The 2022-23 women’s college basketball season will not be short of stars to watch, though injuries may sideline top players like UConn’s Paige Bookers and Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee.
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks are as strong as ever with the return of Aliyah Boston. She was the best player in the country last season and has an award to prove it. The Stanford Cardinal can once again be competitive with its multi-talented stars. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s future looks bright with young players who have the potential to stand alongside veteran girlfriend Dara Mabrey.
The season is set to start on November 7th, and there will be plenty of players to keep an eye on. Here are some of them:
Boston, South Carolina
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Boston wasn’t the only player to contribute to the Gamecocks’ success, but she was arguably the most influential player. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 16.8 points and her double-double of 12.5 rebounds per game. She had a total of 30 double-doubles all season, including her 27 straights, breaking the SEC record. Her list of accolades is surprisingly short as she led the nation’s best teams in scoring, rebounding, blocking and steals. Boston was named Lisa Her Leslie Her Center of the Year for the third straight season, and also won Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She is expected to continue that momentum this season and potentially lead the Gamecocks to another national championship.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Clarke helped the Hawkeyes win both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same year for the first time in show history. Her team lost to Clayton in the second round of her NCAA Tournament, but her season overall has been quite remarkable. In January, she became the first Division I college basketball player, male or female, to record consecutive 30-point triple-doubles.Clark averaged 27 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists in her 32 games. Recorded. She has shown herself to be one of the top players in the country by leading in her points, assists and free throws per game.Her Clarke effort has helped Nancy her Lieberman her points Recognized for winning her Guard of the Year award.She also won the Dawn Staley Guard of the Year award, becoming the first player to do so in consecutive seasons
Haley Jones, Stanford
The 2021 NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player wasn’t named again last season, but he was still one of four finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award. Her accolades include Pac-12 Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament Spokane Region Most Outstanding Player. For the second year in a row, Jones was also a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award for Best Small in Division I Women’s Basketball. She can certainly be a forward for Small, but her abilities don’t stop there. She has a high basketball IQ and versatility, and has even been compared to NBA legend Magic Her Johnson. Last season, Jones averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in her 33 games.
Hayley Van Ris, Louisville
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The 5-foot-7 guard led the Cardinals offense by averaging 14.4 points per game. It included 14 midfield games, which helped make her an All-ACC First Team. Overall, she played eight games with 20 or more points and set a season-high 34 points against Clemson in February, the same month Van Herris won the 2022 Nancy She Lieberman Awards. Selected as one of 10 watchlist candidates for her. It was the fourth time in program history that the Cardinals reached the Final Four as a key player in her NCAA Tournament run deep in Louisville.
Cameron Brink, Stanford
The Cardinals had a deep team last season, but Brink certainly stood out. She ended her year leading the team in points, rebounds and blocks. The 6-foot-4 forward has been solid offensively, as he averaged 13.5 points per game while shooting 55% from the field, but he’s also proven himself on the other side of the ball. In her sophomore year, she was the youngest of her four finalists for her 2022 Naismith Trophy Women’s Defensive Her Player of the Year award. Brink said she was Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the media named her Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Ashley Jones, Iowa
Last season, Joens won the Cheryl Miller Award for the second year in a row, becoming the first player to win it twice in a row. As per tradition, the 6-foot-1 wing has been a standout in the conference, and for the third straight season she was named to the All-Big 12 First Team. Nationally, she was a top 20 scorer, averaging 20.3 points in her 34 games. Joens averaged almost a double-double because she also had 9.5 rebounds per game. This was the best on her team. With her help, the Cyclones achieved a program-record her 28 wins and earned a program-high her 14 conference wins. Their hard work paid off and she made it into the AP Top 10 for the first time since 2002.
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
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Miles’ college career looks very promising. As her freshman, she led the team in scoring with her 13.7 points in her 33 games. A 5-foot-10 guard and first-team all-around she’s also an ACC selection, she leads with 7.4 assists per game, her second best in the nation. In March, she was named one of five finalists for the 2022 Nancy She Lieberman Awards. Miles said against UMass she had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, making her the first freshman (female or male) to record a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament, making March her madness history. She recorded her first college triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists against Valparaiso last December.
Tamari Key, Tennessee
Key wasn’t the team’s top scorer, but she tallied 10.5 points in 34 games and had a Tennessee-best shooting percentage from the field of 58.4%. Rebounder, 26th best in the country with 3.7 offensive rebounds per contest. Key led the nation with 119 total blocks and was third with 3.5 blocks per game. She broke her school’s single-season blocking record while playing against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, and not surprisingly, she made her SEC All-Defensive her team. The 6-foot-6 center was a Lisa Leslie Award finalist and Naismith Women’s Defensive She was also a semi-finalist for Player of the Year.
