The echoes of the last buzzer-beater from the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season have barely faded, but excitement is already building for the year ahead. While teams across the nation start laying the groundwork for conference title runs and NCAA tournament dreams, the spotlight is beginning to shine on the individual stars who will define the 2024-25 campaign. Here is an early look at the favorites and top contenders for conference player of the year honors in every league.
The Headliners: Reigning POYs Back for More
Before diving into the top contenders aiming to claim the throne, let’s start with the queens looking to defend their crowns. Fourteen conference player of the year winners from 2023-24 are set to return to the programs they led to glory, positioning themselves as early frontrunners to repeat.
In conferences like the Big East and WCC, the return of transcendent talents like Paige Bueckers (UConn) and Yvonne Ejim (Gonzaga) make them overwhelming favorites to once again reign supreme. Both stuffed the stat sheet on teams that spent the year in the national rankings. With a full offseason to further polish their games, they could be poised to take their play to even greater heights.
Elsewhere, the paths to back-to-back honors won’t be without challenges. Reigning ACC POY Elizabeth Kitley is back at Virginia Tech, but she’ll have to fend off the likes of rising sophomore sensation Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame after Hidalgo stepped up in a major way when Irish star Olivia Miles went down. In the Big 12, Iowa State’s Ashley Joens took the conference by storm as a freshman, but Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee returning for a super-senior season sets up a fascinating battle.
Young Guns and Breakout Contenders
Moving to the “new faces in new places” category, the biggest splash of the offseason came with USC phenom JuJu Watkins following her head coach Lindsay Gottlieb from Los Angeles to Westwood, as UCLA transitions from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. The top recruit in her class, Watkins dazzled last season in setting the NCAA single-season scoring record for a freshman. With a new league and an upgraded supporting cast, she might just be scratching the surface.
Other freshmen phenoms will have high bars to clear to match their sterling debuts. Texas’ Madison Booker broke Charli Collier’s school scoring record on her way to becoming the first freshman to win Big 12 POY. With running mate Rori Harmon back from injury, Booker has the inside track in the league. And at South Florida, Romi Levy made an immediate splash after transferring from Auburn, finishing second in the American in scoring and leading the upstart Bulls to the NCAA tournament. With a full year in the system, another leap could be coming.
“What JuJu did as a freshman, from start to finish, was just incredible to watch. She’s a one-of-a-kind talent. I think the sky’s the limit for her in terms of how great she can be at the college level.”
A PAC-12 assistant coach on JuJu Watkins
Under-the-Radar Stars Set to Shine
Of course, not every player of the year emerges from the high-major conferences or starts their career on NBA lottery pick watch lists. Across the mid-major landscape, stars are ready to make the leap from local legend to household name.
The NEC’s leading returning scorer and rebounder, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Teneisia Brown is a versatile force poised to stuff box scores and power the Knights’ bid for a repeat league title. Sacred Heart’s shift from the NEC to the MAAC means a new set of defenses will have to contend with Ny’Ceara Pryor, who led the nation in steals last year on her way to a second straight NEC POY award.
In the SoCon, Wofford’s Rachael Rose – already a two-time conference POY – has a chance to pull off a threepeat and cement her status as one of the best players in school history. Her 22.7 points per game ranked seventh nationally last season, and she led the league in assists and steals for good measure.
The Stat-Sheet Stuffers
For all of the scoring prowess that the top player of the year candidates possess, POY voters also appreciate the well-rounded stars whose impact extends beyond the point totals. Among returning players who ranked top-five in their league in scoring last year, several also stand out for their proficiency in filling up multiple columns in the box score
- Macy McGlone, Eastern Illinois: In addition to her 17.8 ppg in OVC play (2nd in the league), McGlone led the conference in rebounding and blocks while ranking 2nd nationally with 26 double-doubles.
- Akasha Davis, Lamar: The Southland’s reigning POY was the only player in the league to average a double-double, leading the way in both scoring (15.1) and rebounding (10.7).
- Emani Jefferson, FGCU: The reigning ASUN POY made a splash in her first year after transferring from Memphis, ranking top-10 in the league in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
The Early Favorites
With all of the contenders laid out, it’s prediction time. Here are the early picks for conference player of the year in every league for 2024-25:
- America East: Kayla Cooper, Albany
- AAC: Romi Levy, South Florida
- ACC: Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
- ASUN: Emani Jefferson, Florida Gulf Coast
- Big East: Paige Bueckers, UConn
- Big Sky: Sophie Glancey, Northern Arizona
- Big South: Ashley Hawkins, Gardner-Webb
- Big Ten: JuJu Watkins, USC
- Big 12: Madison Booker, Texas
- Big West: Deja Lee, UC Irvine
- CAA: Taryn Barbot, Charleston
- C-USA: Anastasiia Boldyreva, Middle Tennessee
- Horizon: Destiny Leo, Cleveland State
- Ivy: Madison St. Rose, Princeton
- MAAC: Ny’Ceara Pryor, Sacred Heart
- MAC: Chellia Watson, Buffalo
- MEAC: Diamond Johnson, Norfolk State
- MVC: Katie Dinnebier, Drake
- Mountain West: Emma Ronsiek, Colorado State
- NEC: Teneisia Brown, Fairleigh Dickinson
- OVC: Macy McGlone, Eastern Illinois
- Patriot: Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland
- SEC: Madison Booker, Texas A&M
- SoCon: Rachael Rose, Wofford
- Southland: Akasha Davis, Lamar
- Summit: Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State
- Sun Belt: Peyton McDaniel, James Madison
- SWAC: Destiny Brown, Alcorn State
- WAC: Yvonne Ejim, Grand Canyon
- WCC: Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Ultimately, the beauty of college basketball is that anything can happen between now and March. Injuries, breakout freshmen, and surprise contenders can shift the landscape in a hurry. But for now, these are the names to circle as the faces of their leagues and the top contenders for player of the year honors. Let the games – and debates – begin.
