Sarah Strong of UConn and JuJu Watkins of USC headline the preseason AP All-America women’s basketball team, a group that also includes Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes and Notre Dame’s Marta Hidalgo. The selections, reported by ESPN, set up a national player of the year race built around Strong’s all-around production and Watkins’ return from injury.
The Main Development
Strong, a 6-2 junior forward, enters the season as the country’s top-ranked player in the preseason, according to ESPN. She averaged 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game last season while shooting 58.2% from the field and 40.4% from 3-point range.
Watkins, the consensus 2025 national player of the year, missed all of last season while recovering from a knee injury. She has returned to USC’s starting lineup and is set to make her season debut Nov. 2 against UNLV in Las Vegas as part of the Hall of Fame Series, according to USA Today. Watkins averaged 25.5 points per game across her first two seasons at USC, including 23.9 points per game in her most recent full season.
Blakes, a Vanderbilt sophomore, led the nation in scoring last season at 27.0 points per game. Hidalgo, of Notre Dame, was named last season’s best defensive player and has twice earned ACC player of the year honors.
What It Means
The preseason All-America team reflects a shifting power structure atop women’s college basketball. Strong shared her freshman season with Paige Bueckers and played alongside a healthy Azzi Fudd last year, but UConn now belongs to Strong heading into this season, according to ESPN.
Watkins’ recognition comes despite missing the entire 2025-26 season. USC went 18-14 without her last year after finishing 31-4 the previous season with Watkins in the lineup, a swing that underscores her impact on the program. Her return helped push USC to No. 3 in the preseason USA TODAY Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
Context
Strong sat out formal basketball activities over the summer to rest lower leg issues that bothered her late last season, according to ESPN. UConn will showcase her on national television between Nov. 5 and Dec. 9 against Michigan, Iowa, Louisville, South Carolina, Duke, Maryland and Notre Dame.
Notre Dame’s schedule features matchups against Vanderbilt on Dec. 3, a home game against UConn on Dec. 9 and a meeting with USC in Las Vegas on Dec. 19, giving multiple All-America candidates chances to face off directly.
Team Impact
USC’s roster around Watkins includes Jazzy Davidson, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, junior Kennedy Smith, an All-Big Ten defender, and Saniyah Hall, a top-ranked recruit from SPIRE Academy. Pania Davis transferred in from Florida State to add post presence, according to On3.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb addressed the program’s expectations in comments reported by USA Today. “We understand the standard. The road map has sort of been set forth for us and I think this team, the transfers, the freshmen, they have purposely signed up because of the championship standards, because of a process that we have created, that we really believe in. And it’s not for everybody,” Gottlieb said.
UConn’s depth includes sophomore Blanca Quinonez, who averaged 10.7 points per game last season and could develop into the program’s next star, according to On3. USC enters the year at No. 3 nationally while defending champion UCLA, which won its first national title March 22 in Phoenix, opens at No. 12 after losing six players to the WNBA draft, a record for players drafted from one school in a single year.
What’s Next
Watkins and USC open the season Nov. 2 against UNLV in Las Vegas. UConn’s national television stretch with Strong begins Nov. 5 and runs through Dec. 9, including a Dec. 9 home matchup against Notre Dame and Hidalgo.
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