Sports
Women’s college basketball 2025-26 too-early power ranking: UConn looks like favorite again
A season that was supposed to be defined by parity instead ended with the two most iconic brands in women’s basketball meeting in the national title game and UConn adding a historic record 12th title. Those programs once again top the field in this way-too-early look at 2025-26.
As is tradition in these power rankings, the defending champions get the top spot. However, an early wave of entrants into the transfer portal, combined with the double graduations of the senior class and the super senior class from the pandemic bonus year, has created a lot more flux below the upper tier.
Some teams barely have enough players to field a lineup now. Most rosters will be unrecognizable when comparing today with the start of the regular season as transfers pick their new landing spots, putting a heavier emphasis on recruiting classes because the status of returning players is uncertain.
Almost famous: Baylor, Maryland, Columbia
Final Four teams aren’t going anywhere
Even without Paige Bueckers, UConn is a worthy candidate for the best team in the country thanks to its rising superstar Sarah Strong. She finished the season second nationally in win shares behind only Bueckers and figures to become even more prolific with more of the offense running through her as a sophomore.
With Strong, Jana El Alfy and Azzi Fudd returning from the starting lineup, plus KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade ready to assume bigger roles as juniors (they already took on bigger burdens as freshmen), this is the best five in the country. Ice Brady, Allie Ziebell, Morgan Cheli and the sixth-ranked recruiting class provide solid depth even if the Huskies don’t add any transfers.
South Carolina will lose at least three starters, and potentially four if Raven Johnson decides to go pro. But the Gamecocks machine is ready to backfill, with MiLaysia Fulwiley, Tessa Johnson and Joyce Edwards waiting in the wings. This isn’t a program that rebuilds; it reloads.
Texas also loses two starters but has a trio of rising sophomores (Jordan Lee, Bryanna Preston, and Justice Carlton) to help Madison Booker get to the next level. The talent is obvious, but South Carolina’s historical dominance of the SEC — and Dawn Staley’s historical dominance over Vic Schaefer — keeps the Gamecocks ahead of the Longhorns for now.
UCLA can welcome back the most players from its Final Four team, with everyone eligible to return. However, the national semifinal flameout creates some doubt about the Bruins’ overall ceiling compared with the rest of this crew, slotting them in fourth despite being the No. 1 team for most of the season.
Kevin Durant is a fan of Sarah Strong’s game 👏
Strong’s performance in the National Championship:
◽️24 PTS
◽️15 REB
◽️5 AST
◽️3 BLK
◽️2 STL
◽️10/15 FGM pic.twitter.com/HsGN9CcORO— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 6, 2025
SEC is still deepest conference
Beyond the co-conference champions, the rest of the SEC is also reloading. LSU has the perimeter duo of Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams plus the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, headlined by Grace Knox.
Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell can now get players to specifically fit her system and has brought in the second-best class with several dynamic guards to play alongside Talaysia Cooper, Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn.
The single best freshman is headed to Oklahoma to join Raegan Beers, Sahara Williams and Zya Vann. As such, all three teams, which all advanced to the 2025 Sweet 16, project in the top 10.
Kentucky is harder to evaluate with the loss of Georgia Amoore, who has been central to everything Kenny Brooks has built in Lexington and previously at Virginia Tech. However, the return of three starters, including Clara Strack, healthy seasons for Jordan Obi and Dominika Paurova, plus Brooks’ historical success in the portal keep the Wildcats’ outlook high.
Vanderbilt returns the dynamic duo of Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre. Mississippi State has many holes to fill, but a top-15 class coming in to surround Madina Okot is worth including in this group.
I’m keeping an eye on Georgia as well. The Bulldogs struggled to a 4-12 SEC record in 2024-25 but beat the Lady Vols on the last day of the regular season. Rising sophomores Trinity Turner and Mia Woolfolk are a strong core to build around, and Katie Abrahamson-Henderson brings in a top-20 class.
Which young teams can take next step?
Duke slides into the top five as it expects to bring back eight of its 10 rotation players. Ashlon Jackson had her best season as a junior, and underclassmen Jadyn Donovan, Oluchi Okananwa and Toby Fournier have all taken significant steps forward in Durham. With a true center next season in Arianna Roberson (who missed 2024-25 with an injury), the Blue Devils might finally have the pieces to make their first Final Four in two decades after coming up one possession short in 2025.
Iowa’s freshman class showed flashes in its first year. Ava Heiden, Teagan Mallegni and Taylor Stremlow will need to be much more productive to get the Hawkeyes back to hosting in the first weekend, though incoming freshman Addison Deal should help juice the offense.
Michigan’s trio of freshmen (Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway) needs some reinforcements in the frontcourt. The Wolverines can get that in the portal — Swords’ high school teammate Kate Koval, who might leave Notre Dame, would be an excellent addition. If so, the Wolverines could challenge in the Big Ten.
Louisville had five freshmen in the rotation last season, and the Cardinals found their next cornerstone in Tajianna Roberts. The veterans are basically all gone except for Ja’Leah Williams, but this ranking is a bet on Roberts being good enough to lead Louisville and Mackenly Randolph filling in Olivia Cochran’s shoes.
Elsewhere in the ACC, this might be a year early for NC State, considering the Wolfpack lose a trio of starters and have no seniors. However, the freshman class of Tilda Trygger, Lorena Awou, Zamareya Jones and Devyn Quigley is promising. With Zoe Brooks at the helm, there is still a lot to work with.
Iowa State was the young team last season, and we just can’t quit the potential of Audi Crooks and Addy Brown. The Cyclones’ ceiling is still probably limited by Crooks’ defense, but to start the year, there is too much continuity and talent to leave Iowa State out of the top 15.
𝘼𝙡𝙡-𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 🇺🇸@AudiCrooks has been named a Third Team All-American by the @AP and @USBWA!
🌪️🏀🌪️ | 📰: https://t.co/aSPesV0w9d pic.twitter.com/aR2MhnPRRF
— Cyclone Basketball (@CycloneWBB) March 19, 2025
And a nod to the WBIT champs, Minnesota. Even without Mara Brown, the Golden Gophers’ core of Amaya Battle, Grace Grocholski and Tori McKinney did some special things to close out the 2024-25 season. If Braun can ever be healthy, and this ranking presupposes that, Minnesota has so many long, versatile forwards/wings and is a modern basketball fan’s dream.
Big names missing
Culling this list to 25, especially at the start of the season, is always tricky. Teams such as Baylor, Ohio State, Columbia and West Virginia could easily have slotted in ahead of Maryland or Alabama.
But let’s address the elephants in the room: the big-name teams that either didn’t make the rankings at all or barely squeezed in. Notre Dame slots in at 25 because it’s impossible to exclude two-time first-team All-American Hannah Hidalgo altogether, even if she has essentially no other teammates but Cassandre Prosper after a portal exodus, which included backcourt mate Olivia Miles. Regardless of who ends up playing next to Hidalgo in 2025-26, she can will the Irish to enough wins.
USC and TCU, teams that lost in the Elite Eight, couldn’t make the cut, however. The Trojans are expected to be without JuJu Watkins for most of the season, and they graduated four seniors who played significant roles. Two of their three top freshmen are in the portal, so the combination of Kennedy Smith, Malia Samuels and incoming Jazzy Davidson wasn’t enough to vault past these other teams.
With TCU, the roster is barren. Although Mark Campbell will almost certainly sign some of the best transfers in the country, as he has done each of the past two seasons, they aren’t in Fort Worth yet. Donovyn Hunter alone does not make a top-25 team.
(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Joe Buglewicz, Patrick McDermott, Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
Sports
Indiana crushes Oregon to advance to first championship game in program history, stunning sports world
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The 2025 Indiana Hoosiers became the fifth team in modern college football history to go 15-0. Now they can become the first team of the modern era to ever go 16-0, and only the second of all-time, joining an 1894 Yale team that played with leather helmets.
With a merciless 56-22 thumping of Oregon in the Peach Bowl, the Hoosiers punched their ticket to their first national championship game appearance in program history.
Head coach Curt Cignetti has left the college football world breathless with a dramatic turnaround of the Hoosiers program, going from one of the losingest teams in the Big 10 to potentially the most dominant single-season of all time.
Elijah Sarratt #13 of the Indiana Hoosiers is tackled by Ify Obidegwu #7 of the Oregon Ducks during the first quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 09, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Many prominent sports figures took to social media to express their amazement of Indiana’s unprecedented dominance during and after their win over Oregon. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun also chimed in.
Indiana’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw five touchdown passes, improving his case to be the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Kaelon Black ran for two touchdowns to lead the Indiana running game.
INDIANA WINS FIRST OUTRIGHT BIG 10 FOOTBALL TITLE SINCE 1945 AFTER OHIO STATE FLUBS SHORT FIELD GOAL TRY
Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers is tackled by Aaron Flowers #21 of the Oregon Ducks during the second quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 09, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Oregon (13-2, No. 5 CFP) was doomed by the three first-half turnovers while also being short-handed by the absence of two of their top running backs.
Indiana’s defense didn’t wait long to make an impact. On Oregon’s first snap, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds intercepted Moore’s pass intended for Malik Benson and returned the pick 25 yards for a touchdown. Only 11 seconds into the game, the Hoosiers and their defense already had made a statement this would be a long night for Moore and the Oregon offense.
Moore’s 19-yard scoring pass to tight end Jamari Johnson tied the game. The remainder of the half belonged to Indiana and its big-play defense.
After Mendoza’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. gave the Hoosiers the lead for good at 14-7, Indiana’s defense forced a turnover when Moore fumbled and Indiana recovered at the Oregon 3, setting up Black’s scoring run.
Moore lost a second fumble later in the second quarter when hit by Daniel Ndukwe and Mario Landino recovered at the Oregon 21. Mendoza’s first scoring pass to Sarratt gave the Hoosiers’ the 35-7 lead.
Indiana extended its lead to 42-7 on Mendoza’s 13-yard scoring pass to E.J. Williams Jr.
Oregon finally answered. A 70-yard run by Hill set up a 2-yard scoring run by Harris.
The Hoosiers led 35-7 at halftime as the Ducks were held to nine rushing yards on 17 carries. Noah Whittington, who leads Oregon with 829 rushing yards, was held out with an undisclosed injury after Jordon Davison, who had rushed for 667 yards and 15 touchdowns, already was listed as out with a collarbone injury.
Backup running backs, including Jay Harris and Dierre Hill Jr, provided too little help for quarterback Dante Moore. Moore’s task against Indiana’s stifling defense would have been daunting even with all his weapons.
Following their undefeated regular season, the Hoosiers have only gained momentum in the CFP. Indiana overwhelmed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal as Mendoza passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
Now, the Hoosiers will prepare to face Miami on Jan. 19 in the national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Miami beat Mississippi 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday night.
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Roman Hemby #1 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs out of bounds before the endzone against the Oregon Ducks during the second quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 09, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Indiana will try to give the Big Ten its third straight national title, following Ohio State and Michigan the last two seasons. Few teams from any conference can compare with the Hoosiers’ season-long demonstration of balanced strong play.
The country will be watching to see if this unprecedented team can finish the job and really punch their ticket into the history books.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Christian Collins’ late heroics lead St. John Bosco to double-OT win over Santa Margarita
Before Friday’s Trinity League game at Santa Margarita, Christian Collins of St. John Bosco was dancing to music and looking so comfortable and loose that it was easy to predict he might do something special.
The 6-foot-9 All-American delivered the tying basket at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and scored the clinching basket with six seconds left in the second overtime to lift St. John Bosco to a 74-73 victory in a game that lived up to the hype while producing terrific performances from both teams.
“That really was a high-level game,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said. “They put us in positions that were really challenging and we did the same. I had so many kids play great.”
The Braves (12-4) had four players score in double figures and battled back from an eight-point deficit in the third quarter. Collins finished with 20 points. Howie Wu, St. John Bosco’s 7-foot center, scored 15 points. Point guard Gavin Dean-Moss had 15 points and Tariq Iscandari added 13 points.
Santa Margarita (19-3) received 29 points from Kaiden Bailey and 20 points from Drew Anderson.
Collins saved St. John Bosco just before the buzzer at the end of regulation, getting an offensive rebound basket to tie the score. Then, with six seconds left in the second overtime and St. John Bosco up by two points, he scored to clinch the victory. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Brayden Kyman meant nothing with a four-point deficit.
“It was really hard to get stops,” Dunn said. “We finally got some.”
After the score was tied at 10, 12, 14, 17 and 19, Santa Margarita was able to take a 36-30 lead at halftime. Anderson had 14 points by then. The Eagles started connecting from three-point range, with four threes in the second quarter. St. John Bosco continued to rely on Collins, who had 10 points but missed six shots.
Drew Anderson of Santa Margarita battles for the loose ball against St. John Bosco.
(Nick Koza)
In the third quarter, Bailey made two threes and Rodney Westmoreland made another for an eight-point Santa Margarita lead. But the Eagles’ success with threes might have been their downfall. They started to rely too much on trying to score from deep, and St. John Bosco kept fighting back.
“I was really proud of our guys,” Dunn said.
Santa Margarita, with four returning starters, was considered the Trinity League favorite. But the play of Wu and Dean-Moss helped take offensive pressure off Collins, who was effective as a passer.
“Howie was great,” Dunn said.
This season the Trinity League will be playing only one round of games and will hold a postseason tournament at Concordia University and Hope University.
After Friday night, the Braves are the team to beat.
Harvard-Westlake 80, Crespi 53: The Wolverines received 26 points from Joe Sterling and 19 points from Pierce Thompson in the Mission League win.
St. Francis 58, Bishop Alemany 45: Cherif Millogo had 30 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks for the Golden Knights.
Chaminade 55, Loyola 48: Temi Olafisoye contributed 22 points and 20 rebounds to help the Eagles (19-2, 1-1) pick up an important road victory.
La Habra 66, Crean Lutheran 56: The Highlanders (16-5) upset Crean Lutheran in a Crestview League game.
Los Alamitos 80, Marina 60: Tyler Lopez had 21 points and Isaiah Williamson scored 16 in the victory.
Sports
Olympic medalist suffers serious injuries after ‘death-defying’ skateboarding stunt
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An Olympic medalist and 13-time X Games winner suffered serious head injuries after a stunt went wrong.
Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris in 2024, said he suffered a fractured skull and eye socket.
“A harsh reminder how death-defying skating massive rails can be…” Huston wrote in an Instagram post which included a photo of himself in a hospital bed. “Taking it one day at a time. I hope yall had a better new years then me. We live to fight another day.”
Nyjah Huston of the United States competes in the men’s street prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at La Concorde 3. (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports)
The post also featured Huston being treated by first responders and friends, along with another photo showing a large black-and-blue mark on Huston’s eye.
Numerous skating legends showed their support for Huston, who is considered one of the best skateboarders in the United States today.
Nyjah Huston of Team USA reacts at the Skateboarding Men’s Street Prelims on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
BROCK PURDY SAYS 49ERS HAVE A ‘CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER’ ENTERING PLAYOFFS AFTER MISSING LAST SEASON
“Been watching @nyjah grow up into one of the best skaters to ever do it and it amazes me the amount of grit this kid has,” Shaun White shared on his Instagram story, via Pro Football Network. “You got this brother. Heal quick!”
Even Tony Hawk shared well-wishes on Huston’s Instagram post.
“Heavy. Stay strong; we know you’ll be back,” the skateboarding legend wrote.
“Man.. prayers for healing brother!” added Ryan Sheckler.
It is unknown whether Huston was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.
Nyjah Huston, of the United States, celebrates during the men’s skateboard street final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Huston has seven gold medals and five silvers in world championships. He has not competed since the 2024 Olympics, but the California native has his eyes set on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
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