Women's College Basketball

The leading scorer in women's college basketball during the 2024-25 season is hitting the transfer portal.

Per ESPN's Andrea Adelson, Florida State's Ta'Niya Latson plans to enter the transfer portal but is "keeping her options open." Latson put up 25.2 points per game this season.

Latson spent the first three seasons of her career with the Seminoles, averaging more than 20 points per game each year.

According to Adelson, Florida State "had been preparing for" the reality of Latson transferring over the past few months when her NIL potential began to increase. The Seminoles also could be heading toward a rebuild with players like Makayla Timpson and O'Mariah Gordon set to graduate this year.

Behind Latson's outstanding year, Florida State went 24-9, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles lost to No. 3-seeded LSU in the Round of 32. Latson had 30 points in the 101-71 loss.

Latson committed to Florida State under now-retired head coach Sue Semrau in 2021, but kept her commitment to the Seminoles when Brooke Wyckoff was promoted to head coach.

Her time at Florida State saw her win ACC Rookie of the Year in 2023 and set the single-season Florida State scoring record this year with 731 points.

While Latson will now enter the portal, there's a chance she could return to Tallahassee for her senior season. Of course, nearly every team in the country will be trying to add Latson to their roster, so the Seminoles will likely have to be willing to go deep into their NIL budget for her.

USC women's basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb released a statement Wednesday, two days after superstar JuJu Watkins suffered a torn ACL in her right knee.

"One thing I know about JuJu is that she is resilient," Gottlieb said. "We are in full support of her and believe that this injury will not shake her drive and dedication to be the best player and person she can be, and to help her teammates shine."

The sophomore suffered the injury during her team's 96-59 win over Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Watkins is a two-time unanimous first-team All-American who also won USBWA National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year honors this year. For the season, she averaged 23.9 points on 42.6 percent shooting, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.

Obviously, Watkins is a tremendous talent with a bright future ahead. The injury is an unfortunate setback on her career path, but it shouldn't preclude her from achieving her ceiling as someone who could be considered one of the best (if not the best) women's basketball players in the world someday.

At the same time, UConn guard Paige Bueckers is enjoying a fantastic season (19.2 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.4 RPG) while leading a Huskies team that could very well win the national title. Bueckers has gone through horrible injury ordeals, most notably a torn ACL that cost her the entire 2022-23 season and a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear that sidelined her for 19 games in 2021-22.

But she's back, dominating and should be going No. 1 overall to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA draft.

Watkins could easily be the top pick as well someday. For now, her rehab process begins, while the Trojans look toward the Sweet 16, where they'll play Kansas State on Saturday.

5-star guard Aaliyah Chavez announced Tuesday she's committing to Oklahoma.

The 5'9" playmaker is the No. 1 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings for 2025. She's the third commit for the Sooners, who will also be adding 4-star shooting guard Keziah Lofton and 4-star power forward Brooklyn Stewart.

Chavez averaged 34.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a senior for Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas. She lifted a Class 5A Division II state title with a dominant 64-35 victory over Liberty Hill on March 1.

Brandon Clay, 247Sports' director of women's basketball scouting, called Chavez a "prolific yet efficient scoring option at the guard position."

"She can play on the basketball or off, though she might be best suited to be a primary lead guard in college," Clay said. "Chavez gets her shot off as easily as any high school guard I can remember dating back to the days of Kelsey Mitchell as a prep prospect. A 5-star guard, Chavez has legitimate shooting range to 25 feet with the ability to get into the teeth of the defense on a consistent basis to make a shot or find a corner shooter."

Chavez's commitment is a sign of how much head coach Jennie Baranczyk has returned Oklahoma to national prominence.

The Sooners reached three Final Fours with Sherri Coale at the helm but tailed off toward the end of her tenure. Under Baranczyk, they've maintained a .754 winning percentage and never been seeded lower than fifth in the NCAA tournament.

The 27 wins OU has registered in 2024-25 are its most since 2009-10. The team remains alive in the NCAA tournament and faces off with UConn on Saturday.

Recruiting was one area in which Baranczyk had yet to make a true breakthrough. Sophomore forward Sahara Williams, who ranked 23rd in the espnW 100 for 2023, was the best signee had had prior to landing Chavez.

Perhaps more blue-chip talent will begin to see OU as an attractive landing spot moving forward.

March is a big month for LSU star Flau'jae Johnson with the Tigers competing in the 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament and the junior guard dropping a new music track.

Johnson released "What It Takes" on March 14 as part of Powerade's March Madness ad campaign. The song has maintained a steady presence during coverage of the tournament.

In an interview with Bleacher Report's Paige Mautner prior to the start of the Big Dance, Johnson called the music video "the perfect blend between sports me and the rap me."

"That's why I think it's so cool," she said. "My partnership with Powerade started on the athletic side, but they're going into both of my talents. It's bigger than what we did last year. Last year we just did basketball; this year we're doing basketball and music, so it's exciting."

Johnson has broken through as a crossover star in women's sports. Her $1.5 million NIL valuation from On3 is the highest of any women's basketball player.

Part of that popularity stems from how much Johnson and her LSU teammates have displayed a level of self-assurance on the court. She told Mautner that mentality "comes natural" for the Tigers.

"It's not nothing that we're trying to force," she said. "It's not nothing that we're trying to do; it's just the swagger that comes from playing for LSU. Some people just got it."

Johnson added there's a commercial aspect to this too. In the NIL era, becoming an identifiable talent means bolstering your endorsement profile.

The 5'10" guard missed nearly a month of action this season, a stretch that included the SEC tournament. She said remarks from head coach Kim Mulkey helped her to stay in the moment more and appreciate each day as it passes.

Johnson told Mautner that mentality was beneficial in her injury recovery because she was more focused than she would've been in the past. In addition, she said she "definitely tapped into the mental side" while being unable to play and watching LSU from afar.

The third-seeded Tigers rolled through their first two games of the tournament, beating San Diego State 103-48 in the first round and then earning a 101-71 win over Florida State on Monday. Johnson, who returned for the SDSU game, combined to have 35 points, six rebounds and five assists in those two contests.

A matchup with No. 2 North Carolina State awaits Friday.

UConn star guard Azzi Fudd will return for a fifth season with the Huskies.

Fudd is forgoing the 2025 WNBA draft in order to use her final year of college eligibility, UConn announced Tuesday.

Fudd told ESPN's Alexa Philippou the additional college season will give her the chance "to work on everything I need to work on."

"She believes one final year in Storrs will take her game to an all-new level," Philippou wrote.

The news comes the day after Fudd and the Huskies advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA tournament with a win over South Dakota State.

Fudd scored 17 points as Paige Bueckers led the Huskies with 34 on 14-for-21 shooting.

Bueckers is projected as the top pick of the 2025 WNBA draft.

Fudd averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game during her sophomore 2022-23 season, which Bueckers missed while recovering from a knee injury. Staying for another season in Storrs could allow Fudd the chance to step up as the Huskies' No. 1 option.

After taking a medical redshirt for the 2023-24 season following the ACL injury she suffered early in the campaign, Fudd has averaged 13.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals through 30 games and 26 starts for the Huskies this season.

She led the Huskies with 27 points in a March Madness-opening win over Arkansas State, and has gone 9-for-14 from behind the arc in two tournament games.

That continues a campaign that has seen Fudd develop into one of the best three-point shooters in college basketball. Her 45.28 percent shooting from deep ranks in the top ten among DI women.

Fudd, who will turn 23 in November, was already a projected first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Showing off her shooting while taking on a bigger role with the Huskies next season could help her cement her status as a top-ten option ahead of the 2026 WNBA season.

For now, Fudd and the Huskies will focus on their ongoing tournament run. The Huskies take on Oklahoma with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The emerging rivalry between USC's JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo will add another chapter with the two stars among the finalists for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Award.

UConn guard Paige Bueckers and UCLA center Lauren Betts fill out the list.

Watkins and Hidalgo faced off earlier this year, with the latter getting the better of the former. They each scored 24 points, but the Fighting Irish were 74-61 winners on the road against the Trojans in Los Angeles.

When it comes to the Naismith winner, Watkins might come out on top this time around.

Entering the NCAA tournament, USC (No. 4) ranked four spots ahead of Notre Dame (No. 8) in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.

In terms of individual production, Watkins arguably has a narrow edge on Hidalgo, too.

The 6'2" guard had been second in Division I in scoring before her injury in Monday's 96-59 victory over Mississippi State brought her average down to 23.9 points. She'll miss the remainder of the tournament and likely a portion of the 2025-26 season after tearing her ACL, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

In addition to her impressive scoring output, Watkins averaged 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks.

Hidalgo, meanwhile, is putting up 24.1 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting, including 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. She's also leading the ACC in steals (3.7) while dishing out 3.7 assists.

Both Watkins and Hidalgo can make a compelling Naismith case. They're dynamic two-way stars, pouring in points at a high volume while doing enough to warrant being finalists for Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year.

Between the two, USC's 28-3 record in the regular-season and first-place finish in the Big Ten standings could catapult Watkins over Hidalgo.

Betts is another finalist for the Naismith DPOY award. She has swatted a Big Ten-high 2.9 shots per contest while almost averaging a double-double (19.7 points and 9.7 rebounds) for the second straight season.

The 6'7" big is shooting 64.3 percent from the floor as well. Opposing teams have had no answer for her in the post.

Having already confirmed she'll be back for her senior year, Betts is the early favorite for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA draft.

When it comes to the 2025 draft, that honor belongs to Bueckers, who's having another prolific campaign with the Huskies. She's averaging 19.2 points and her 64.0 percent true shooting rate is a personal best, per Sports Reference.

Just as impressively, the UConn star is distributing more assists (6.5) with fewer turnovers (1.7) than ever.

Losing out on another Naismith Player of the Year Award will be a disappointment for Bueckers, but she has already received every major individual honor a college standout can.

Winning a national championship is her top priority and that's the one thing that will bring a sense of completion to a historic career.