On Tuesday, the Associated Press released its preseason All-American women’s college basketball team. With the sport more popular than ever, there was no shortage of stars to choose from.
The list includes several familiar faces, including standouts such as JuJu Watkins and Paige Buckers. However, with the exit of top talents such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese from the collegiate ranks this summer, there was also room for fresh faces on the prestigious list.
For the full list, look below:
In Watkins’ debut campaign at the collegiate level last season, she set the all-time national record for scoring by a freshman with 920 points. The 6-foot-2 combo guard averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
For her efforts, she was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year, becoming the first USC freshman to ever win the award. Additionally, Watkins was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Paige Bueckers made a triumphant return to the court last season after missing the 2022-23 campaign with a torn ACL. Bueckers averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, boosting the Huskies to a Final Four appearance.
This is the third Bueckers has been named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press. Bueckers and Watkins were the only two players who were unanimous choices by the 30-member national media panel to make the team.
Like Watkins, Hidalgo burst onto the scene last season, making an immediate impact for her program. Hidalgo did it all for the Fighting Irish, averaging 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. With Hidalgo’s help, Notre Dame captured its first conference tournament title since 2019.
Hidalgo’s excellence didn’t go unnoticed. Hidalgo received the Dawn Staley Award, which is annually given to the nation’s best guard. Moreover, Hidalgo was the ACC Freshman of the Year and the ACC Tournament MVP.
Freshmen not only found success on the perimeter last season but in the paint as well. In the 2023-24 campaign, first-year forward Madison Booker averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 45.7% from the field.
Booker’s statistics were historic and so were her accolades. For her fantastic play, Booker was named the Big 12 Player of the Year — the first freshman to ever achieve the honor. She also earned the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award.
USC was the only team that had two players on the preseason All-American team, but it was nearly impossible to leave Iriafen off the list. Iriafen transferred to USC this offseason after averaging 19.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last year at Stanford.
Iriafen boasts a laundry list of awards from her three seasons at the collegiate level. Most recently, Iriafen took home the Katrina McClain Award, presented each year to the best power forward in women’s college basketball.
