Sometimes it can seem like women's college basketball is predictable. UConn is always good. So is South Carolina. But in recent seasons, we've seen new powers emerge. LSU after it hired Kim Mulkey. Michigan after one elite recruiting class. Iowa after Caitlin Clark.
Who are some of the teams set to make huge leaps this season? These five programs seem like good bets.
USC
That USC is set to be the nation's biggest riser this season should surprise no one, because the Trojans are getting a gift that no other team is getting: the return of the nation's best player.
JuJu Watkins suffered a torn ACL back in 2025 during the NCAA Tournament, an injury that cost her all of last season. It also cost USC a chance at a national title, as then-freshman Jazzy Davidson came out of the gate strong. A backcourt with her and Watkins would have been one of the nation's strongest immediately, and it's likely that playing beside Watkins would have helped Davidson overcome her biggest issue, which was a lack of efficiency. Now, we finally get to see that pairing, and as long as Watkins returns at 100 percent, the Trojans should be one of the top teams in the nation.
Are there still concerns here? Sure. The frontcourt feels especially harrowing right now, as a lot of the size on this roster comes in the form of freshmen. Someone will need to quickly stand out there. But a backcourt with Watkins, Davidson and Kennedy Smith, the team's third-leading scorer last season, is a really, really intriguing unit that gives USC one of the nation's highest ceilings.
Oklahoma State
It really feels like Jacie Hoyt's plan at Oklahoma State is to build a radically different team out of the transfer portal every year to see what sticks, and considering the team has won 20-plus games in three of the last four seasons, it's mostly working. The 2026-27 season will be the most interesting one yet, though.
That's because Oklahoma State went wild in the portal, adding former Iowa State center Audi Crooks and Florida guard Liv McGill, moves that signal that the team is all in on offense. Crooks was the No. 2 scorer in the nation last season while also finishing second in field goal percentage at 64.9 percent; McGill was 11th in the nation in scoring. This pairing has a chance to do some wild stuff on that end of the floor.
On the flip side, Oklahoma State might end up being a really bad defensive team. Like, really bad. The team is going all-in on the offensive side in a way that threatens to turn every game into a 99-98 loss or a 99-98 win. The ceiling is probably a Sweet 16 appearance, but that'd be huge for a team that hasn't reached that round since 2014 and that has never advanced beyond there.
Iowa
Last year's Iowa team was pretty good, going 27-7 and finishing the season ranked at No.16 in the AP poll, but the 2026-27 Hawkeyes have a chance to be one of the 10 best teams in women's college basketball.
Ava Heiden emerged last season as an elite inside scoring threat for the Hawkeyes, finishing the season fourth in the nation in field goal percentage. She also gave them a boost on defense, averaging 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. The team knew entering this offseason that it had the interior figured out, but the team needed to also figure out its backcourt if it was going to contend for a national title.
It appears the Hawkeyes have done that. Dani Carnegie comes over from Georgia, where she averaged 17.8 points per game last season and drained 2.6 3-pointers per contest. She should be up for the task of being Iowa's top outside scorer. Where the ceiling really rises -- or, alternatively, where the floor could get shaky if things don't go well -- is with freshman wing McKenna Woliczko, ESPN's No. 7 recruit in this class. If she can develop into a really good No. 3 scorer right off the bat, the sky's the limit here.
Nebraska
Nebraska's fate this season depends almost entirely on Natalie Potts, the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. That season, Potts averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and she was on her way to an even better 2024-25 campaign before an ACL tear ended her season after just five games. She didn't play at all last season, but now she returns. If all of that time off interrupted her development, Nebraska probably finishes right around the 20-win mark, but if Potts can regain the form we all saw in those last five games she played, Nebraska suddenly becomes a dark horse in the Big Ten.
The Huskers can still be a solid team even if Potts struggles because they're bringing back two very important players from last year's squad, Britt Prince and Amiah Hargrove. Prince averaged 17.9 points and 4.4 assists per game. She's an incredibly efficient, high-volume scorer who Nebraska can run its offense through, while Hargrove shoots the ball well from the outside as well. This was one of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams last year and it's hard to see that changing.
But like with a lot of good offensive teams, the thing that can really derail Nebraska is its defense. The Huskers were 261st in the nation in defensive rating last year, and if we isolate only Big Ten play, they finished 12th in the conference in defensive rating. That, coupled with a decrease in scoring during conference play, is why Nebraska was just 7-12 in Big Ten games. The team has to figure out how to even just average on defense.
Florida State
Losing Ta'Niya Latson to South Carolina completely ruined Florida State's season last year. One season after going 24-9 and looking like a potential ACC title contender, Latson left and the team plummeted to 10-21. The offense took an insane nosedive, going from 86.9 points per game in 2024-25 to just 71.5 last season.
This season should be better. I mean...how could it not, when you consider that last year, the Seminoles won their fewest games (in a non-COVID-shortened season) since 1999. The team dug heavily into the transfer portal this season and while what emerged isn't going to be some ACC power, the team finishing over .500 and having a shot at some postseason tournament -- even if it isn't the NCAA Tournament -- is within reach.
One player I'm interested to see is Ice Brady, who never really found her footing at UConn. She missed most of last season with a knee injury, but she was a well regarded player coming out of high school who might have a real shot to take off in a new home. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey going from Marshall to Florida State is another intriguing storyline after she averaged 20 points per game last season; can she adjust to the ACC game and continue to make that kind of impact?
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