There’s always some freshmen hype leading into the women’s college basketball season. The expectations for top-ranked recruits are high, especially at well-known programs. But when it comes to which players will excel at the college level and have an immediate impact, there’s a lot more to consider than just talent alone. Some of it is situational. There have been incredibly skilled players who have gone to big time schools like UConn and South Carolina only to transfer later because of limited playing time and opportunity.
Two of the biggest names who would have been on this list are notably absent: UConn’s Ice Brady, a 6-foot-3 forward who was ranked as a top-five recruit, will miss the season with a knee injury. USC’s Aaliyah Gales, the nation’s No. 8 recruit, is redshirting as she recovers from gunshot wounds suffered in April.
Taking that into consideration, as well as factoring in talent along with team-specific needs, I came up with a list of the top 15 freshmen who will have the most impact this season.
Gray is the second-best point guard recruit in the nation, though how many minutes she’ll get on an Oregon team loaded with guards remains to be seen. Both Endyia Rogers and Te-Hina Paopao are back for the Ducks this season and will resume control of the…
