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Alexa PhilippouESPN
Which players have the potential to push their respective programs to the conference championship and deep NCAA tournament taking place this 2022-23 women’s college basketball season?
We’ve ranked players who are potential, growing and have the potential to have breakthrough seasons. The players expected to be in our upcoming top 25 player rankings were not considered for the list, which has been refinished with input from MA Voepel and ESPN’s Charlie Creme. . And the possible transfers of breakthrough seasons in their new teams – Kylee Watson, Taylor Jones, Taylor Soule, for example – have been included. Top 30 impact transfers.
The 10 players below are potential X-factors in how far their team can go this March or April. They are a mix of players who expect more playing time with departed teammates, experienced starters whose importance is often underestimated, and players hoping to meet demand for their team or add a new dimension to it. And at the end of the season, maybe some of the people featured here will appear on our leaderboard of the top 25 players in the country, which will be updated throughout the season.
Ranking is determined by a combination of what each player’s standout season will mean for their respective teams and pre-season expectations for each show.
first. Aaliyah Edwards6-3, F, Jr., UConn Huskies
2021-22 stats: 7.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 52.1 FG%, 24.9 MPG
Being a senior on a team that is quite inexperienced in college, and especially after the national players of the year 2020-21 Paige Bueckers‘season-end ACL injury, Edwards has no choice but to have a breakthrough year if the Huskies want to return to a record of 15 consecutive finals. Guards Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme will be tasked with securing everything in the route once the Bueckers are out, but it’s been a minute since UConn made a majestic post. Behind Edwards’ signature tenacity and the opportunity to be offered the position of co-worker at Olivia Nelson-Ododa’s graduation, now is the opportune moment for Edwards to make the leap many have envisioned her. since she first arrived in Storms.
2. Olivia Cochran6-3, F, Jr., Louisville Cardinals
2021-22 stats: 8.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 51.4 FG%, 22.3 MPG
Jeff Walz’s roster will get a new look following the departures of three starting last season (Kianna Smith, Chelsie Hall and Emily Engstler) and a flurry of transfers. One of the two who returned to the fifth team to start with the star Hailey Van Lith, Cochran will be judged to be consistently more productive for the Cardinals as they look to return to the Grand Finals for a second consecutive season. She had some key moments in the NCAA tournament, but can Cochran establish the defensive phase inside and grow into a bigger offensive threat as a junior? Cochran told reporters that she’s focused on this season getting in the best shape of her life and expanding her versatility, as she’ll be playing more of the 4 this year.
3. Hannah Jump6-0, G, Sr., Cardinal Stanford
2021-22 stats: 9.2 PPG, 39.7 3FG%, 23.6 MPG
With the graduations of Lexie Hull, Lacie Hull and Anna Wilson, plus the transfer Jana Van Gytenbeek, Cardinal are looking to replace the north 45% of their 3-point shoot from last season, as Stanford advanced to the Finals in a row before falling to UConn in the national semifinals. That means the 3-point Jump ace – who has shot 39.7% or higher from 3 points each of her first three seasons in Palo Alto – will be expected to remain an incredible shooter. more surprised for Cardinal. Jump’s playing time has increased each year on the show – from 10.5 minutes per game as a freshman to 16.0 to 23.6 this year, as she also won 13 starts . Especially as one of the team’s four senior leaders, coach Tara VanDerveer will ask Jump to perform the jump as a consistent attacking threat alongside the stars. Haley Jonesa senior colleague, and Cameron Brink.
4. Seller Shyanne6-2, G, So., Maryland Terrapins
2021-22 stats: 7.8 PPG, 2.6 APG, 41.6 FG%, 26.5 MPG
Everyone was looking forward to it Diamond Miller to do big things after a bunch of players moved from Maryland this season. Add the Big Ten’s reigning sixth player of the year and the conference’s freshman to the list. With five of Terps’ seven regular contributors gone from last season (either to the WNBA or the transfer portal), Sellers may have to take on an overwhelming role as a sophomore with so much to offer. many new faces at College Park. Not only are upcoming transfers a hit or miss opportunity, but Sellers has shown huge potential throughout her freshman season, playing the third most minutes on the team and starting 10 games. Additionally, she stands out for her versatility as a major defender and significant growth on the defensive line, where she leads Maryland with 56 steals.
5. Sara Puckett6-2, So., G/F, Tennessee Lady Vols
2021-22 stats: 6.4 PPG, 43.4 FG%, 3.5 RPG, 21.2 MPG
The expectation surrounding Lady Vols – who not only returns Jordan Horston and Tamari Key but would incorporate a bunch of big-time transfers, including Rickea Jackson – not that high in years. But if Kellie Harper’s team wants to compete against the defending national champion South Carolina in the SEC, and then make it through to the round of 16 Sweet for the first time since 2016, it would be helpful if they had a shooter that could hit from the outer ring. Enter Puckett, who showed she can land big hits in key moments by heading over 3 to send Tennessee past Belmont in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with less than 20 seconds left. . Puckett will need to improve her accuracy in her latest season from 3 (29.9%) if she wants to actually take on that role, but despite her young age, she seems to have got the shot. trust of teammates and Harper.
6. Alyssa Ustby6-1, G, Jr., North Carolina Tar Heels
2021-22 stats: 12.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 44.5 FG%, 31.8 MPG
Titled by rising star Deja Kelly but also Ustby, Tar Heels returned 85% of their points from last year, the second best in the ACC. Ustby – the second-team All-ACC player who has started most of the games since her arrival at Chapel Hill – is Tar Heels’ second-best scorer and leads the team in both rebounds and robbed as a sophomore. North Carolina is expected to be a contender in the ACC, with fans recalling how they gave eventual champion South Carolina the hardest hit they’ve made in the NCAA tournament (losing 69-61 ). It was the first appearance of the Sweet 16 show since 2015, but for Courtney Banghart’s team to stay on track, Tar Heels needed many other players besides Kelly to assist.
7. Lauren Ware6-5, F, Jr., Arizona Wildcats
2021-22 stats: 5.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 21.7 MPG
Ware’s second season with the Wildcats was tough, in large part because she dislocated her kneecap in early December which caused her to miss more than a month of gameplay. She has started all but one game where she appears in 2021-22, making her one of three starting backs for Arizona along with Cate Reese and Shaina Pellington, but admitted at the time, it was physically and mentally difficult to come back from the injury. With Adia Barnes players swarming around her, Ware isn’t at the head of things alone, but with a healthy season in which she can better stabilize herself inside and use her height. working to her advantage – at 6-5 she’s the tallest player on the team – Ware can help Arizona find more success in both the Pac-12 and NCAA after a disappointing 2021-22 season .
8. Gabbie MarshallG, 5-9, Sr., Iowa Hawkeyes
2021-22 stats: 6.8 PPG, 39.3 3FG%, 1.7 SPG, 31.7 MPG
Iowa has the luxury of returning to all five starting two seasons ago, a group headlined by Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano. So where did Marshall come from? Any pressure she can take off from Clark needing to build from the back lane would be helpful and she could be the one to get many of Clark’s compliments from her paint penetration. Marshall has been a strong 3-point shooter since arriving in Iowa, but if she could get a closer look at her clip from the sophomore season (47.1% out of 4.0 times 3 points per game) , then Iowa might actually be cooking. However, for Iowa to progress to its first Finals since 1993, the team will need to play better defensively; Marshall can help propel that effort, as her hA0073x has led the group out of the last two seasons.
9. Camille Hobby6-3, F, Sr., NC State Wolfpack
2021-22 stats: 5.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 47.7 FG%, 12.2 MPG
Elissa Cunane, one of the most highly-rated players in Wolfpack history, is gone, as have three other players who started with the Elite Eight team last year (Raina Perez, Kai Crutchfield and Kayla Jones). But this could be Hobby’s moment to shine after she’d spent the previous three years waiting in the wings behind Cunane’s brilliance. NC State fans are quick to point to Hobby’s only career start, as she scored a career-high 19 points in a 9-14 game against Virginia Tech in January 2021, as evidenced by her He is ready for this moment. “I expect great things from her,” NC State coach Wes Moore said of Hobby at ACC media day. “Camille can score and she’s a competitor. She’ll work hard, and she’s proven herself… I believe in her.”
ten. Liz Scott6-2, F, Sr., Oklahoma Sooners
2021-22 stats: 6.6 PPG, 47.6 FG%, 4.5 RPG, 15.1 MPG
With Taylor Robertson, Madi Williams and Ana Llanusa back to the fold, the Sooners could easily build on last year’s successful campaign led by first-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk. One unclear player who could help them take the next step is Scott, who started 24 of 33 games as a junior and boasted of back-to-back games last season when she hit one. Win the match against the top 10 teams. She’ll need to make sure she doesn’t get in trouble, which was an issue last season, but if Scott tries to stay on the floor, help the Sooners on the glass and impact more on the inside, behavior Oklahoma’s crime will be more diverse and all the more threatening.
