Oct. 2—Official practices are underway, and the next step toward the 2024-25 women’s basketball season comes Wednesday with Big Ten media day in Rosemont. Here’s how Illinois beat writer Joe Vozzelli sees the season playing out:
The team to beat is … Southern Cal
Call it the JuJu Watkins factor. All the Los Angeles native did last season as a freshman is rank second nationally in scoring behind someone named Caitlin Clark. All joking aside, the Trojans look like the real deal with Watkins running the show and could make a major Big Ten splash by winning the regular-season title in their first season in the new-look 18-team league. Their toughest challenge might come from another newcomer — crosstown rival UCLA — with both schools strong contenders to reach the Women’s Final Four at the Amalie Center in Tampa, Fla.
The dark-horse team is … Maryland
The obvious choice here might have been Ohio State. But that’s too obvious considering the Buckeyes won last season’s regular-season title. Nobody does better year-after-year reworking their team through the transfer portal than Brenda Frese. Sure, there have been misses. Last year was a “down” year by Frese standards with the Terrapins finishing 19-14 (still made the NCAA tournament). Frese reloaded with Saylor Poffenbarger (Arkansas), Mir McLean (Virginia), Christina Dalce (Villanova), Kaylene Smikle (Rutgers) and Amari DeBerry (Connecticut) among the new faces in College Park, Md, ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The Big Ten Player of the Year is … Juju Watkins
It’s a no-brainer, really. The expectations for Watkins in year two are sky high, and rightfully so, with 6-foot-2 19-year-old guard the preseason favorite to win National Player of the Year honors, as well. Watkins averaged 27.1 points per game last winter en route to setting the all-time national record for scoring by a freshman with 920 points. The fact is Watkins has elevated USC — in the same way Clark did with Iowa last winter — into the conversation with defending champion South Carolina as a true title contender.
The
Big Ten Transfer of the Year is … Lucy OlsenIt has to be her, right? It was a big win for first-year Iowa coach Jan Jensen to have the Villanova transfer aboard after Lisa Bluder retired and longtime assistant Jensen was immediately promoted to head coach. Olsen arrives in Iowa City as one of the best scorers in the country after ranking third nationally last season in scoring average at 23.3 points per game. That alone gives the Hawkeyes an outside shot to at least contend in the Big Ten for a regular-season title in the post-Clark era.
The
Big Ten Freshman of the Year is … Jaloni Cambridge
The No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2024 has some big shoes to fill with the departure of Jacy Sheldon. But the hype is there for Cambridge to do just that for coach Kevin McGuff. The 5-6 point guard from Nashville, Tenn., by way of Montverde Academy will be handed the keys to the offense (eventually) in Columbus. Closer to home, a name to watch here would be Berry Wallace, with the 6-1 freshman forward, McDonald’s high school All-American and top-25 recruit the top addition Shauna Green has made since stepping in as Illinois coach.
