Caitlin Clark was like a runaway train for national player of the year in women’s college basketball last season. Midway through 2024-25, it’s more like four locomotives converging on the station at the same time.
If you want suspense, we’ve got it: Three guards and a center whose teams are ranked in the top 10 are all vying to be the best individual player in the country.
A sophomore leads the race, but it’s not the one many thought would be the front-runner. Notre Dame‘s Hannah Hidalgo has edged ahead of USC‘s JuJu Watkins, who was the freshman of the year last season.
The two second-year stars met in November, with the Irish handing USC its only loss of the season, 74-61 behind Hidalgo’s 24 points and 8 assists, while Watkins finished with 24 and 5.
Hidalgo ranks second in Division I in scoring and steals; she has scored 25 or more points in eight games for ACC-leading Notre Dame (5-0). Watkins is third in scoring, also with eight games of 25-plus points. The Trojans are 6-0 atop the Big Ten in their first season in the conference.
Trying to split hairs between Hidalgo and Watkins would be fascinating enough. But UConn guard Paige Bueckers — the national player of the year in 2021 as a freshman and a potential No. 1 pick in…
