Hannah Hidalgo will be the 'next household name' in women's college basketball
Yahoo Sports Daily host Caroline Fenton gives his predictions for the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
Let's look at the women's college basketball side because I would not be surprised to see UConn repeat this season.
Sure, Paige Becker is on to the WNBA may now lose Paige Beckers, but they returned two key cogs of that championship season last year.
One is that one right there, A Fudd, and I'm also looking at Sarah Strong.
Sarah Strong was one of the most electric freshmen in women's college.
Basketball last season.
In UConn's two biggest games of the season in the Final Four and the national championship game against UCLA and South Carolina respectively, it was Sarah Strong who led the team in points and rebounds, not Paige Beckers, not AZ Fudd, but Sarah Strong as a freshman.
Incredibly impressive, especially considering the size of those stages.
So returning AZ Fudd and returning.
Sarah Strong, I think you bring back a huge foundation and huge pieces of that championship run last year.
I would not be surprised to see Geno Auriemma and the Huskies right back atop the women's college basketball world.
But what about National Player of the Year?
Juju Watkins will miss the entirety of this season.
Of course, one big star, she'll be out with an ACL tear.
So I'm looking at Hannah Hidalgo to almost fill in that spot to be the next house.
Name in women's college basketball.
Hannah Hidalgo was a leading scorer on that Sweet 16 Notre Dame team last year, and I only expect her to step up even more and to do even more this season now that Olivia Miles has transferred out of Notre Dame and into TCU.
So I expect Hannah Hidalgo to be a big time superstar this season, if it's not Sarah Strong at UConn.
If you can't tell, I'm a huge Sarah Strong fan.
But one team that I think could be a big Surprise, and maybe this isn't even giving this team enough credit because they are ranked in the top 25 preseason.
But that's the Richmond spiders.
That's right, Richmond is the only mid-major ranked in the AP preseason poll.
On the men's side, we see mid-majors emerge as legitimate championship contenders all the time.
The women's side, that's not as common, but Richmond can be that mid-major that plays spoiler.
I mean look at last year.
In the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, Richmond led UCLA, an eventual Final Four team, at halftime.
I also look at Maggie Dougan.
She last year was their leading scorer.
She was their leader in rebounds.
She was their leader in assists, so she returns this season.
I think Maggie Dougan is going to be a name that you're hearing much, much more over the next coming months.
