Can South Carolina run it back — and nine more questions for women’s college basketball

The 2023-24 women’s college basketball season ended with perfection as the South Carolina Gamecocks went 38-0 and won the program’s third NCAA championship.

Can the Gamecocks run it back? That’s one of the biggest questions that will shape the 2024-25 season.

Which player will fill the game’s brightest spotlight now that Caitlin Clark, the two-time national player of the year, is gone? What should we expect from last season’s exciting freshman class, led by USC’s JuJu Watkins? How will the breakup of the Pac-12 impact the sport?

With the season tipping off Nov. 4, we look at 10 of the biggest questions heading into the 2024-2025 season.

Can the Gamecocks win back-to-back titles?

Yes, they can. But they might look a little different doing it, at least early on, since the Gamecocks’ guards might be ahead of their post play.

Center Kamilla Cardoso, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft by the Chicago Sky, led South Carolina last season in points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. But the next two scoring leaders, guards MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.7 points per game) and Te-Hina Paopao (11.0 PPG), return.

South Carolina still has a lot of talent in the post, including freshman Joyce Edwards. But forward Ashlyn Watkins (9.2 PPG, 7.4 rebounds per game) has been suspended since an Aug. 31 arrest on charges of first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping. Her court appearance set for Oct. 25 was rescheduled.

Another undefeated season seems like a lot to ask. But the Gamecocks — who return 87% of their minutes played and 84% of their points scored from a season ago — are still first in the national championship discussion. — Voepel

Can UConn return to the mountaintop?

UConn is the gold standard of college basketball with 11 national titles, but the Huskies haven’t been the last team standing since 2016, Breanna Stewart’s senior year. The Huskies reached the Final Four in all but one season in that span, and played in the 2022 national title game.

Could this be the year they finally win that 12th championship? Former national player of the year Paige Bueckers is hungry to make it happen in her final season in Storrs before heading to the WNBA. She’ll have a lot on her shoulders leading a relatively young and inexperienced, albeit talented, team following the departures of Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl. The program will need to have better luck with health than it has experienced the past few years to get back to the mountaintop. — Philippou

Can the L.A. schools get to the Final Four?

USC and UCLA were two of the most exciting teams to watch last season. Watkins brought the Trojans back to prominence for the first time in decades, while Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Charisma Osborne led a deep Bruins squad.

Both teams should be even better this year. USC brought in transfers Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State), plus a stacked freshman class, to help Watkins. In Westwood, coach Cori Close snagged intriguing transfers in Janiah Barker (Texas A&M), Timea Gardiner (Oregon State) and Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State).

The battle for the Big Ten will preview both teams’ push to get to the Final Four — USC for the first time since 1986 and UCLA for the first time in the NCAA era. — Philippou

Who will win player of the year?

The favorites going into the season are sophomore Watkins (27.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 assists per game) and senior Bueckers (21.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.8 APG), who was the consensus player of the year her freshman season in 2020-21.

Other candidates might emerge during the season, depending on how their teams perform. While South Carolina is the favorite at No. 1, the Gamecocks’ depth of talent is such that they don’t have an obvious player of the year candidate. — Voepel

Which freshmen or transfers will make the biggest splash?

Last year’s freshman class made waves all season long. So did a host of transfers. So which newcomers — incoming freshmen or transfers to new programs — will prove to be difference-makers in 2024-25?

As far as the freshmen go, UConn is the only program with two top-10 recruits, headlined by No. 1 prospect Sarah Strong. Jaloni Cambridge was a huge get for Ohio State, especially considering the program’s graduation losses. Joyce Edwards, who decided to stay home and go to South Carolina, has already received rave reviews from coach Dawn Staley.

Aside from the aforementioned transfers into the L.A. schools, Raegan Beers (Oregon State to Oklahoma), Georgia Amoore (Virginia Tech to Kentucky) and Lucy Olsen (Villanova to Iowa) are among the key players to watch. — Philippou

How will players back from injuries fare?

Three big-name guards missed all (Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles), most (UConn’s Azzi Fudd) or a large part (Texas’ Rori Harmon) of last season due to knee injuries. All are expected back, although Fudd probably won’t play until December. They are dynamic players who can make a big difference in their teams’ national championship potential.

Other players to watch after injury: UConn center Jana El Alfy (Achilles) is expected to make her long-awaited college debut. LSU forward Sa’Myah Smith (knee, played seven games last season) could be a big help in making up for the loss of Angel Reese to the WNBA. Guard KK Deans (knee, played six games) should give Ole Miss’ perimeter scoring a boost. — Voepel

How deep can a Hidalgo-Miles backcourt take the Irish?

With Miles out, Irish fans were robbed of a year of a Hannah Hidalgo-Miles backcourt. But we’ll get to finally see that dynamic duo, and coach Niele Ivey already has said the pairing is going to be “electric.”

With Miles and Hidalgo leading the charge, optimism is high in South Bend that this is the year the Irish — the ACC preseason favorites — can advance past the Sweet 16 for the first time in Ivey’s tenure.

Those two won’t have to do it alone, as the Irish also return Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld and have a strong group of newcomers: transfers Liza Karlen (Marquette) and Liatu King (Pitt) plus freshman Kate Koval. — Philippou

What should we expect of Stanford in a new era?

Of all the coaching changes, none is bigger than Stanford not having legendary Tara VanDerveer on the sideline for the first time since she took over in 1985. Kate Paye takes over, and we’ll see how different the Cardinal might look under VanDerveer’s former player and longtime assistant.

There’s also a big change in personnel, with Cameron Brink moving on to the WNBA, Iriafen transferring and Hannah Jump completing her eligibility. They were the Cardinal’s top three scorers from a 30-6 season.

Stanford is difficult to project right now because so much is new, but the Cardinal playing in the ACC will be as strange as anything. — Voepel

What will Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee look like under new leadership?

The situation at Iowa is most similar to Stanford, with Lisa Bluder stepping down after 24 years and her assistant during that time, Jan Jensen, taking over. The Hawkeyes lost not just a generational star in Clark, but players such as starting guards Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall as well. That said, forward Hannah Stuelke is primed for a big junior season, and Jensen should get the best out of this group.

Kentucky is still seeking its first Final Four on the women’s side. Coach Kenny Brooks made that breakthrough at Virginia Tech, so maybe he can do it with the Wildcats. It likely won’t happen this season, but give Brooks time to establish his system.

At Tennessee, Kim Caldwell will try to transfer her up-tempo offensive and defensive style to the SEC after success last year at Marshall. Caldwell doesn’t have much Division I experience, so she will have to learn on the fly in a hypercompetitive league. — Voepel

How will realignment impact college basketball?

The past year’s realignment whirlwind, and the disintegration of the Pac-12, will undoubtedly take some getting used to, particularly with Stanford and Cal now in the ACC, and USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon in the Big Ten.

But which programs will make the most noise in their new leagues? The L.A. schools are at the top of the list, with both slotted as the top two teams in the Big Ten preseason poll. In the SEC, Texas was projected to finish behind South Carolina, and Oklahoma was picked to come in fourth. Could the Longhorns — a top-five preseason team nationally — challenge the Gamecocks?

None of the ACC newcomers seem likely to emerge as conference contenders. In the Big 12, Kansas State and Iowa State figure to be the favorites with the Longhorns and Sooners gone. — Philippou