The 2023-24 season is over. The transfer portal is (still) open. Tara VanDerveer has coached her last game. Two of those three statements would’ve made zero sense to me even a few years ago.

But here we are. Times, they are a-changin’. We at The Athletic are here to make sense of all the movement. Let’s dive into this week’s mailbag to examine some of the big changes and project how they might have an impact on the sport.

Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.

Do you think Geno retires end of next year? He will get the all-time wins record early in the season and Paige will be leaving. If so, who do you see as his replacement? (Sue Bird has already said no interest ). I assume CD will retire when Geno goes. — Thomas S.

I don’t think Auriemma will retire until he has another run at a national title with a fully healthy team. Even this year, with a group that ran six deep and had shifting rotations until the tournament, the Huskies still managed to put together a Final Four run. Among his many impressive coaching jobs, this one is near the top. But even when VanDerveer announced her retirement this offseason (even though I thought she’d want at least one go-around in the ACC), I never thought we’d see Auriemma step down. Let’s see…

The 2023-24 college season featured more star power than any in recent memory, and the good news for WNBA fans is that many of those players will be back on the court quickly. The 2024 WNBA Draft is on Monday, and several stars who dominated the national conversation during the college season will be taking their talents to the professional stage.

Every year, it boggles the mind how quick this transition is for collegians. Caitlin Clark will go from game-planning for South Carolina to being on the same roster as former Gamecocks great Aliyah Boston within nine days. There isn’t even enough time for a WNBA Draft Combine, so some team executives are working with incomplete information about height and wingspan.

As a result, the WNBA Draft, compared to its NBA counterpart, has always favored players who were able to produce in college rather than those who have the theoretical tools to succeed at the next level. We can project how a different team context will affect a player’s impact, but at a certain point, if they don’t have a high-level resume after four years, it’s hard to take a risk on them.

WHO WILL BE NEXT?

Draft Day. April 15th 2024. pic.twitter.com/D9vHv0TwdD

— WNBA (@WNBA) April 9, 2024

That’s why the draft is a great entry point to the WNBA for…

Tennessee is hiring Kim Caldwell as its next women’s basketball coach, the school announced Sunday.

Caldwell spent the last year as the head coach at Marshall. The Thundering Herd went 17-1 in conference and 26-7 overall in Caldwell’s first year, a vast improvement from the team’s 9-9 conference and 17-14 overall record in 2022-23. Caldwell’s early success earned her the 2024 Spalding Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year honor.

She also was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year after capturing the conference title in a 95-92 overtime win over James Madison and leading the Thundering Herd to the school’s second-ever NCAA Tournament berth and first since 1997.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to find a dynamic head coach who can restore our women’s basketball program to national prominence. Kim Caldwell is the ideal person to lead us,” athletic director Danny White said in a statement. “Kim has a winning formula that she has successfully implemented everywhere she has coached, with a fast-paced, high-octane offense and pressure defense that has led to remarkable results.”

Caldwell replaces Kellie Harper, who was fired this offseason, as women’s basketball’s winningest program looks to return to the top of the sport. In…

On Monday, Tennessee announced that it was moving on from Kellie Harper, who went 108-52 in five seasons with the Lady Vols.

The move is a strong indicator that Tennessee understands the arms race happening in women’s basketball and doesn’t want to be left behind. With South Carolina at the top of the conference, and LSU — the reigning national champs — right there, too, there hasn’t been a ton of space at the very top of the league. However, moving on from Harper — who in four of five seasons finished third in the SEC — is a pretty strong statement that anything other than contending for the top spot isn’t good enough. And, with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC next season, the league’s women’s basketball power only becomes stronger and deeper.

The big question here: Does Tennessee stick with another Pat Summitt-linked coach? Or after Holly Warlick (the Lady Vols’ head coach from 2012-19 who was a longtime Summitt assistant) and Harper (who won three national titles are a player for Summitt), is Tennessee going to step outside of the Summitt line?

The Lady Vols are legendary program that have helped lay the foundation of women’s basketball. They haven’t won a national title since 2008, but with the right coaching staff in place, this is a program…

Tennessee fired women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper, the school announced Monday. The Volunteers will begin a nationwide search for her replacement, looking to return women’s basketball’s winningest program to the top of the sport.

In Harper’s five seasons leading the Lady Vols, Tennessee went 108-52. Her teams never finished above third in the SEC and had four postseason appearances but never made it past the Sweet 16. Last weekend, Tennessee’s season ended with a loss to North Carolina State in the second round.

“After a thorough review of our women’s basketball program, I have informed Kellie we are making a change in leadership,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said in a statement. “Decisions like these are never easy to make, especially with someone who has done so much for the Lady Vols as a three-time national champion student-athlete. Her love and passion for Tennessee and the Lady Vols is second to none. She has invested so much heart and soul into our program and truly has given her all for Tennessee. I thank Kellie for her stewardship of our women’s basketball program and wish her and Jon well in the next chapter of their lives.”

Harper was the second consecutive coach hired to lead the women’s basketball program who had direct ties…

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

This season has been so beautiful, and the NCAA Tournament is a welcome extension of that so far. In a sport that’s defined ever more by speed, pace and efficiency, it’s crucial to stop every so often to soak in how excellent the game is.

Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, a true freshman, dropped 40 points in her first tournament appearance. She did that while shooting 18 of 20 and leading the Cyclones back from a 20-point deficit against Maryland to advance to the second round.

We saw other freshmen ascend to terrific heights, too. JuJu Watkins has propelled USC back to levels the Trojans haven’t been to in decades. Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo seems to break a record every day. Texas’ Madison Booker has stepped up. MiLaysia Fulwiley’s stardom and impact continues to grow. Crooks and the four other freshmen in Iowa State’s self-proclaimed Fab Five have the Cyclones dancing in what was expected to be a rebuild year.

This video from from former Gonzaga and current Long Beach State men’s coach Dan Monson struck a chord. It’s a good reminder to fully appreciate what’s happening in…

Today, we will finish our first-round NCAA Tournament previews with a look at the second day of matchups and potential upsets in women’s March Madness.

A reminder: Our statistical model Slingshot, developed with help from the Furman University Mathematics Department, begins by estimating the strength of all Division I teams according to their scoring margin per 100 possessions and their strength of schedule. We then adjust those basic power ratings for how strongly teams carry traits associated with successful tournament teams of the past. For underdogs, these characteristics generally include tactics that widen the variability of a team’s play, such as shooting lots of 3-pointers and working to force turnovers. For favorites, it’s just the opposite: Higher seeds cruise to wins when they cut risks and avoid chaos. Then we estimate matchup results. We still don’t have the same depth of historical data for women’s basketball as we do for the men’s side, but we’re getting there.

Now, on to Saturday’s games!

More Bracket Breakers: Upset projections for Friday games

Odds are from BetMGM. For more Underdogs, listen to Peter and Jordan’s podcast. For all our March Madness coverage, check out our content hub. 

No. 6 Syracuse Orange vs. No. 11 Arizona Wildcats

Upset…

The full NCAA Tournament bracket has been released with South Carolina leading the way as No. 1 overall.

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

After months of anticipation, thousands of games played in and out of conference, and some truly wild conference tournaments, the NCAA Tournament is here. Selection Sunday has come and gone. Advance scouts are done, processed and getting applied in final practices.

Throughout March Madness, The Athletic will present its Power Rankings. After every round, we’ll release an updated rankings reflecting how teams are playing. Keep in mind, these are not reflections of seedings, although there may be some crossover between where teams are seeded and how they’re performing.

Our inaugural power rankings admittedly looks pretty close to chalk, as many of the teams were seeded by the selection committee in a way that was reflective of recent play. However, the Tennessee Volunteers make a surprise appearance despite being a No. 6 seed. The Lady Vols play No. 11 Green Bay, a dangerous mid-major, in Saturday’s first round.

Gonzaga is just outside of my rankings consideration after dropping the…

It’s a question that has been debated in arenas, in homes, on social media and TV as the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season has progressed: Is Iowa star Caitlin Clark the greatest women’s college basketball player of all time?

Clark will likely be a two-time national Player of the Year when the season concludes. As a senior, she enters the NCAA Tournament looking for a second consecutive Final Four berth, and she does so averaging a nation-leading 31.9 points and 8.9 assists per game. With her offensive dominance, she has re-written the record book at Iowa and nationally. Though she has yet to win a national championship, she still has been an accelerant for the sport’s growth more broadly. Those are just some of the foundational points in any argument touting the Iowa star. But how do those in the industry place her in a historic context?

GO DEEPER

What makes Caitlin Clark the best shooter in college basketball? The physics behind her shot

Over the last month, The Athletic talked to more than 35 head coaches across women’s basketball to collect their candid opinions on an array of topics from the changing tides in the sport to the best coaches in the game to the greatest women’s college basketball player of all time. These coaches, who hail from power…

The last time we checked in on the WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever had just won the No. 1 pick and were deliriously excited, even before knowing if Caitlin Clark would declare. That hope has been realized: Clark’s decision to go pro fulfills the Fever’s dream and sets up this draft to be one of the most impactful in league history.

Clark isn’t the only fourth-year to explicitly state her intentions for next season. Stanford’s Cameron Brink will be joining Clark in the pros in 2024, while Paige Bueckers will be playing for UConn for at least one more season. Three other players (Te-Hina Paopao, Aubrey Griffin, and Emily Ryan) on The Athletic’s 2024 Big Board will also be staying in college for a fifth year, removing them from draft consideration. We’re still awaiting the decisions of Angel Reese, Aaliyah Edwards and Kamilla Cardoso, among others, but we’ll assume they’re headed to the WNBA until further notice.

GO DEEPER

The Caitlin Clark business is booming. Here’s how her WNBA sponsorships are lining up

The league also has gone through its free-agency period since the last mock draft, which clarified team needs and shook up the draft order. Four picks have changed hands — some multiple times — via trade. Overall, a third of the 36 total draft picks have been…