Women's college basketball most intriguing players: Tessa Johnson, Aaliyah Chavez, Ava Heiden

As the book closed on the 2026 WNBA season (and the offseason epilogue began), the calendar turned immediately to the 2026-27 women's college basketball season. We're not exaggerating at The Athletic when we say we (and women's basketball) operate with "No Offseason."

After another year of transfer portal chaos, greater attention and higher expectations, this season should be interesting.

It was genuinely hard to narrow down a list of the most intriguing players (my first attempt had about 40 names on it), but each of these players not only has a game that I want to watch, but also an added element of curiosity — a new fit, a larger role, offseason growth, a lingering question.

In terms of players to watch, it'd be impossible not to start with the best of the best — this year's Player of the Year race. Not just because of the depth of talent, but also because several players in the race didn't have the end-of-season performance (or any season performance, for that matter) they would've wanted. That disappointment — translating into motivation — over an offseason should give each of these frontrunners a boost entering 2026-27. Lucky us.

In this category, I'm putting Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, Texas' Madison Booker, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins. All five come back into this season with something major to prove.

• Blakes had a fantastic sophomore season but couldn't do enough to push the Commodores over the hump against Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 (and her 27 percent shooting performance in that game certainly stung).

• Texas' roster was decimated by the transfer portal. In what could be Booker's final season of college hoops, she's officially carrying this team. The Longhorns go as Booker goes.

• Strong — the reigning national Player of the Year — saw her season end in a Final Four loss to South Carolina. While Achilles soreness limited her at the end of last season, and ultimately led to her adjusting her offseason plans, her frustration in that loss was visible.

• Notre Dame ping-ponged between wins and losses last season. Those nine regular-season losses ultimately kept Hidalgo from being in the 2025-26 POY conversation.

• Watkins watched all of this from the USC bench as she recovered from a torn ACL suffered during the 2024-25 postseason. Since her injury, the Trojans added two more No. 1 recruits to the roster in Jazzy Davidson and Saniyah Hall, but Watkins returns as the face of the program, eager to push USC past the Elite Eight.

Beyond the Player of the Year race, I can't wait to see dozens of other players this season. But here are 12 at the top of my list to watch:

Addy Brown | UCLA | Senior forward

Brown was Cori Close's last major transfer addition as UCLA made a major roster overhaul this offseason. She started every game she played at Iowa State over three seasons and came to Westwood, Calif., as a versatile offensive weapon — she can initiate offense and post up. Her defense needs to take a step forward as she competes in the deep Big Ten. But Iowa State's system was built around Audi Crooks, and Brown fit in where she could. At UCLA, it'll be more of a committee system, so it'll be interesting to see where her game evolves and how Close uses Brown's Swiss Army knife skills.

Aaliyah Chavez | Oklahoma | Sophomore guard

Chavez's freshman season was inconsistent. Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk handed Chavez the keys to the car, and Chavez happily floored it. At times, that produced historic results. Her 26-point, eight-assist night, which included 15 points in overtime alone, led the Sooners to a win over No. 2 South Carolina. It was epic. But there were too many nights that swung in the opposite direction.

Take that performance against the Gamecocks out of the mix, and in Oklahoma's six other regular-season games against top-10 opponents, Chavez shot 30 percent from the floor as the Sooners went 0-6. With 10 underclassmen teammates this season, Chavez will need to steady the ship, for herself and the Sooners, if the former No. 1 recruit is to live up to expectations. In her season opener against North Carolina, Chavez picked up three early fouls and finished with 14 points and six assists on 33 percent shooting (20 percent from range).

Aaliyah Crump | Duke | Sophomore guard

The Texas Exodus (or, as I've taken to calling it, the Texodus) was a surprise, considering the Longhorns had advanced to two consecutive Final Fours. But an exodus of talent meant the transfer portal was hot, and Duke managed to land one of the best guards available. In her one season in Austin, Crump's role was limited and shortened due to a foot injury, but even in such limited time, she proved to be offensively efficient and a tough defensive matchup. In Durham, N.C., with the graduations of Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair, coach Kara Lawson has perimeter minutes to fill, and Crump seems like the perfect fit for the reigning ACC champs. The pick-and-roll game isn't a focal point of Lawson's offense, but if we could get some Crump-Toby Fournier two-man game, I wouldn't be disappointed.

Te'Yala Delfosse | Michigan | Junior wing

Olivia Olson and Syla Swords drew attention last season as they led Michigan to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history, but it was their classmate Delfosse whose offseason most intrigues me. With Olson and Swords, as well as Stanford transfer Courtney Ogden, there's a known expectation for what they'll bring. (One TBD here is point guard Mila Holloway's leg injury that has her out indefinitely.) Michigan should be improved this season. But Delfosse seems like the wildcard who could be a difference-maker to get the Wolverines into Big Ten title contention. Rangy and athletic at 6-foot-3, Delfosse has all the elements to be a versatile weapon, and I expect her to be the Wolverines' best defender this year.

Kate Harpring | UNC | Freshman guard

Harpring, the daughter of former 11-year NBA vet Matt Harpring, is a three-level scorer who should make a strong introduction. UNC lost two starters to the portal and one to the WNBA, so there are minutes for Harpring, and I fully expect her to be a Day 1 starter. Freshman talent is ample across the country, but few will receive the same opportunity as Harpring to make an immediate impact.

The Tar Heels are picked to finish third in the ACC, and coach Courtney Banghart is still looking to get over that Sweet 16 roadblock. Harpring could be their answer. She got the starting nod in the Tar Heels' season opener in France, and after knocking down the first field goal attempt of her college career, she led all UNC scorers with 21 points.

Three-ball for the rook 🤩

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— Carolina Women’s Basketball (@uncwbb) November 2, 2026

Ava Heiden | Iowa | Junior center

Heiden's NCAA Tournament run was brief but glorious. Through two games, she averaged 28 points and seven rebounds — up 10 points from her regular-season average. Hannah Stuelke graduated, and Heiden is the obvious anchor inside, giving Iowa a chance to have a special year in a stacked Big Ten.

Iowa has the players to get out and run as well as make plays in the halfcourt: Heiden was used primarily in post-up situations last season, but she's excellent in transition, too. Returning point guard Chit Chat Wright will team up with her former Georgia Tech teammate Dani Carnegie.

Defensively, Heiden is a good paint and rim protector, but the conference has plenty of bigs who will challenge her, as well as players eager to attack the paint. She needs to come up big on both ends.

Kymora Johnson | Virginia | Senior guard

Johnson became one of the best feel-good stories of the 2026 postseason — the hometown kid and former UVA ball girl who led the 10th-seeded Cavaliers from the First Four to the Sweet 16. Then, Virginia fired coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton after the season amid a reported internal investigation (UVA and Agugua-Hamilton reached a settlement in July after her dismissal).

Johnson entered the portal and took some visits, including to South Carolina and its coach, UVA alum Dawn Staley, but ultimately returned to Virginia to play for new head coach Aaron Roussell. The Cavaliers were picked sixth in the ACC preseason poll, but if there's going to be significant upward movement, it's going to come from Johnson's production and leadership. How she steadies this team in the wake of massive success, a sudden coaching change and a shifting basketball landscape will be a fascinating study.

Tessa Johnson | South Carolina | Senior guard

For the last decade, the Gamecocks have had basically three point guards run the show: Raven Johnson, Destanni Henderson and Ty Harris. Maddy McDaniel was next in line as the Gamecocks' floor general, but she stepped away this offseason to focus on her mental health. South Carolina has a wealth of talent across the board, but McDaniel's departure prompts questions about which player will be the primary ballhandler for a team that oozes national-title talent.

Michigan transfer Brooke Quarles-Daniels, Texas transfer Jordan Lee, sophomore Agot Makeer and freshman Jerzy Robinson could all be in the mix as primary ballhandlers, but I had a sense Staley would lead with Johnson, given her skill, cool head and experience in the system.

Johnson got the nod against Maryland, and even though it's not her natural position, the senior did what seniors do — stepped up and got the job done. She finished with five assists against the Terrapins. Watching her develop in this role this season, or rather, how Staley continues to develop this role with a mix of players, will be an important gauge as the Gamecocks go for their seventh straight Final Four and fourth national title.

Avery Koenen | North Dakota State | Senior forward

A week and a half ago, I would've said that Koenen was primed to be the best mid-major player in the country, but the return of South Dakota State's Brooklyn Meyer — the reigning mid-major player of the year who used the five-in-five rule to unexpectedly return to college hoops — means that Koenen will start the season chasing Meyer.

But Koenen still has a chance to leapfrog Meyer this season. After her sophomore-to-junior jump, she's become a double-double machine, finishing as one of just 25 Division I players over the last five seasons to average 19-plus points and 10-plus rebounds per game. Expect her senior year to be one to watch.

She hasn't been an outside threat yet, but in Koenen's final season at NDSU, I'm curious to see how much her perimeter shot can improve. She will be on some WNBA Draft boards, but having even a respectable 3-point shooting percentage with a decent number of attempts (she shot 42 percent last year but on just seven attempts) is going to be the key to her future prospects.

Bryanna Preston | Texas | Junior guard

It will be odd not to see Rori Harmon with the Longhorns this season. Filling her very large (metaphorically speaking, of course) shoes will be Preston, who averaged just more than 14 minutes a game last season as Harmon's backup. How Texas looks in the wake of its roster exodus will be a lingering question mark, but with All-American Madison Booker as the focus, Texas' ceiling will remain high. How high could depend on how well Preston acclimates to her new role as the primary offense initiator and the 94-foot defensive machine picking up opponents' best ballhandler. It's a demanding two-way job for the Longhorns, and coach Vic Schaefer has elite expectations. Can Preston meet them?

Madison St. Rose | Notre Dame | Senior guard

Notre Dame senior guard Hannah Hidalgo is a one-woman wrecking crew, but the player who could move Notre Dame's ceiling the most this season is a Princeton grad transfer. Recent seasons have proven the viability of the Ivy-League-grad-transfer-to-power-conference ranks, and St. Rose joining Hidalgo in the backcourt makes for a dangerous playmaking duo. St. Rose thrives in offensive transition and spot-up shooting — playing beside Hidalgo, she's sure to keep thriving. Notre Dame's roster doesn't bubble over as an obvious Final Four or Elite Eight contender, but betting against Hidalgo has proven to be a silly choice in the past. So with a great backcourt mate in South Bend, Ind., it's fair to think Notre Dame could excel.

Jadyn Wooten | TCU | Junior guard

No coach has gone transfer-portal-plug-and-play as much (or as successfully, for that matter) as TCU's Mark Campbell. With Olivia Miles' departure to the WNBA, he needed a new primary ballhandler who can run the pick-and-roll offense efficiently. Wooten, who was in the PnR in nearly 50 percent of her offensive possessions at Oklahoma State last season, is the player to do just that. It's hard to imagine the Horned Frogs having an Elite Eight ceiling again this season, but for TCU to have a chance, Wooten's transition into this scheme and her play alongside Clara Silva will need to be seamless.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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