A few days ago, I looked at some women's college basketball teams that will have a tough time getting back to the NCAA Tournament. Let's assume at least some of those teams fail to get back to the Big Dance this season. That means that some other teams that missed last year's tournament will take the place of those teams that missed.
Who will those teams be, though? Well...it depends on what conversation you want to have here. There will likely be a lot of mid-major shakeups thanks to the way the portal has transformed college basketball, but I doubt you clicked on this article to learn if the SWAC or NEC champions will be back in the tournament next year, right? Let's look, instead, at teams that don't necessarily need to win their conference tournament to get a bid.
Here are four teams that missed last year's NCAA Tournament but should be back in the field this season.
Gonzaga
So, I know the intro to this article made it sound like I was only going to be talking about major conference teams, but I think Gonzaga should be good enough this year to make the tournament as an at-large team even if the Bulldogs don't win the WCC tournament.
The team has to figure out how to replace the scoring punch of Yvonne Ejim, which is going to admittedly be very difficult. But Allie Turner is a really good shooter who can likely handle taking on a larger load, and I liked what the team did in the transfer portal, adding guar Zeryhia Aokuso from Saint Mary's, forward Sierra Lichtie from Cal Poly and center Taylor Smith from Weber State. Smith was first-team All-Big Sky last season and will help Gonzaga control the paint.
The team also has a non-conference schedule that should be better for piling up early wins than last year's schedule. There will be some tough matchups at the Coconut Hoops tournament in November when the team faces Indiana and then either Iowa State or Marquette, but the team should avoid the disaster from last year, where it dropped six games before WCC play began.
Minnesota
Last year's WBIT champions should have a shot to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
After a rough five seasons with Lindsay Whalen at the helm, the Golden Gophers have been reborn under Dawn Plitzuweit, posting back-to-back 20-win seasons. Last season's 25 wins were the program's most since the 2004-05 campaign.
This year's Gophers team returns a lot of the talent from last year's squad, with all four players who averaged double-digit points back, including Mara Braun, who played just five games before suffering a season-ending foot injury.
That's not all, though. The team added UAB transfer Tracey Bershers and Kansas State transfer Brylee Glenn, both of whom should add solid depth to a team that might be one of the season's biggest surprises.
Virginia Tech
With head coach Kenny Brooks suddenly departing for Kentucky and taking star guard Georgia Amoore along with him, things looked bleak for Virginia Tech last season, but the Hokies made the best of it.
Sure, the team didn't make the NCAA Tournament, but a 19-13 overall record with a .500 mark in ACC play is solid for head coach Megan Duffy's first season with the program.
The Hokies bring back solid talent from last year's team, including leading scorer Carleigh Wenzel, who averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Wenzel has to work on her efficiency as she shot just 34.7 percent from the floor, but if she can do that, she'll be one of the biggest rising names in the country.
Virginia Tech also added some underrated names in the transfer portal, led by Northwestern guard Melannie Daley, who averaged 11.7 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting. Purdue transfer Sophie Swanson will add backcourt depth as well.
Stanford
Before last season, Stanford hadn't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1987. That was the magic of Tara VanDerveer, one of the greatest coaches of all time. But when VanDerveer retired after the 2023-24 season, Stanford quickly saw that run end. Kate Paye, who joined the program as an assistant in 2007, took over, and the Cardinal finished the season with a 16-15 record.
What happened? Well, VanDerveer's final season featured Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen on the roster. Paye's first season featured neither player. That seems pretty obvious.
So, why expect the Cardinal back in the postseason this year? Because the team had a strong offseason. Stanford didn't really lose anything in the portal and brings back 10 players from last year's team, including leading scorer Nunu Agara, who should be ready to take a step up to the next level. Additionally, Stanford added three five-star recruits, led by ESPN's No. 8 overall prospect, Hailee Swain, a 5-foot-10 point guard who should be able to crack the rotation early.
But yeah, mostly it's the continuity that puts Stanford on track for a tournament return. In an era of teams going through wholesale changes, being able to bring back most of last year's roster with some added young talent is a major win.