Sarah Strong, who capped off her outstanding freshman year with 24 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the national championship game.
Jana El Alfy, who stepped up big time in the Final Four while facing UCLA and being the primary defender on Lauren Betts, will also be back. Other key returners include KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Caroline Ducharme, who should be taking on a bigger role following her recovery from concussion issues.
UConn’s freshman class, rated No. 6 overall by ESPN, is headlined by point guard Kelis Fisher, who is No. 18 in the 247Sports rankings. The Huskies also added a couple of transfers, including senior forward Serah Williams from Wisconsin, who is talented enough to compete for a spot in the starting lineup.
Loser: USC without JuJu Watkins
JuJu Watkins is considered one of the most talented players in women’s college basketball, but she will sit out the entire 2025-26 season to heal from a torn ACL. The official announcement in September was just the latest hit for the Trojans.
JuJu Watkins out for 2025-26 season: USC star tore ACL during NCAA Tournament
Jack Maloney
USC lost eight players in the offseason. Four players graduated, including Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall, who are now in the WNBA, and four players entered the transfer portal, including freshman Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel, key players in USC’s Elite Eight run.
That being said, the Trojans do have more young talent in sophomore Kennedy Smith and freshman Jazzy Davidson. They also added senior Londynn Jones from UCLA and Kara Dunn from Georgia Tech. There is potential, but it is hard to predict how this team will look without Watkins as the leader. The Trojans will be tested early as they have a tough non-conference schedule that includes games against UConn, South Carolina, NC State and Notre Dame.
Winner: TCU’s transfer-portal prowess
The Horned Frogs won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and reached the program’s first-ever Elite Eight. They were the most surprising team last season, and they will probably not slow down after landing Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles, who is easily one of the top backcourt players in the nation. Miles was projected to be the No. 2 overall pick of the WNBA Draft before she decided to stay in college for one more season and enter the transfer portal.
Another transfer that could make an immediate impact is Arizona State’s 6-foot-7 forward Kennedy Basham, an excellent rim protector. This is the third consecutive year Mark Campbell has won big in the transfer portal. In 2024, TCU got Sedona Prince and Madison Conner. The top addition last year was Hailey Van Lith from LSU.
The team will definitely need Miles and Basham to contribute offensively, as they lost Prince, Conner and Van Lith, the Horned Frogs’ three double-digit scorers last season. However, they do return contributors in Donovyn Hunter and Taylor Bigby.
Loser: Notre Dame’s roster continuity
The Fighting Irish had a lot of potential last season but ultimately fell short of expectations. There was a major overhaul with the roster this summer, with only three scholarship players returning for 2025-26 campaign: Hannah Hidalgo, Cassandre Prosper and KK Bransford — who sat out last season while recovering from a lower-leg injury.
Hidalgo, now a junior, has been one of the most exciting players to watch in college basketball due to the tenacity and high energy she brings to every game. Niele Ivey is also not a coach that should be overlooked. However, it is hard to know what to expect when this is pretty much a whole new roster.
Notre Dame’s biggest losses were Sonia Citron to the WNBA and Olivia Miles to the transfer portal. Nevertheless, the team did add some players that might be overlooked, including Vanderbilt’s Iyana Moore, Duke’s Vanessa de Jesus and Wake Forest’s Malaya Cowls.
Winner: The SEC’s competitiveness
There were a lot of winners in the SEC, so it is easier to just focus deep this conference will be as a whole. South Carolina only lost four games last season and made the national championship game. Dawn Staley’s team was dangerous but needed a go-to scorer, which they certainly got with the acquisition of Ta’Niya Latson, the Florida State guard who led the nation in scoring last year with 25.2 points per game.
The Gamecocks did lose an exciting and athletic player in MiLaysia Fulwiley, but that turned into a win for the LSU Tigers. Kim Mulkey is a master at the transfer portal, so in addition to Fulwiley, the Tigers also got a strong post player in Notre Dame’s Kate Koval.
Texas is in a great spot with Madison Booker and Rori Harmon running it back after a Final Four appearance. Meanwhile, Tennessee has one of the top freshmen classes in the nation added to a good mix of returners and transfers — including UCLA’s Janiah Barker, who is fresh off a Final Four run.
Oklahoma will remain competitive with Raegan Beers returning and also the addition of Aaliyah Chavez, the No. 1 player in the 247Sports class of 2025 rankings. Yolett McPhee-McCuin also made some noise in the offseason. She strengthened the Ole offensive with the additions of Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon and UCF’s Kaitlin Peterson, who averaged 16.5 and 21.4 points per game last season, respectively.
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