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Caitlin Clark is headed to the WNBA. Who will be the 2024-25 college basketball stars?

Caitlin Clark is headed to the WNBA. Who will be the 2024-25 college basketball stars?
NCAA Womens Basketball

Caitlin Clark is headed to the WNBA. Who will be the 2024-25 college basketball stars?

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The Athletic has live coverage of the 2024 WNBA draft.

With Iowa’s loss to South Carolina in the national title game, Caitlin Clark has officially played her last college basketball game. Lucky for all of us, there’s no shortage of star talent around the country. With the game’s parity, conference realignment and more games on national television, several players appear poised to burst either onto the national scene or even further into the national zeitgeist of American sports.

Here’s a look at the 10 biggest stars who could take over (or re-take) women’s college basketball next season.

(Editor’s note: Players’ class listed for 2024-25 season)

Sophomore guard

This dominant freshman class is led by Watkins, who managed to capture the nation’s attention while being mostly tucked away on the Pac-12 Network for most of the season. She’s tasked with leading the USC resurrection as the Trojans move to the Big Ten. Conference realignment only helps Watkins’ star power and name recognition as she’ll now (finally) have games that are accessible to the whole country thanks to the Big Ten Network being partly owned by FOX. The fact that she’ll be playing in and around the three largest media markets in the U.S. and that the Big Ten, sans Caitlin Clark, will be looking for a new conference star to hook its programming around … Watkins sets up nicely to become one of the most recognizable figures in the game next year.

Redshirt senior guard

It might seem weird to see Bueckers — the 2021 Player of the Year — on this list surrounded by some lesser-known names. But Bueckers spearheaded a Final Four run and should have more weapons coming back next season, so she’s a no-brainer as a 2024-25 star. Assuming the Huskies can return to full health (yes, we know we’ve said that before), next season could be the year that UConn has a real shot at a national title and Bueckers returns to her POY throne. Playing out of position this season probably only makes Bueckers that much more well-rounded next year, and with a healthy supporting cast, Bueckers — a dynamic scorer and playmaking defender — should have even more freedom to operate in UConn’s system next year.

3. Maddie Booker, Texas

Sophomore guard/forward

With Texas point guard Rori Harmon’s ACL injury 12 games into the season, coach Vic Schaefer called upon Booker, his freshman who had never played point guard before, to move into the Longhorns’ primary ballhandler position. The result? Oh, just All-Big 12 co-player of the year honors. She led the Longhorns in scoring and assists, and she was right at the top of the table with teammate Shaylee Gonzales in steals. Call her a forward, a wing, a point guard … but it’s mostly just impossible to box Booker into any single position when her athleticism and skill allow her to be everything for this team. And with the return of Harmon ahead of the 2024-25 season, it’s kind of terrifying to imagine how good Booker will be when she’s able to play off one of the best true point guards in the nation. Add to all of this the storylines that will come out of Texas’ entrance into the SEC and the blockbuster matchups with South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee as conference foes and it’s undeniable that Booker will be appointment viewing leading into next season.

Sophomore guard

Hidalgo was forced into a starring role as a freshman due to Olivia Miles’ injury and dazzled, earning ACC defensive player of the year and first-team All-America honors. She finished first in the country in steals per game, sixth in points and 22nd in assists, showing the ability to lead a contender on both ends of the floor. Hidalgo will have an easier task in her sophomore year when she gets to share ballhandling duties with Miles, and it’s terrifying to imagine how she will unleash that extra energy as a ball-hawk in transition and driving towards the basket. She’s also tremendously fun to watch. The way she flies around the court and outwardly exudes emotion makes her magnetic and will draw eyes to her. Hidalgo has already shown her ability to shine on the biggest stages, whether it was the opener in Paris against South Carolina, the ACC/SEC Challenge in Knoxville, a nonconference showdown in Storrs, or making the game-winning steal in Spain in the FIBA U-19 World Cup. She’s built for stardom.

Senior forward

On the West Coast, Iriafen has been a well-known headache for Pac-12 opponents this season. But because so few Stanford games aired on national television, it seemed to many as though the 6-foot-3 forward came out of nowhere in the postseason. Next season in the ACC (with most of her games on the ESPN platform) and with Cameron Brink heading to the WNBA, Iriafen becomes the focal point of an exciting team in a new era. Coach Tara VanDerveer can and should get creative with Iriafen’s skill set. She’s a talented interior player with an excellent mid-range jumper (she knocked down nearly 50 percent of her mid-range shots this past season, according to Pivot Analysis), an absolute rebounding machine and a defensive player and her passing has really taken a step forward this year. She’s the full package and has been, but now more people will get to see her.

Sophomore guard

Fulwiley burst onto the scene this season with a SportsCenter top-10 level highlight during the Gamecocks’ season-opener against Notre Dame. Her usage fluctuated throughout her freshman season, but as a sophomore with a full season in South Carolina’s system behind her, she should come into her own and find herself as a more utilized player in a backcourt that will be the best in the nation. With Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall (already starters) ahead of her, Fulwiley will need to continue to carve out her minutes. But as a walking highlight reel, Fulwiley’s creativity will garner attention every time she sets foot on the court.

go-deeper

Junior forward

With Clark’s departure, many will be ready to write off the Hawkeyes, but that would be a bad decision. Stuelke is the real deal and given how well Iowa has developed post players in their system, there’s no reason to think Stuelke can’t be the kind of featured player in this offense similar to former Iowa great Megan Gustafson. It’ll be different next year when the passes are coming from Sydney Affolter, Kylie Feuerbach and others instead of Clark, but after two years in the system, Stuelke is up to the task. She’s an incredibly smart and disciplined player who also has a great quickness for a player her size. (After all, how many 6-2 forwards do you know who were all-conference 100-meter dash sprinters in high school?) Iowa will continue to be a national draw, and Stuelke will be at the center of it.

8. Audi Crooks, Iowa State

Sophomore center

The Cyclones have 2025 Final Four written all over it. Crooks, who many discovered because of her 40-point performance against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament first round, would be the centerpoint. The Iowa State center showed off all her best skills, including sealing her opponent deep in the paint, keeping the ball high and finishing cleanly. She’s a throwback post who does her best work with her back to the basket, is physical insidea and has a grand ol’ time doing it. Who is having more fun than Crooks after an and-one?

Crooks’ elevation into stardom is helped by the fact that the Cyclones are returning the core of a team that won 21 games. With veteran point guard Emily Ryan back along with four sophomore wings (Addy Brown, Jalynn Bristow, Kelsey Joens and Arianna Jackson), Crooks will get easy touches in the post and experience a great deal of team success. This is particularly true in a Big 12 that is losing its two best teams, Oklahoma and Texas. The most dominant player on a potential power conference champ is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Junior wing

Johnson gets overshadowed because of the veterans on her roster, but any player who can celebrate a national championship while the arena plays her song has definite star power. The rising junior wing supercharges LSU’s transition offense and, in recent memory, is one of the hardest players to contain in the open court. Johnson boasts an impeccable euro-step on her way to the basket, and she converts 67.3 percent of her shots at the rim, more than 10 percent above the national average. She uses her athleticism to create separation on her jumper as well. Johnson improved her 3-point percentage from 33 as a freshman to 38.1 percent as a sophomore. She’s an efficient scorer from every area of the court who can also make momentum-swinging defensive plays. She led LSU in scoring in its second-round win over Rice, and her 24 points and 12 rebounds against UCLA led LSU in both categories in the Sweet 16.

Junior guard

The Pac-12 had a defensive rating of 92.3 points per 100 possessions in 2023-24, while the Big Ten had a defensive rating of 96.3. The move to a more offense-friendly environment should unlock UCLA on that end —- no one more so than point guard Kiki Rice. Rice has been a steady floor general for the Bruins over her first two seasons but has an opportunity to go to another level with the graduation of Charisma Osborne as she takes larger ownership of the offense. She’s capable of grabbing the rebound and going the full length of the court to score, where she is a creative finisher in the paint. Rice is equally hard to contain in the half court. The depth of talent on UCLA’s roster has caused Rice to sublimate herself for the betterment of the team, but it’s clear that when Rice is aggressive, the Bruins are at their best, as was the case in tournament wins over UConn and Creighton. There is a vacuum for the best point guard in the Big Ten, and Rice seems poised to seize that mantle.

go-deeper

(Photos of JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers and Flau’jae Johnson:  Steph Chambers/Getty Images,  Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images, Andy Lyons / Getty Image)



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