The last time we convened for power rankings, confetti was still on the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse court. The massive Oregon State transfer exodus was yet to come, and 2024 WNBA Draft decisions hadn’t been finalized.
Suffice it to say, much has changed in the world of college basketball, even without a single game played yet. Below are some of the questions as we take a look around the national landscape before the season tips off on Monday. But first, here’s The Athletic’s preseason top 25:
Almost famous: Kentucky, Creighton, South Dakota State
It seems sacrilegious to compare a freshman to A’ja Wilson, the greatest Gamecock of all time and perhaps the greatest basketball player alive. But the pedigree is hard to ignore for another South Carolina born-and-raised forward. Edwards arrives in Columbia as a top-three recruit and a decorated USA Basketball athlete. She has been playing up on the international circuit, much like Wilson a decade earlier. In the 2023 U-19 World Cup, Edwards was the best player for the USA’s gold-medal team despite suiting up next to rising college sophomores a full two years older than her.
GO DEEPER
Women’s college basketball preseason All-Americans: Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo
In South Carolina’s first exhibition game…
