Just 16 teams remain in the 2025 women’s NCAA tournament. All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the regional semifinals, including the USC Trojans. But we’ve lost Trojans star JuJu Watkins, who was the No. 1 player in ESPN’s rankings last week of the top 25 players in March Madness. Watkins suffered a season-ending knee injury Monday in the second round.
With Watkins and five other players whose teams have been eliminated dropping off, which players make up our ranking of the best 25 players in the Sweet 16? Watkins’ teammate, Kiki Iriafen, who stepped up with 36 points and nine rebounds to lead the Trojans over Mississippi State, stays in the top 10. But UConn, which could face USC in the Spokane 4 Regional final, has three players in the top 12, including the new No. 1.
ESPN’s Michael Voepel, Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Kendra Andrews look at the top players in the regional semifinals, which begins Friday in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.
Guard | 6-foot | redshirt senior
Stats: 19.2 PPG, 4.8 APG, 2.1 SPG
Bueckers is coming off a memorable finale in Storrs, tying her career high with 34 points in her last appearance at Gampel Pavilion while also adding 4 steals and 4 assists. As she wraps up her collegiate career, she’ll go down as one of…
