Ranking the 25 best players in women's March Madness

Sarah Strong has headlined ESPN's ranking of the top 25 players in women's college basketball all season. The forward for No. 1 overall seed UConn remains on top ahead of the 2026 women's NCAA tournament, which opens Friday (11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN2).

Players across the country who are expected to make a big difference in the tournament help make up ESPN's top 25 players in women's March Madness. Strong's teammate, Azzi Fudd, joins her in the top five, but South Carolina led the way with four players on the list. LSU, Oklahoma and UCLA were the only other teams with multiple players, though it was difficult to rank teammates as several top teams are deep and balanced with multiple players making similar contributions.

Two newcomers break into the top 25 for our tournament edition. Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge, one of 10 underclassmen, made the biggest jump, moving up 15 spots. Two freshmen continue to make the cut.

All these players come into the NCAA tournament with hopes of playing their best basketball at the biggest time of the season.

1. Sarah Strong, UConn

Forward | 6-foot-2 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 1

2025-26 stats: 18.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 60.1% FG

Geno Auriemma wanted Strong to be more selfish and shoot more this season. She obliged ... sort of. Strong takes one more shot per game than she did a year ago. She has also managed to increase her assist average. So perhaps she's just as unselfish as she was during the Huskies' 2025 title run. One thing that is undeniable: She is a generational talent. Strong's skill set is fully realized, and a weakness in her game has yet to be found. She contributes to UConn's success in every way. She shoots 42.7% from 3-point range -- and that might not even rank in her three best attributes. By most of the advanced metric ratings she is the best defensive player in the country. And while her offense appeared to be merely supplemental to Paige Bueckers and Final Four Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd last spring, Strong proved she was ready for the biggest moments, averaging 22.7 points on 65.9% shooting in UConn's final three games in the Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship game. -- Charlie Creme

MORE: Why Strong and the undefeated Huskies are so hard to beat

2. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

Guard | 5-8 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 3

2025-26 stats: 27.0 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.9 SPG

In any other season, Blakes would perhaps be a lock at No. 1 on this list. She just happens to be great at the same time Strong is a notch greater. In less than two years, Blakes has transformed Vanderbilt. The Commodores haven't been seeded this high since they were also a No. 2 in 2007. That doesn't happen without Blakes. Because she can finish at the rim and shoot with range (36.1% on 3-pointers) with equal efficiency, game-planning against her is nearly impossible. That's why Blakes is the top scorer in the country. She is also so important to Vanderbilt's defense, finishing fourth in the SEC in steals. -- Creme

3. Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame

Guard | 5-6 | Junior

Midseason ranking: 7

2025-26 stats: 25.2 PPG, 5.3 APG, 5.4 SPG

So much of the Fighting Irish's success rides on each Hidalgo performance, and Notre Dame's 9-2 record over its past 11 games is the best evidence that she keeps getting better. Hidalgo averaged 26.1 points per game during that stretch. She then took home ACC player of the year and defensive player of the year. Ranking third in the country in scoring and the runaway leader in steals, Hidalgo has cemented her place as the best two-way player in the game if Strong isn't. In four games this season, she had double-digit steals, including twice against ACC competition. The rest of the players in the country combined for four such games. -- Creme

4. Azzi Fudd, UConn

Guard | 5-11 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 4

2025-26 stats: 17.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.0 APG

Fudd was the Final Four's most outstanding player last season for the national champion. This season, she has helped lead the Huskies to a perfect record heading into the NCAA tournament, where they are the No. overall 1 seed. She is averaging career highs in points, assists, steals (2.5) and field goal (48.9%), 3-point (44.6%) and free throw (95.1%) percentages. For her college career, Fudd -- the potential WNBA No. 1 draft pick -- has shot 42.1% from beyond the arc. Fudd is also a key part of UConn's defense, which holds opponents to a Division I-best 50.4 points. -- Michael Voepel

5. Madison Booker, Texas

Forward | 6-1 | Junior

Midseason ranking: 2

2025-26 stats: 18.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.8 APG

Booker has been the most consistent threat for the No. 1 seed Longhorns, who have won eight in a row and 13 of their past 14. She was MVP of the SEC tournament, totaling 60 points, 25 rebounds and 13 assists while shooting 61.4% (27 of 44) from the field as Texas defeated Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina for the championship. Booker led Texas in scoring in every game but one on its current winning streak. Last season, she was her regional's most outstanding player as the Longhorns advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2003. -- Voepel

6. Lauren Betts, UCLA

Center | 6-7 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 6

2025-26 stats: 16.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.9 BPG

Betts was the Big Ten's player of the year and defensive player of the year as the Bruins swept the regular-season title (18-0) and conference tournament title. UCLA has won 25 in a row; its lone loss this season was 76-65 to Texas on Nov. 26. Betts had 11 double-doubles for a balanced Bruins squad that is looking to make a second consecutive trip to the Final Four. Betts was her regional's most outstanding player in 2025 as the Bruins made the Final Four for the first time in the NCAA era. Her scoring average is down from last season, but her career-high 3.2 assist average shows how she is helping everyone around her. -- Voepel

7. Olivia Miles, TCU

Guard | 5-10 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 5

2025-26 stats: 19.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.4 APG

A year ago, Miles decided to transfer to TCU because she felt Mark Campbell's system was a great fit. Since she arrived on campus, Campbell has been public about how easy Miles' transition was. And when watching TCU play, it seems to be a perfect match. Miles has thrived in TCU's high pick-and-roll offense. Not only does it take advantage of her exceptional court vision, she's also a bigger scorer, surpassing her career high by more than four points per game. Miles' 40-point game with 10 3-pointers against Baylor is the best example of her evolution as a player. The combination of Miles and Marta Suarez has put the Horned Frogs in position to make a repeat run at the Elite Eight. -- Creme

8. Joyce Edwards, South Carolina

Forward | 6-3 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 9

2025-26 stats: 19.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 58.7% FG

When A'ja Wilson was a sophomore at South Carolina, she averaged 16.1 points on 53.1% shooting. While the comparison might not be fair, it provides some perspective on how developed Edwards already is and how good she can become. She plays with a maturity beyond her years, knowing her own strengths and not deviating from them. Good shot selection, running the floor, patience in the post and elite finishing skills have made Edwards highly efficient. Her shooting percentage ranks 15th in the country. -- Creme

9. Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State

Guard | 5-7 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 24

2025-26 stats: 22.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.6 APG

No player moved up more from the midseason rankings than Cambridge, one of the top scoring guards in the country. Her scoring average in Big Ten play elevated to 26.4 points, as she had five games with 30 or more points against league foes. She also shot 45.7% from 3-point range in conference regular-season games. She has scored in double digits all 33 games this season. Ohio State fell in the NCAA tournament's second round the past two seasons, and Cambridge hopes to return the Buckeyes to the second weekend. -- Voepel

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Ohio State Buckeyes' NCAA women's tournament preview

Charlie Creme breaks down Ohio State's NCAA tournament prospects.

10. Olivia Olson, Michigan

Guard | 6-1 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 15

2025-26 stats: 19.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 47.9% FG

Olson made one of the biggest jumps in our ranking. That's because in February her scoring average jumped to 22.5 points per game. Until two less productive games in the Big Ten tournament, Olson was playing her best basketball of the season. Her two worst games were losses to Iowa in which the Wolverines scored in the 40s, evidence that they need her to in order to make the deep run in the NCAA tournament that this season has been building toward. Olson already has a pro-level body and instincts. As she refines the other parts of her game, this ranking should get even better over the next two years. -- Creme

11. Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss

Forward | 6-0 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 21

2025-26 stats: 19.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 45.1% FG

No player in the NCAA tournament gets to the free throw line more than McMahon. But at Ole Miss, McMahon relies less on physicality and brute strength than she did in three previous seasons at Ohio State. Her game has turned more cerebral and more perimeter-oriented. Her 119 3-point attempts this season are the most of her career by far. She has even played significant minutes at point guard for the Rebels. Her 3.0 assists per game are also a career best. Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said she would get McMahon ready for the WNBA. She has done just that. McMahon's skill set is much more versatile than it was 12 months ago. -- Creme

12. Audi Crooks, Iowa State

Center | 6-3 | Junior

Midseason ranking: 8

2025-26 stats: 25.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 64.7% FG

Crooks ranks second in Division I in scoring average and field goal percentage. She scored in double figures in every game, hitting the 40-point mark four times. That included a career-high 47 against Indiana on Nov. 30 and 41 against Kansas State on March 1. The Cyclones tied for seventh in the Big 12; they were without starting forward Addy Brown for 11 games during which even more defensive attention was on Crooks. She has a history of some big NCAA tournament performances, with 40 points as a freshman in the first round, and 27 and 28 points in the Cyclones' two games last season. -- Voepel

MORE: The pride and power of Audi Crooks

13. Raegan Beers, Oklahoma

Center | 6-4 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 13

2025-26 stats: 15.7 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 61.5% FG

Her numbers dropped slightly in SEC play this year, but Beers remains one of the most consistently reliable post players in the country. Her scoring average in NCAA tournament games is 15.4, similar to what she's averaging this season. And that's the consistency Beers brings. With an opening-round game against Colorado State and a potential second-round game against Michigan State, Beers and her size give Oklahoma a big advantage. Her strength makes Beers hard to move off the low block or outmaneuver for an offensive rebound, but she is also an excellent passer from the post and is averaging a career-high 2.3 assists this season. -- Creme

MORE: 15 Beers, booming NIL sales, not a sip of alcohol: Raegan Beers' viral jersey

14. Toby Fournier, Duke

Forward | 6-2 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: Unranked

2025-26 stats: 17.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.3 BPG

A steady presence all season, Fournier has evolved into the centerpiece of everything Duke does on both ends of the floor. Her length is a huge asset in Duke's defensive scheme in protecting the rim and interfering with passing lanes. Fournier's low post game has grown as the season has progressed and now she is the reliable, physical scorer that she was not a year ago as a freshman. Duke can win without her, as evidenced by the ACC tournament championship game when Fournier had only seven points. But over the course of a tournament, any hopes of the Blue Devils getting to their first Final Four since 2006 rest with Fournier being the star. -- Creme

15. Flau'jae Johnson, LSU

Guard | 5-10 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 12

2025-26 stats: 13.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.7 APG

The Tigers have so much balance -- eight players average between 14.6 and 8.5 points -- it is hard to rank them. Johnson, who won an NCAA title with LSU in 2023, gets the nod as the top Tiger here when combining her offensive skills and defensive playmaking. Her 40.2% 3-point shooting is the best of her college career. LSU, which finished fourth in the SEC, has reached the regional final the past two years. -- Voepel

16. Clara Strack, Kentucky

Center | 6-5 | Junior

Midseason ranking: 17

2025-26 stats: 17.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.6 BPG

When Strack plays well, it typically translates to Kentucky success. During a stretch of games at the end of January, the Wildcats lost five of six. In those losses, Strack averaged 11.2 points on 31.6% field goal shooting. In the win, she scored 33 points. To get to their first regional in 10 years, the Wildcats need Strack -- from her double-digit rebounding abilities to her patented step-back, one-footed turnaround jumper, and from her shot-blocking abilities to her willingness to run the floor. She was named first-team All-SEC and to the conference's all-defensive team. -- Creme

17. Kiki Rice, UCLA

Guard | 5-11 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 19

2025-26 stats: 15.3 PPG, 4.5 APG, 50.4% FG

Even though Rice has produced career highs in points, shooting percentage and steals this season, her leadership and understanding of the game have grown the most, according to Bruins coach Cori Close. A four-year starter in the transfer portal era, Rice has become the face of UCLA basketball during the most successful run the program has had in the NCAA era. Four of the five winningest seasons in Bruins history are with Rice as the point guard. Rice has engineered the country's best offense, according to ESPN Analytics, but it might be her defense against other point guards in the Sacramento 2 Region -- such as Princeton's Ashley Chea, Duke's Taina Mair or LSU's Jada Richard -- that will be key to UCLA getting back to the Final Four. -- Creme

18. Raven Johnson, South Carolina

Guard | 5-9 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 20

2025-26 stats: 10.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.4 APG

In her fifth year at South Carolina after having to redshirt in 2021-22 because of injury, Johnson is having her best season. She is averaging career highs in points and assists along with her best percentages in field goals (50.6), 3-point field goals (40.2) and free throws (83.3). She was the SEC's defensive player of the year. The Gamecocks have gone to the Final Four her previous four years in Columbia, winning twice. -- Voepel

19. Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma

Guard | 5-10 | Freshman

Midseason ranking: 18

2025-26 stats: 18.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.2 APG

Chavez was ESPN's national freshman of the year, as she led the Sooners in scoring and assists on the way to a top-16 seed. Oklahoma leads Division I in pace (possessions per 40 minutes) at 81.1, and Chavez is directing a lot of that as the Sooners' point guard. She also leads the nation in an individual category: free throw percentage at 93.9 (108 of 115). Chavez scored in double figures in all but one game this season and led Oklahoma with 77 3-pointers. -- Voepel

20. Jazzy Davidson, USC

Guard | 6-1 | Freshman

Midseason ranking: 16

2025-26 stats: 17.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.2 APG

In a season without star JuJu Watkins (knee), USC needed to rely on Davidson, who had a terrific first season. She led the Trojans in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals (2.0) and blocks (2.0). She was Big Ten Freshman of the Year, plus on the all-Big 12 first team and defensive team. USC tied for ninth in the conference and is a No. 9 seed. If the Trojans can win their 8-9 game vs. Clemson, we could see Davidson facing South Carolina. -- Voepel

21. Mikaylah Williams, LSU

Guard | 6-0 | Junior

Midseason ranking: 14

2025-26 stats: 13.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.5 APG

Williams is shooting 50.3% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the arc, both career highs. Her rebounds, assists and steals (1.4) averages are also career bests. She and Flau'jae Johnson led the Tigers with 45 3-pointers each. Williams' scoring average is down from last season, but that reflects the Tigers' greater depth, including the addition of MiLaysia Fulwiley. Williams has been a starter since she was a freshman and has been on the all-SEC first team the past two seasons. -- Voepel

22. MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU

Guard | 5-8 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 22

2025-26 stats: 14.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.7 APG

Fulwiley has come off the bench in all but one game this season after transferring from South Carolina to LSU. But she has still been a huge addition for the Tigers, leading them in scoring, assists, steals (3.0) and blocks (1.4). Those numbers are all career bests, as is her 47% shooting from the field. Fulwiley won an NCAA title with the Gamecocks in 2024 and played in the national championship game last year, so she has a lot of NCAA tournament experience. -- Voepel

23. Taliah Scott, Baylor

Guard | 5-9 | Sophomore

Midseason ranking: 23

2025-26 stats: 20.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.9 APG

One of nine players in the NCAA tournament averaging 20 or more points per game, Scott is vital to Baylor's success. She is the Bears' undeniable go-to player, and if she is not scoring, Baylor can't generate enough offense to advance far. The Bears split their final four games. In the wins Scott averaged 21 points on 10-of-22 shooting. In the losses, she was 11-of-44 from the floor, averaging 15.5 points. Scott is also a 90.0% free throw shooter who gets to the line nearly seven times per game. -- Creme

24. Ta'Niya Latson, South Carolina

Guard | 5-8 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 22

2025-26 stats: 14.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.5 APG

Latson was the top scorer in the nation last season at Florida State. She decided a move to South Carolina would give her a chance to win a national championship and develop her game more for the next level. She is shooting a career-best 49.3% from the field. Latson had 19 points in the SEC tournament semifinal win over LSU, but like most of the Gamecocks didn't play well in the championship game loss to Texas. She will be looking to change that during the NCAA tournament. -- Voepel

25. Madina Okot, South Carolina

Center | 6-6 | Senior

Midseason ranking: 25

2025-26 stats: 13.4 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 57.8% FG

Dawn Staley is less about box scorers and more about players who impact winning. With Okot, the coach has both. Even with better players around her taking more of the shots, Okot's numbers have grown by 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds per game from her one season at Mississippi State. Her presence in the middle has also made South Carolina better. With Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins missing the season with injuries, the Gamecocks needed an inside threat. Okot filled those gaps and then some. She has even started taking (and making) 3-pointers. She is 10-of-22 from behind the arc, with seven of those makes coming from Feb. 19 on. A national championship is a possibility for the Gamecocks, but not if Okot isn't a high-level contributor. -- Creme