The 2024-25 college basketball season is on the horizon, and it’s going to look different. Gone is the Pac-12 as we’ve known it. The Big Ten and ACC are now both bicoastal conferences — nothing like the opportunity to see both the Pacific and Atlantic in the same conference season, right? Tara VanDerveer is no longer on a sideline.
And yet, the game has never been better.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese helped push television viewership to levels that some thought women’s hoops would never see. Even with their departures to the WNBA, unprecedented interest is evident as the page turns to women’s college hoops. New stars will take their places — players like JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers — but even beyond the obvious principal talents, dozens of players’ seasons will prompt questions and intrigue.
Every player on this list is elite in her own right, but each also has storylines and unanswered questions that make her a must-see player. Later this month, we’ll introduce The Athletic’s top 20 players for 2024-25, but first, let’s take a look at the players who we think are the most intriguing.
Raegan Beers
Oklahoma, junior center
2023-24 stats: 17.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.2 SPG (Oregon State)
After leading Oregon State to the Elite Eight and the ensuing collapse…
