Last season, women's college basketball wound up with a very, very exciting freshman class. Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes was one of the nation's most exciting scorers. UConn's Sarah Strong gave the Huskies a crucial body in the paint and established herself as the next household name to come out of Storrs. Joyce Edwards was the leading scorer for South Carolina.
Can this year's freshman class live up to what last year's class did? That remains to be seen, but there's a handful of very talented players who should become very well known over the next few months.
Here are six freshmen who are ready to dominate college basketball.
Jazzy Davidson - USC
This should have been a year of learning experience for Jazzy Davidson, ESPN's top-ranked player in this recruiting class. The 6-foot-1 guard would get to play next to superstar JuJu Watkins, allowing her to develop her game in preparation for taking over as USC's lead guard a year from now.
But Watkins tore her ACL during the NCAA Tournament, quickly changing the entire plan. With Avery Howell — who stepped up well in the tournament after Watkins went down — gone to Washington in the portal, USC is shallow in the backcourt, which means Davidson will be relied upon from Day 1.
The good news for the Trojans is that Davidson is probably up for that task. Her pre-college tape already shows a player who is already ready to make plays as the lead initiator for a power conference team, and she should be able to make an impact defensively as well.
Aaliyah Chavez - Oklahoma
Aaliyah Chavez playing in Oklahoma's fast-paced system is going to be so much fun. Chavez is a natural scorer who can get her shot off from any spot on the floor. She's someone who is comfortable being asked to take over a game, but she'll also have the luxury right now of not needing to do that.
Instead, Chavez will thrive due to Raegan Beers' gravity. The Sooners have one of the best post bigs in the country, and the danger of giving up easy buckets to Beers inside means most of the defensive pressure will go her way. That's going to open up a lot of easy scoring opportunities for Chavez.
Sienna Betts - UCLA
Yes, that last name should sound familiar. Sienna Betts is set to join her older sister Lauren with the Bruins this season.
The 6-foot-4 forward will help UCLA with its depth concerns. The Bruins have a starting lineup that you could likely argue is one of the best in the country, but there are questions about what will happen when the starters go to the bench.
Betts should exhibit a little more shooting range than her older sister, potentially allowing the Bruins to run an all-Betts frontcourt at times. She might not be as dominant inside at this point, but she should fight hard when she's on the floor.
Emilee Skinner - Duke
Emilee Skinner feels like the perfect fit for Duke's defense-first approach. In her final high school season, Skinner averaged 3.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
Her ability to score consistently at the next level remains to be seen, but even if the scoring takes a bit to come together, her passing ability will help ensure she sees the floor early.
Grace Knox - LSU
The Tigers enter this season with a fairly unsettled frontcourt situation, which should lead to head coach Kim Mulkey trusting freshman Grace Knox slightly more than you'd expect from a Mulkey-led team.
Knox might not be as tall as you might expect from a big, but her athleticism makes up for that, and she should crash the glass on both ends. She can get to the basket on offense, but also has the ability to step back and hit from outside the paint. She'll likely see a good bit of midrange usage.
Blanca Quiñonez - UConn
This one is a little different, as Blanca Quiñonez doesn't come from the high school ranks. Instead, she joins UConn after playing professionally in Italy since 2020. There, she proved to be a reliable scorer and defender, and she'll be one of the players who is asked to the Paige Bueckers-sized hole in the UConn lineup.
That's not to say college will be easy for Quiñonez. Sure, playing professionally is tougher than playing in Italy, and the fact that Quiñonez played for Ecuador's senior team is good experience as well, but there are some very good athletes in college basketball. Quiñonez won't immediately dominate, but she should be a good third or fourth option for UConn.