Flau'jae Johnson's Updated NIL Valuation Ahead of LSU's Run in Women's CBB Tournament
LSU star Flau'jae Johnson will have the opportunity to add to her national profile with the Tigers tipping off their NCAA women's tournament run Saturday against San Diego State.
On3 projects Johnson to have the highest valuation in the sport ($1.5 million), putting her ahead of UConn's Paige Bueckers, USC's JuJu Watkins and others.
The junior guard has averaged 18.9 points and 5.8 rebounds through 30 games this season. She has helped LSU put together a 28-5 record and earn a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance.
Johnson became a household name as a true freshman in 2022-23, when the Tigers lifted the first national title in program history. Her exploits on the court and her burgeoning music career helped to elevate her above a lot of her peers.
The 21-year-old has only bolstered her rap credentials since then. Getting to perform "Came Out a Beast" at the 2024 ESPYs was a sign of her mainstream popularity.
Attaining an equity stake in Unrivaled was another indicator of how people around women's basketball are recognizing her commercial value.
While she isn't eligible for the WNBA draft this spring, pro talent evaluators will probably be watching Johnson closely in the NCAA tournament. A strong showing could put the first-team All-SEC honoree near the top of early draft boards for 2026.
NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket 2025: Results, Seeds, Reaction and Analysis
The path to the Final Four in Tampa has been revealed, as the NCAA Division I women's college basketball tournament bracket was unveiled on Selection Sunday.
Unlike previous years when there was a clear-cut favorite, this year's field features multiple teams with legitimate chances to win the national championship. In addition to defending national champion South Carolina, teams like UCLA, USC, Texas and UConn will be motivated to make a run to the mountaintop.
Here's a look at this year's bracket and seeds, followed by some analysis on this year's top squads.
Click here to play the NCAA March Madness Women's Bracket Challenge.
Region 1: Spokane
Region 2: Birmingham
Region 3: Birmingham
Region 4: Spokane
Despite facing some adversity this season, South Carolina maintained its status as one of the top contenders in the tournament field. Losses to UCLA, UConn and Texas provided much-needed reality checks for the Gamecocks on their quest to repeat as national champions.
South Carolina avenged its loss to Texas by defeating the Longhorns in the SEC tournament championship. Rather than having a single superstar leading the way, the Gamecocks are defined by their depth with six players averaging at least eight points per game this season.
Still, it won't be an easy road to the national title. UCLA has battled with South Carolina for the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 throughout the season and appears to be peaking at the right time. Bruins center Lauren Betts is one of the best two-way players in the nation with averages of 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.9 blocks per game.
UCLA's longtime rival USC will also be looking to make some noise with National Player of the Year contender JuJu Watkins leading the way. In addition to Watkins ranking second in the nation with 24.6 points, Stanford senior transfer Kiki Iriafen has proven to be a strong running mate with 18.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. The Trojans also own two wins over the Bruins, but UCLA got its revenge with a victory in the Big Ten tournament championship.
UConn hasn't won a national title since 2016, but the talented trio of Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd have the Huskies in a position to return to the pinnacle once again. Bueckers has enjoyed a stellar senior season with a team-high 19.0 points while shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Texas had earned the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll before South Carolina ended its 15-game win streak and knocked the team off its perch. Longhorns forwards Madison Booker and Taylor Jones have been the driving forces behind the team's success this year and will be looking to make their mark in the NCAA tournament.
USC's JuJu Watkins Becomes 1st Women's College Athlete To Sign Exclusive Fanatics Deal
JuJu Watkins, the first active college athlete to inspire a Funko Pop! figure, is making more memorabilia history in her second season at USC.
Watkins is the first woman college athlete to sign an exclusive, multi-year deal with Fanatics and Fanatics Collectibles, the company announced Friday (h/t The Athletic's Brooks Peck.)
The agreement will encompass autographed photos, basketballs and trading cards. Some of the trading cards will include game-worn memorabilia.
According to Fanatics, the deal "will continue into the next level of her career." Watkins will be eligible to enter the WNBA draft in 2027.
Fanatics also announced that Watkins will appear in her USC uniform in the 2025 Bowman University Chrome Basketball set. The release date is subject to change but was previously set for April 3, per Beckett.
Watkins was previously featured in the 2022 Bowman Chrome University collection, but that set didn't include the Trojans' logo, per cllct's Ben Burrows.
Watkins, a 19-year-old Los Angeles native, is averaging 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while adding 2.2 steals and 1.9 blocks in her sophomore season for the Trojans.
The previous record price for a Watkins card in a public sale was set at $5,000 in 2024, per Burrows. That price could be set to increase in the near future given the upcoming release of Watkins' USC-branded cards and her ongoing national player of the year campaign.
Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley Lead 2025 Women's College Coach of the Year Semifinalists
After wrapping up the regular season and conference tournaments, Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and South Carolina's Dawn Staley headline the list of 2025 Women's College Coach of the Year semifinalists.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club revealed the 10 semifinalists for the award on Thursday:
Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
Cori Close, UCLA
Lindsay Gottlieb, USC
Vic Schaefer, Texas
Mark Campbell, TCU
Niele Ivey, Notre Dame
Wes Moore, North Carolina State
Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt
Kenny Brooks, Kentucky
Auriemma, Staley and UCLA's Cori Close were the most predictable names on the list. Their teams are currently the top three teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, with the Bruins atop the rankings ahead of South Carolina and Connecticut.
The Bruins moved up three spots in the poll this week to No. 1 after defeating USC in the Big Ten Championship Game. It was just the second conference tournament title in program history (2016).
Staley and Auriemma also led their teams to regular season and conference tournament titles. The Gamecocks dominated then-top-ranked Texas 64-45 in the SEC Championship on Sunday.
The 19-point margin of defeat was Texas' worst loss since losing 73-51 to Louisville in the second round of the 2023 NCAA tournament.
Auriemma's eight Naismith Coach of the Year awards are the most by any men's or women's coach in history. He has a great case to win his ninth after leading the Huskies to a 31-3 record in the regular season, including an undefeated mark in Big East play (18-0).
UConn does have the benefit of an 87-58 record over South Carolina to enhance Auriemma's argument if it comes down to a race with Staley. The Big East tournament proved to be a formality for the Huskies, who won their three games by an average of 26.3 points.
Staley has won the award in each of the past three years and four times in the past five seasons. The South Carolina coach will join Auriemma and Pat Summitt as the only women's coaches to win the Naismith Award five times if she receives the honor this year.
The 2025 women's Naismith College Coach of the Year winner will be announced on April 2.
JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers Headline 2025 Naismith Women's College POY Semifinalists
USC's JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and UConn's Paige Bueckers were among the players named semifinalists for the 2025 Naismith Women's College Basketball Player of the Year Award on Thursday.
In addition to Watkins, Hidalgo and Bueckers, seven other players were also chosen as semifinalists for the top honor in women's college basketball, as announced by the Naismith Awards:
- JuJu Watkins, G, USC
- Hannah Hidalgo, G, Notre Dame
- Paige Bueckers, G, UConn
- Aneesah Morrow, F, LSU
- Hailey Van Lith, G, TCU
- Ta'Niya Latson, G, Florida State
- Georgia Amoore, G, Kentucky
- Lauren Betts, C, UCLA
- Madison Booker, F, Texas
- Olivia Miles, G, Notre Dame
Iowa's Caitlin Clark won the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Award each of the past two seasons at Iowa, but with Clark now starring for the WNBA's Indiana Fever, it opens the door for a new winner to emerge.
Watkins, who burst onto the scene as a highly productive guard last season, is arguably the favorite to win the award during her sophomore season.
She has led the No. 4 Trojans to a 28-3 record and is second in the country in scoring with 24.6 points per game, while also averaging 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals, 2.0 three-pointers made and 1.9 blocks per contest.
Watkins' toughest competition is likely another sophomore guard in Hidalgo, who has put up a similar stat line.
Hidalgo is averaging 24.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.7 steals and 2.0 three-pointers per game. She has also been more efficient than Watkins, shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from beyond the arc compared to 42.6 percent and 33.0 percent for Watkins.
While Hidalgo's Fighting Irish haven't been quite as dominant as USC, they are still the No. 8 team in the nation with a 26-5 record.
The only semifinalist who has won the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Award before is Bueckers, who accomplished the feat as a freshman in 2021.
Injuries caused Bueckers to miss a large chunk of the 2021-22 season, and she missed the entire 2022-23 campaign due to a torn ACL, but she has bounced back the past two seasons and re-established herself as one of the top players in the sport.
This season, the senior guard is averaging 19.0 points on 53.6 percent shooting from the floor and 40.6 percent shooting from deep, plus 4.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.8 three-pointers made per game.
At 31-3, Bueckers' Huskies are the No. 3 team in the nation, and they are in search of their first national championship since 2016.
Both Watkins and Bueckers were finalists for the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Award last year, finishing behind Clark.
The list of 10 semifinalists will soon shrink to a group of four finalists, as the finalists were announced on March 26 last year, followed by the winner, which was announced on April 3.
Video: South Carolina Wins Coin Flip Over Texas for No. 1 Seed in SEC WCBB Tournament
The reigning NCAA champions don't need many breaks, but the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team got one Sunday.
South Carolina and Texas were tied atop the SEC standings after the regular season, and the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament was decided by a coin flip. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey did the flip on live television Sunday, and the Gamecocks landed the top spot:
Both teams went 15-1 in conference play, and they split their two head-to-head matchups with the home team winning each one.
That meant it all came down to luck, which was on South Carolina's side Sunday.
"It was kind of exciting," Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley said, per Lulu Kesin of the Greenville News. "The build-up was good. I know when you're part of the equation, it doesn't feel good to have your fate in a coin toss and I didn't know that eight other sports use a coin flip. That was news to me. I feel a little better about it now."
The result means a fourth straight season with South Carolina entering the SEC tournament as the No. 1 seed. It won the conference tournament in each of the last two years and will look to defend its crown with a third straight title.
Staley's team also won the SEC tournament in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 before the recent back-to-back, adding more trophies to her dominant tenure with the school that includes three national titles, six Final Fours and nine regular-season SEC crowns.
While Texas was surely disappointed to not land the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, it can take solace knowing it is in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and USC were the No. 1 seeds in ESPN's latest projected bracket, which would mean the SEC and Big Ten split the four top spots in the 68-team field.
The SEC tournament starts Wednesday in Greenville, South Carolina, and the Gamecocks
Azzi Fudd Undecided on Declaring for 2025 WNBA Draft or Returning to UConn
UConn guard Azzi Fudd says she has not yet decided whether to return for a fifth college season or declare for the upcoming WNBA draft.
"I think I have to sit down and talk with my family, with the people closest to me, and just talk through the decisions, options," Fudd said Saturday, per ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
Fudd continued: "I'm a big pros and cons list-er to kind of get the emotions out, the feelings out, and just write down the facts. So I think a pros and cons list is in my near future."
Head coach Geno Auriemma said Fudd will need her make her decision soon after the Big East women's basketball tournament, which takes place from March 7-10.
โThe guys that are in her situation, there's going to come a time when we absolutely positively have to know. It can't go to 48 hours [after the season],โ Auriemma said, per Daniel Connolly of UConn WBB Weekly. โThey all know that after the Big East Tournament, that's when we really gotta sit down and start finding out what your thoughts are.โ
The NCAA transfer portal opens March 25, just after the second round of the NCAA Tournament wraps up. Who UConn targets in the portal this offseason could change based on Fudd's decision.
The Huskies hope to still be playing in mid-March. UConn has been led to a 27-3 record, including a clean 17-0 slate in the Big East, by a starting lineup highlighted by Fudd, Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers.
Fudd and Bueckers, alongside Aubrey Griffin and Kaitlyn Chen, will be honored when the Huskies celebrate the team's seniors during Sunday's regular-season home finale against Marquette.
Fudd wanted to participate "in case this does turn out to be her final season in Storrs," Philippou wrote.
When asked if he knew which way Fudd was leaning, Auriemma said: "Part of me is planning for Azzi to be back and thereโs a part of me that's planning for her to go."
"You just don't know what's going to happen," Auriemma said, per Connolly.
Fudd missed almost the entirety of her junior season after suffering ACL and meniscus injuries in her right knee in November 2023.
She returned this season to resume her role as the Huskies' most reliable 3-point shooter, making 45.9 percent of her shots from behind the arc while putting up 12.8 points per game.
Fudd's shooting is one aspect of her game expected to make her an eventual first-round pick when she declares for the draft. She could theoretically raise her stock with a fourth healthy season, however, while the departure of Bueckers could set her up for an even larger role as a primary ball-handler in 2025-26.
If Fudd decides to enter the draft this spring she will likely go behind Bueckers, the projected No. 1 pick ahead of the 2025 draft on April 14.
Photo: Paige Bueckers Appears on 'GQ Hype' Cover, Talks UConn, NIL, More
Paige Bueckers admits she had a slight misconception about the ease of winning a title when she first signed with UConn.
"You see UConn win national championship after national championship, and they make it look super easy," she said to GQ's Leah Faye Cooper. "Iโve learned since I came here, itโs actually extremely hard."
Bueckers graced the cover of GQ Hype, the magazine's weekly digital edition, and gave a wide-ranging interview.
Among those topics was how the 2021 national player of the year has benefited directly from the dawn of the NIL era, which can carry a downside.
"It's definitely crazy," she said. "You become an adult before youโre actually an adult. I have a financial adviser, thank goodness, because taxes, that's insane to meโI can't believe I'm actually a part of that world now."
Bueckers, who's into her fifth year with the Huskies, was also blunt about her priorities at this point in her academic career.
"I'm going to be honest: I'm tapped out of school," she said. "I graduated, got my degree, did wellโso I asked my academic adviser, Ellen, to give me the easiest route possible."
UConn doesn't occupy quite the same place within women's basketball it once did. The Huskies' last national championship was in 2016, and that feels like an eternity for a program that has 11 titles under head coach Geno Auriemma.
Still, Bueckers grew up in a time when a succession of legends were walking through the door at Gampel Pavilion and hoisting trophies.
She told Cooper that playing for the Huskies was her "dream."
"UConn was winning everything," Bueckers said.
Beyond watching UConn's success, the Minnesota native was watching former Huskies star Maya Moore guide the Minnesota Lynx win four WNBA titles over a seven-year span.
Auriemma knew early on he wanted Bueckers to anchor his 2020 recruiting class, too. One consequence was that UConn didn't make much of an effort to land Caitlin Clark. Having Bueckers and Clark share the same backcourt is fascinating what-if.
Auriemma told Cooper he watched Bueckers when she was a freshman in high school and thought she was "really talented, gifted."
"Watching her, you could see that she and her teammates had a connection, and a lot of times the best player on the team doesnโt necessarily have a great connection with the rest of their players," he said.
Bueckers has lived up to the hype with the Huskies. She was the best player in the country as a true freshman, and she picked right up where she left off when a torn ACL cost her the entire 2022-23 season.
Still, there's one glaring absence on her career rรฉsumรฉ.
Bueckers said to The Ringer's Mirin Fader in October that becoming a national champion is her overriding goal. Auriemma, for his part, believes she may come to feel she's "the best player to ever play at Connecticut that didn't win a national championship" if that doesn't come to fruition.
UConn is 26-3 and fifth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Without a clear favorite standing head and shoulders above the pack, the Huskies will undoubtedly be a contender when the NCAA tournament gets underway.