Names are made in March. Players that casual viewers have never heard of have huge games and imprint themselves into the collective consciousness. At one point in the past, Ja Morant was just the name of a random college basketball player that I would use as a screen name when I played random .IO games on free internet game sites, but then he exploded in the tournament for Murray State and became a star.
Who are some mid-major players on the women's side who could do that in 2025? Who are the small-school players who my in-laws will bring up a week from now because they saw they led their team to an upset win?
Here are three mid-major scorers who'll look to shake things up in March.
Harmoni Turner - Harvard
Here's a tip: don't click on my name on this website right now and read everything I've written over the last few days unless you're ready to read a lot of words about Harvard.
It's not that I think the Crimson are a great team. It's just that the Crimson have a great player who is capable of really complicating the first weekend of the tournament in Harmoni Turner, who ranked in the top 10 nationally this season in points per game.
The 5-foot-10 guard out of Mansfield, Texas can score from anywhere. She shot above Division I average on above-the-break 3-pointers, mid-range shots and non-rim paint attempts, showcasing her ability to get buckets at every level.
She also has an eye for The Moment. In the Ivy League tournament, Turner scored 44 points in a 70-67 win over Princeton, a game the Crimson needed to win to at least lock in an at-large spot. Following that, she locked them into the tournament with 24 points in a win over Columbia.
During the regular season, Turner scored 30 or more points four times, including 41 points in a 78-70 win over ACC program Boston College. Now, she's set to face a Michigan State defense that ranks 151st in scoring defense.
Katelyn Young - Murray State
I'm highlighting Katelyn Young here, but I really should just highlight this whole Murray State team. In fact, let's start out by just focusing on the Racers as a whole.
This team is pure octane. Murray State's 87.8 points per game lead the nation and the team is seventh in pace. This is a program that gets up and down the field, over and over, and never seems to tire.
The Racers kind of have to play like this though, as the team's tallest player is a quartet of 6-foot-1 players, including the school's leading scorer, Young. Murray State doesn't have the size to slow things down. It's all about pushing the ball forward in transition,
Young leads the way with 22.2 points per game. The fifth-year senior is now on her fourth consecutive year ranking in the top 35 nationally in points per game, topping out this year with her best mark.
Part of what makes Young so dangerous is that she's money when she drives inside, shooting 59.4% on non-rim paint attempts. That's an absurd 21.3% better than the Division I average.
Murray State faces Iowa in the first round in a game where the Racers should be able to impose their will against a Hawkeyes team that ranks 182nd in scoring defense. Iowa games always have a lot of eyes on them, which means there's going to be a lot of people introduced to Young and the rest of this team this weekend,
Diamond Johnson - Norfolk State
After starting her career at Rutgers, Diamond Johnson spent two seasons at NC State before transferring to Norfolk State. At the time, she said this about the decision: "A lot of people think you always have to go to Power Five schools to get to your [dream], going to the WNBA, going pro, but I don't think it always has to be like that. You can go to HBCUs, mid-majors. I think you can develop there and still chase your dreams."
Johnson blossomed into a true star with the Spartans, averaging 19.8 points per game last season in her first year with the program then dropping just a tiny bit to 19.0 this year while averaging career highs in rebounds and assists. She also finished fifth in the nation in steals.
Last season ended with a 79-50 loss to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Spartans are better positioned this year as a No. 13 seed, taking on No. 4 seed Maryland in the first round. The Terps being named a tournament host team was a little surprising based on their resume, so don't count Johnson out. She can score against anyone, as evidenced by her scoring in double figures in every game this season.