JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers and Top 18 WCBB Players to Watch Right Now

The 2024-25 NCAA season has been punctuated by parity, a multitude of teams all in the mix for a legitimate shot at making the Final Four. Without an undefeated team remaining in the country, style and scheme make significant differences from game to game.

The personality, flair, and moxie that players bring through the individuality of their skillset and on-court presence sets them apart. So much talent is spread across the country, who are some of the top players you need to know about headed into March?

Look no further than Watkins’ performance against crosstown rival UCLA to understand her impact. Watkins is a mesmerizing talent, a shifty shot creator on the wing in the type of mold we rarely see. She’s incredibly fluid at her size, gets to her spots with ease, and continues to grow as a facilitator.

However, her defensive aptitude is what raises her profile even more, contributing heavily to the most efficient defense in basketball per CBB Analytics.

Watkins took over that second half against the Bruins with her twitchiness and vision off the ball, swooping in to blow up play after play, finishing with eight blocks in the affair. The Trojans are riding high, and Watkins has the starpower to lead this team to the Final Four for the first time since 1986.

Bueckers has the Huskies riding high after a recent dominant performance over South Carolina, the reigning National Champs. Connecticut looks primed for another run to the Final Four, and Bueckers’ versatility as a scorer and playmaker is key in UConn’s top ranked offense in Division 1.

The two time Big East Player of the Year and 2021 National Player of the Year, Bueckers is a special player who keeps expanding her game. She’s arguably the most efficient scorer and passer in the sport, a maestro in the mid-range, sniper from beyond the arc, slithery at the rim, and rarely turning the ball over while creating great shots for her teammates.

A top notch defender herself, Bueckers has a special verve that will be missed in the college game, but eagerly welcomed as a professional this summer.

Miles and Hidalgo are an elite duo in the backcourt, a key part of what sets the Fighting Irish apart. 

There’s a yin and yang to their game, Hidalgo a jittery and energetic mover who roams the court in unreplicable ways, and Miles playing with a start and stop shiftiness, set up by a top notch handle and floor vision.

They play off one another incredibly well in the open court, making Notre Dame one of the premier transition teams in the country.

Miles and Hidalgo showcase the dichotomy of differing ways to excel at the guard position. The push pull of trying to guard one while getting attacked by the other has proven difficult for teams this season, and will be a headache for opposing coaches in the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers are in the hunt for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and they’re humming due to the play of Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson.

Morrow is a ferocious rebounder, leading the SEC and the country in rebounds per game. When LSU gets a shot up, Morrow is always a threat to grab the miss herself and put it back home.

Johnson has continued to spread her wings in a larger role, elevating her scoring profile as a Junior and continuing to develop as a three-level scorer. She pulls off finishes and drives to the rim that consistently inspire awe.

Both contribute heavily to a defensive presence and grit that are the hallmark of Kim Mulkey’s teams in Baton Rouge.

The Harvard Crimson are primed to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007, and senior point guard Harmoni Turner should have you turning into every remaining game on the Ivy League schedule.

Turner is remarkably shifty, creating with her looping handle and off the dribble jumpers in Harvard’s high powered spread out offense.

Some players just have access to spaces on the court that others don’t, and Turner fits that billing. Every step and stride she takes on the court is lit with electricity, and her competitive fire is constantly on display. Watch out for the Crimson in March!

Mikayla Blakes has made waves for the Commodores this season, leading them in scoring, putting up two 50 point performances, and setting the NCAA freshman scoring record in a recent 55 point outburst.

To add further context, only two freshman has averaged 20 points per game or more during SEC play since the 2010 season (the earliest Her Hoop Stats data goes back to)

• Chennedy Carter at Texas A&M in 2018 (23.2 ppg in SEC play)
• Mikayla Blakes at Vanderbilt in 2025 (27.4 ppg in SEC play)

We often see players tail off a bit during a freshman campaign, understandably needing time to adjust to a top notch power conference. And yet, Blakes has somehow hit another gear during a gauntlet stretch for Vandy.

She plays with a ferocity attacking the rim balanced by a fluidity and grace that provides the type of equilibrium we rarely see, powerful and efficient. Blakes is going to be a force for years to come.

Lauren Betts is the most dominant post player in the country, and has a surefire case as its most dominant player period.

There are a lot of players that have size, but a handful that truly know how to get the most out of their frame. Betts is the latter, adept as a scorer in the paint, but all the more impactful because of her ability to use her vision and playmaking skills to set up her teammates.

Even through constant double and triple teams when she gets the ball, she’s precise with her passes, and plays with a finesse and composure that makes her one of the most efficient players in the country.

Defensively, Betts is imposing as a rim protector, but also has a tremendous understanding of where to be, when to be there, and how to shut down plays before they even start.

The leading scorer in college basketball at 26.2 points per game, it’s how she scores that makes Latson special.

With a bursty first step, Latson is a constant threat to take her defender off the dribble. On top of that, she possesses a level of power and strength with the ball in her hands that makes her so dynamic playing through contact, and slashing to the hoop. She’s layered out her counters with her mid-range game, and expanded her three-point shot out even more consistently this season, shooting just below 40 percent from deep.

Florida State plays at a breakneck pace, and Latson is the tip of the spear, driving the Seminoles with her dynamism.

The Texas Longhorns are a legitimate threat to win the SEC, their first season in the conference. Sophomore Madison Booker is a significant piece of why.

Booker excels from the mid-range with the ball in her hands, standing at 6’1 and reaching heights on her jumpshot that few can contest, which draws loose comparisons to former Texas great Kevin Durant.

She rebounds at a high level and is smooth with her handle, often initiating the offense for Vic Schaefer’s squad.

Bueckers’ teammate in Storrs, Sarah Strong has quickly made herself a household name as a freshman. 

While Strong spends most of her time playing the four, any position belies her skillset. She’s an adept post player, flashing footwork and timing of a player with a decade of pro experience. She understands the ins and outs of screening and playing in the two player game. 

Strong routinely plays one or two moves ahead of her opposition, flowing between her counters and secondary moves before a defender has even reacted to the first.

She has an incredible feel for the game that few exhibit at any point in their careers, let alone as a freshman on a top team in the nation.

Coming off of an undefeated season and National Championship, the South Carolina Gamecocks are still in the hunt for a Final Four.

Key to filling the absence of Kamilla Cardoso, now in the WNBA, has been the dynamism of freshman forward Joyce Edwards.

The Gamecocks have succeeded by committee much of this season, but Edwards has taken a leap in SEC play and elevated to be arguably the best player on the team, a scary proposition considering she’s just a freshman and has so much room to grow.

Edwards leads the team in scoring in conference play, shooting over 60 percent from the field. She can dominate in the post, face-up and attack the basket, knock down open jumpers, and has really started to excel at playing through contact and in traffic at the rim. A special career is unfolding for Edwards in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Tennessee Volunteers have been one of the most exciting teams in the country, playing a brand new up tempo, frenetic style brought in by head coach Kim Caldwell. No player has shone brighter than Talaysia Cooper.

Cooper fits Caldwell’s system to a tee, rangy and reactive in the pressing scheme, leading the SEC with 3.1 steals forced per game. Tennessee plays a very different brand of defense, and Cooper unlocks its highest levels.

On the other end, Cooper is a dynamic point forward, capable of handling the ball and getting to her spots like a point guard. Yet, her mid-range game and pacing makes her an even tougher player to defend, rising up and firing with ease, or gliding by to finish at the rim.

In her first season in Lexington, Amoore has led Kentucky to its first 20 win season since 2019-20. 

Although smaller in stature at 5’6, Amoore is always the shiftiest and quickest player on the court, capable of blurring into the paint at the drop of a pin. She’s made sizable strides as a floor general in Kentucky, first in the SEC and third in the country in assists per game. She has better control of the court, grasping timing, personnel, and how to deliver the ball at an even higher level this season.

In tandem with her prevalence as a deep range shotmaker, fifth in the SEC in three-point makes this season, Amoore is a dynamic guard, and the Wildcats are primed for a run in March.

The senior guard trio were key in last season’s Final Four push, and are coming off a massive win against top ranked Notre Dame in which all three played to their strengths as players.

James excels in a way few do, a smooth operator with the ball in her hands, dominating with her in-between game, tough angles, and ability to create shots with ease. She may have the best handles in the country.

Hayes is the ultimate dirty work player, greatly outrebounding her 6’ frame and playing out of position. She often defends the best player on the opposing team, routinely makes open shots, and has a non-stop motor that allows her to make critical plays constantly.

Rivers has the vision that brings everything together for the Wolfpack, a rangy defender that swarms sideline to sideline, and a tall guard that can use her eyes and first step to control the court. All three possess pro potential, and Rivers has a star upside that’s palpable through your TV.