Sarah Strong, Lauren Betts among National Player of the Year candidates in women’s college basketball
The start of the 2025-2026 university basketball season is still about four months old, but it is never too early to start speculating who could be the best sports players.
It seems unlikely that we will see a receiver of the winner of the national player of the year, considering that Juju Watkins of the USC – which won the Naismith, Wooden, USBWA and the AP – tore its ACL in the NCAA tournament. As a general rule, the recovery of an injury like this tends to take several months, which means that Watkins will probably be sidelined for the most part, if not all, the coming season. The other price of the national player of the year, the Wade trophy presented by WBCA, went to Paige Bueckers d’Uconn, which is now flying in the WNBA for the Wings of Dallas.
With this, let us plan which players are ready for record seasons and dominant campaigns, and which will be able to stack the statistics and lead their teams deeply in the playoffs.
They are the players to watch for the national player of the year …
Olivia Miles, TCU
After recovering from his own ACL tear, Miles returned to Notre Dame last season and looked like an improved player. In addition to its superb capacities to make passes and intrepid, Miles has reached new peaks as a shooter of 3 points, increasing his success rate behind the 18 percentage arc. In addition to drawing 40.6% from 3 -point lands, she collected an average of 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per match before the Irish Fighting season, has flame in the Sweet 16. Miles has since been transferred to TCU where she will work with Mark Campbell, who obtained the best of the guards like Hailey Van Lith and Sabrina. A step forward for Miles and TCU competing for the supremacy in the Big 12 would again put it in the conversation of the player of the year.
Lauren Betts, Ucla
There was a time last season for a time, when the UCLA started season 23-0, when the 6-foot 7-inch Betts looked like the precursor for the national player of the year. But with a handful of impressive performances during the last month of the season – which included two victories on the Bruins – Watkins exceeded it in the race. However, Betts had an incredible junior season and was tabuated a first All-American team and the national defensive player of the WBCA year. It collected on average 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while firing 64.8% of the prosecution when it propelled the UCLA to its very first appearance of the Final Four. Due to its size and skill combination, Betts is considered by many to be the best player available in the WNBA 2026 draft.
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
The nasty goalkeeper of New Jersey had another impressive double -meaning season for Notre Dame while she ranked fifth at the national level in a score and the national national in interceptions. She and JJ Quinely from Virginie-Western were the only players in the country to make an average north of 20 points and three interceptions per game. Hidalgo was appointed player of the year of the ACC and obtained a sign of all-American head from the first team. Although Hidalgo’s statistics can be a bit breathtaking, we could ask him to do even more for Notre Dame this season. A large part of the team of last year has disappeared, with Miles and Kate Koval Transfer and other beginners at Maddy Westbeld, Liatu King and Sonia Lemon to the pros. Hidalgo will have to have his best season again if Notre Dame aims to continue to face in ACC.
Ta’niya Latson, Southern Caroline
In Florida State last season, Latson led the nation by scoring 25.2 points per game and obtained a place in the second All-American team. But in Florida State, she stole a little under the radar because the Seminoles never left the first weekend of the NCAA tournament in the first three seasons of Latson there, despite her first all-access team player. Now, for his last season, Latson finds his teammate from Raven Johnson high school and joins the Gamecocks of Caroline in the south of Dawn Staley, who attended five consecutive ovens and won a pair of national titles in this section. What LTSON statistics look like this season. Although it is a dynamic and talented marker, Staley has not had an average of 17 points per game since the senior season of A’ja Wilson in 2017-2018. Since then, the South Carolina has played a defensive style first with a varied offensive attack that has never really reached a single singular scorer, which is the role that Latson played with FSU. If Latson can find a way to prosper in the Staley system while being an effective and effective marker, it will arouse many projectors to be in the conversation of the player of the year.
Mikayla blakes, Vanderbilt
The 5 -feet 8 -inch goalkeeper put the dry in opinion last season and was elected in the first national year of the year Tamika Retrings by the USBWA. Blakes has been the only first year student since at least 2009 to score more than 50 points twice in a single season. The second time she did it, paying 55 points to a victory over Auburn, set a score record in a single NCAA match by a first -year student. Her 23.3 points per match were eighth top national and she was appointed to the first team of the SEC. While Vanderbilt looks at his third consecutive offer of the NCAA tournament, Blakes could have to transport even more from the score for the commodores this season now that the running mate Khamil Pierre is out of the team.
Sarah Strong, Uconn
While Bueckers won the Wade and Azzi Fudd trophy was named the most exceptional player in the Final Four, a case could be made that Sarah Strong was the best player in Uconn last season. Tabrated as the best recruit in class 2024, Strong was up to the media threshing by making an average of 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 interceptions and 1.7 blocks per game. A complete package of a player, strongly classified in the country as a percentage of shooting inside the arc, making 68.3% of his shots from 2 points. It also directed the nation in Win shares (9.3) and a defensive note (64.9). Strong was a great reason why Geno Auriemma was able to win his 12th national championship, and she will be the bus driver for a UCONN team who expects to face this coming season again.
