The New Era: How Freshmen Will Reshape the 2025-2026 Women’s College Basketball Season
The 2025-2026 NCAA women’s basketball season is close to starting. With a group of skilled freshmen that will continue to reshape women’s basketball, the growth of women’s basketball will thrive. Currently, there are several highly ranked freshmen who are entering the big programs with high expectations. These newcomers not only bring talent, but they also carry the potential to change the balance of power when it comes to the top teams. Three top-dogs have been spoken about consistently by the public. Those are Aaliyah Chavez, who is the number one player in the 2025 class, Sienna Betts, who collected Player of the Year Awards, and Jasmine Davidson, who is a complex athlete.
First focusing on Chavez, she is known to be a five-star guard that scores from all over the court with efficiency. Chavez committed to Oklahoma, where she will demonstrate her strong skills and pursuit of the world. Continuing to Sienna Betts, who is headed to UCLA, is a six-foot-four forward. Betts dominated as a rebounder and averaged double-doubles in high school. Overall, Betts is a versatile player due to her skills on the court, being able to block shots, and battle inside the paint. Betts will continue to build up UCLA so that the team can continue to strive towards the Final Four and have success during it. Lastly is Davidson, who committed to USC. Davidson has the athleticism, defensive tenacity, determination, and ball-handling skills, making her a dynamic guard/wing option. Davidson is a complex player who demonstrates the ability to contribute to all aspects of game play.
Of course, there are other players in the talks when it comes to NCAA women’s basketball. Those being players such as Grace Knox, Zakiyah Johnson, and Divine Bourrage, who all committed to LSU. Knox is labelled as a seven-ranked player in the class of 2025 and is a power forward who will help add to the competitive spirit that LSU holds. Johnson is a four-year Player of the Year Award winner who played 149 games, averaging 20.1 points per game. Not only is Johnson a good scorer, but she also consistently helped her team in assists by averaging 3.7 assists per game. Then there is Bourrage, who is one of the top ten players in the country in her class averaging 19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and three steals per game. With these three freshmen committing to LSU, there will definitely be major competition between other top teams.
