NCAA Season Preview: The Big 12

The Big 12 adds four schools and loses its top two finishers from last season. What does the new look league look in the world of women's hoops in 2024-2025? No Cap Space breaks it down here.

With the NCAA Women’s Basketball season right around the corner, No Cap Space WBB is here to preview every end of the country. We started with a general mid-major preview then dive into the power conferences (Big East, ACC and more coming), priming you for one of the most anticipated women’s basketball seasons in recent memory.

Conference realignment has changed the complexion of the so-called ‘Power 4’ leagues in women’s basketball. As the Pac-12 continues to retool and add members, many of its’ former schools are ready to dive into new seasons in new places. The Big 12 added the ‘four corner’ schools — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — after a 2023 that saw BYU, Cincinnati and Houston join. What does that all mean? Let’s discuss…

The Teams You Know:

Baylor -

2023 Record & Result: 26-8 (12-6 Big 12) NCAA Sweet Sixteen

Nicki Collen’s Baylor Bears finished 26-8 last year, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in her three year tenure. Then they went into the transfer portal and scored what might be the underrated acquisition of the offseason: Colorado center Aaronette Vonleh (14.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG). The senior will add a big 6’3 frame and a presence on both ends of the floor that can contend with some of the best frontcourt players in the conference. Expect some serious battles between her and Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee and Iowa State’s Audi Crooks. In a lot of ways, it addresses some of the concerns Baylor had last season. They definitely have the guards and wings. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, the 2023 unanimous Big 12 Freshman of the Year) is back as are backcourt rotational options Bella Fontleroy, Jana Van Gytenbeek, Jada Walker and Yaya Felder.

Make no mistake, they lose talent, particularly in leading scorer Dre’una Edwards, leading rebounder Aijha Blackwell and assists leader Sarah Andrews. But the beauty of how Collen runs Baylor is in how deep she uses her bench and just how much experience those rotational pieces can get. Do they have an Elite Eight or higher ceiling? It’s a worthwhile question. But they can certainly compete in the Big 12 and may just challenge K-State and Iowa State at the top.

Colorado -

2023 Record & Result: 24-10 (11-7 Pac-12) NCAA Sweet Sixteen

One of the best stories of last season, Colorado underwent a massive overhaul this offseason. Jaylyn Sherrod graduated and became the first CU Buffs alum to ever win a WNBA title. Aaronette Vonleh, as mentioned above, shocked Boulder by transferring to Baylor. Tameiya Sadler, who felt in some ways like Sherrod’s successor in the backcourt, left for Ole Miss while Quay Miller and Maddie Nolan graduated. In total, the Buffs had 13 outgoing players.

But they managed to bring in some very intriguing players while keeping a couple key contributors. To start, Frida Formann (12.5 PPG, 2.1 APG) is back as is Kindyll Wetta. The Buffs sixth woman felt like she plateaued a bit in her third year but her shooting percentages actually increased along with her output on the boards and distributing the ball. Knowing the challenge ahead inside, head coach JR Payne went and got size. 6’5 center JoJo Nworie comes from Texas Tech while Jade Masagayo (Missouri State) and Nyamier Diew (Iowa State) will factor into the inside game. Lior Garzon, sister of Indiana star Yarden Garzon, will bring a floor spacing element at 6’1 while Washington State guard Johanna Teder adds distribution and a veteran guard presence. Tabitha Betson, the 6’2 Australian who is a top player in the Aussie system was voted the Big 12 preseason freshman of the year. Generally, the voters are down on CU, picking them 9th in the conference, but I have a feeling the Buffs may surprise some folks if they can get the chemistry right as early as possible.

Iowa State -

2023 Record & Result: 21-12 (12-6 Big 12) NCAA Second Round

A dark horse Final Four team lives in Ames, Iowa. Had it not been for a 41 point career night from KiKi Iriafen, Iowa State would’ve been in the Sweet Sixteen last year and who knows how much further. Most importantly, they return a ton of firepower from last years’ team and, with another year of experience, understandably were picked just behind Kansas State to finish at the top of the Big 12.

Their three leading scorers, including freshman phenom Audi Crooks (19.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 57.7 FG%), are all coming back. Emily Ryan is back to anchor the backcourt and gets some help with an improved Kelsey Joens and Oregon State transfer Lily Hansford, maybe one of the best pure three point shooters in women’s college basketball right now. There are also a couple of unknowns that could make a splash. 6’2 forward Alisa Williams redshirted last year while 6’3 forward Lily Taulelei comes in after giving UMass some good rotational minutes in 2023. But make no mistake, the star of the show is Crooks. She, to me, is really reminiscent of Alissa Pili in terms of what her ceiling as an offensive player can be. She has incredible touch around the rim, utilizes her size well and has had a whole offseason to continue adjusting to the more taxing parts of the college game. If she starts to add a little footwork into her repertoire? It might be over for folks. The Cyclones, after a couple years behind their normal expectations, are going to be right back in the hunt this season.

Kansas State -

2023 Record & Result: 26-8 (13-5 Big 12) NCAA Second Round

Jeff Mittie’s crew has been right on the edge of greatness for a couple of seasons and, like previous years, it’ll come down to the health of their centerpiece Ayoka Lee. The 6’6 senior came back for another year and is looking to rediscover her 2021-2022 form where she averaged 22 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while putting up legitimately insane numbers (like that NCAA record 61 points over Oklahoma). That’s not to say her last season wasn’t good. She still averaged 19.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. With some plenty of size on the roster, she’ll have plenty of help asserting her dominance in the Big 12 and nationally.

The biggest takeaway for the Wildcats? They are big. Expect Serena Sundell, the 6’2 All-Big 12 First Teamer last year, to be the focal point. She’s the first player in program history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more assists and 50 or more blocks. They lost Gabby Gregory, the other guard engine of the team, but bring back Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn, Zyanna Walker and bring on another big guard, 6’1 freshman Finley Ohnstad. If they can get their big forwards, 6’3 Eliza Maupin, 6’4 Gisela Sanchez and 6’4 Imani Lester, to take the leap and contribute as well as spell Ayoka Lee, then the preseason champion tag is accurate. The pieces are all there and the 26-8 mark last season was the best in Jeff Mittie’s tenure. Will they take the big step in March? They certainly have a shot.

West Virginia -

2023 Record & Result: 25-8 (12-6 Big 12) NCAA Second Round

Mark Kellogg’s first season in Morgantown was an absolute success. After near immediate coach turnover, the former Stephen F. Austin head coach came in, instituted his principles and took the Mountaineers to an NCAA Tournament and certainly got under Iowa and Caitlin Clark’s skin defensively. Now, the preseason No. 15 team in the country has to build on that. The good news, the conference defensive player of the year and arguably the most underrated player in America alongside Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson is coming back for another round. JJ Quinerly was an absolute revelation last season, posting career bests in points (19.8 PPG), field goal percentage (46.2%), three point percentage (34.4%), steals per game (2.9) and free throw percentage (78.5%). In a lot of ways she was a one woman wrecking crew and if she has some help? That defense might give even the best teams in the nation some problems.

Third leading scorer Lauren Fields graduates but a big chunk of production is back, including second leading scorer Jordan Harrison, starting guard Kyah Watson and Kylee Blacksten. Don’t expect a ton of scoring. The Mountaineers play slow and plodding, suffocating teams and not putting up huge offensive performances (they averaged 74.6 PPG last season). But Mark Kellogg’s teams win that way and they’ve won under him at every level. Having Quinerly back is obviously what makes the engine go but there’s a need for the size on this roster to step up. Blacksten, the 6’3 grad student, was the only major froncourt contributor. 6’4 Danielle Arigbabu didn’t play really at all last year, while Feryal Defne Atli and Jordan Thomas are both 6’3 freshmen. I’d expect to see more of Tirzah Moore (13.8 MPG, 4.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG) this year to help fill the gap up front. They may not be the prettiest watch but if you love defense, this is the team for you all season long.

The Teams to Watch:

Arizona -

2023 Record & Result: 18-16 (8-10 Pac-12) NCAA First Four

Adia Barnes and Arizona have been a sort of funhouse mirror version of Oregon in recent years. Much like the Ducks, the Wildcats Cinderella trip to a 2020 NCAA title was a high watermark that hasn’t been matched in recent years. Unlike the Ducks, the wheels haven’t fallen off quite yet. One thing Barnes has been able to do is maintain a baseline, making three straight NCAA Tournaments since that 2021 run. But there’s also strange things happening under the hood, with consistent mass turnover and some former players saying some not so great things about the program once they’ve left. In spite of that, the Wildcats still recruit at a high level and have been able to keep some of their biggest prep stars from Jada Williams to Montaya Dew. They will, however, be turning over the keys to their youth. All four of their top scorers — Kailyn Gilbert, Esmery Martinez, Maya Nnaji and Helena Pueyo — have either graduated or transferred.

But now the door opens for the likes of Williams (9.5 PPG, 2.4 APG, 1.1 SPG), Breya Cunningham (7.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG) to take the reins and chart a new course for Arizona women’s basketball. They will get a boost from 2024 C-USA Honorable Mention and FIU transfer Ajae Yoakum (10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG) as well as Pepperdine transfer Jorynn Ross (6.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG). The guards are intriguing in terms of talent, as Arizona welcomes North Carolina transfer Paulina Paris and South Carolina transfer Sahnya Jah, whose exit in Columbia didn’t come without controversy. But it is worth noting just how many closes losses the Wildcats had last year and that the 18-16 record isn’t totally indicative of potential performance. From January 5 to January 19 of last year, the Wildcats were 1-4 in five games, all of them decided by 3 points or less. There is plenty of variance in the game and, in spite of the noise around Tucson, it’s still entirely possible Adia Barnes rights the ship and gets Arizona back on the track people thought they were on following the 2021 NCAA run.

Kansas -

2023 Record & Result: 20-13 (11-7 Big 12) NCAA Second Round

It’s been a long build since 2015 but it seems that Brandon Schneider has found a semblance of stability in Lawrence. The team has won 20 or more games three straight seasons and followed up a 2023 WNIT title with a win over Michigan in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The difficulty will be replacing a couple of major contributors, chief among them center Taiyanna Jackson (12.6 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.0 BPG), and fill the rebounding void. On paper, Skylar Gill’s transfer to Florida Gulf Coast feels like a loss but the former ASUN Defensive Player of the Year didn’t make as much of a splash in Lawrence as expected. Zakiyah Franklin (11.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.2 APG) and Holly Kersgieter (11.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.6 APG) are also gone.

But what the Jayhawks do return is 6’0 guard S’Mya Nichols (15.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.7 APG) who was the leading scorer and freshman phenom last season. They bring in Jordan Webster from UC Riverside, a first team All-Big West selection who averaged 17.1 points per game. The player I am most interested in is Elle Evans (14.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.9 APG), a first team All-Summit League at North Dakota State and a really good all around player on both ends of the floor. Interestingly, she’s listed as a guard but checks in at 6’3 and models her game after Indiana Fever guard Katie Lou Samuelson and lists Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin as her biggest role model. But, much like West Virginia, the questions lie in the front court and if their bench options from last year — 6’4 Danai Papadopoulou, 6’3 freshman Regan Williams or 6’4 center Nadira Eltayeb — can contribute in meaningful ways and get the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma State -

2023 Record & Result: 14-16 (7-11 Big 12)

Jacie Hoyt’s crew took a bit of a step back last season after an NCAA Tournament run in her first year at the helm in Stillwater. They got some good contributions from two of their marquee 2023 transfers — 6’5 Hannah Gusters and North Texas guard Quincy Noble — but it wasn’t enough to really make the impact Hoyt and her staff expected. This year, they turn over three of their biggest minute contributors (Lior Garzon transferred to Colorado) but bring back plenty of backcourt experience that will help buoy them in the non conference as they figure out who is going to take the lead in the paint.

Stailee Heard was a revelation as a freshman, being named to the Big 12’s all freshman team, checking in as the teams’ leading rebounder (6.3 RPG) and second leading scorer (12.9 PPG). Former Arizona guard Anna Gret Asi is also coming back, bringing experience (34.1 MPG last year) and skill on both sides of the floor (12.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.5 SPG). I had initially expected more of Arkansas transfer Rylee Langerman last season but she played alright in spots and I’d expect a bit more of a jump this year. Success in Stillwater, however, hinges on their 6’6 fifth year transfer Tenin Magassa. The French center comes from Rhode Island where she was the Atlantic 10’s Sixth Woman of the Year as a freshman and led the team in blocks. Outside of Magassa, there’s only a couple of listed forwards, mainly bench piece Praise Egharevba and Mercer transfer Stacie Jones, who was second team All-SoCon. It’s a deeper Big 12 this year so it may be another middling year for Oklahoma State unless they can get that front court rolling. But never rule anything out.

TCU -

2023 Record & Result: 21-12 (6-12 Big 12) WBIT Second Round

I’ll say this for my buddy Mark Campbell, he knows how to build an offseason hype train. He and longtime assistant Xavi Lopez loaded up a staff of former Oregon greats from Minyon Moore to Ruthy Hebard and Nia Jackson. Then they made splash after splash in the transfer portal and are now one of the most interesting teams in college basketball and one that has an exceptionally high NCAA Tournament ceiling if it all clicks and everyone stays healthy. But health is the key, as 6’7 Sedona Prince’s injury last year kicked off a cavalcade of DNP’s for the Horned Frogs, derailing what was an otherwise promising first season. But no matter, the roster this year is arguably even better than it was last season.

For all intents and purposes, this is a who’s who of former top end Pac-12 recruits and west coast flavor. Taylor Bigby and Maddie Scherr both played at Oregon before transferring to USC and Kentucky, respectively. They’re now at TCU. Sedona Prince immediately followed Campbell to Fort Worth. Madison Conner, last year’s leading scorer, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu started their careers at Arizona and Stanford. But the big get is a former major Oregon target while Campbell was an assistant there: Hailey Van Lith. Now, for some, HVL has become a bit of a meme in the last couple seasons. But people forget just how good she was at Louisville, in a system that is predicated more on defense than anything. Now, she has backcourt help in Conner (19.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.0 APG) as well as a dominant big in Price (19.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.9 BPG) to play in pick-and-roll with. Campbell’s teams are always some of the highest frequency PnR teams in college basketball. Scherr and Oregon State transfer Donovyn Hunter bring excellent perimeter defense, Emma Nnopu (10.7 PPG, 7.2 RPG) is a five-tool player, and Arianna Roberson is slated to break out in her third year in Fort Worth. Of any team in the Big 12, their ceiling is easily the highest. It is just dependent on how healthy they’ll be all year.

Utah -

2023 Record & Result: 23-11 (11-7 Pac-12) NCAA Second Round

Utah is one of the great ‘what if’ cases of last season. They brought back nearly everyone from a Sweet Sixteen team that really should’ve defeated LSU in the 2023 NCAA Tournament if not for a complete collapse in the final 25 seconds of regulation. They were my dark horse Final Four team last year. But Gianna Kneepkens, the Utes engine and starting superstar guard blew out her knee and they just weren’t the same. Now, there’s a bit of a retooling happening in Salt Lake City, with Kneepkens back but a massive front court hole left by the graduation of All-American Alissa Pili. But head coach Lynne Roberts beefed up the front court and will be relying on offseason development of a couple key pieces to make up the difference.

Let’s start with Kneepkens, who really is one of the best guards in the country. She won MVP at Kelsey Plum’s Dawg camp in 2023 and is an elite slasher as well as perimeter defender. It was clear how much they missed her after she got hurt. But it allowed for the likes of Ines Vieria (8.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.9 APG, 2.3 SPG) and Kennady McQueen (10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.1 APG) to learn to take the backcourt lead, something that will likely help this season. Making up Pili’s production (21.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG) and defensive attention is going to be tough, to say the least. Jenna Johnson does return and the expectation is that Rhode Island transfer Maya Toure (12.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG) and Michigan transfer Chyra Evans (6.2 PPG on 17 MPG) will fill the void. I’m most curious about Nene Sow, the 6’8 center who played in just 11 games last year but is one of the tallest players in NCAA women’s basketball. It’s a veteran team, mostly comprised of upperclassmen and transfers. The hope is to maximize Kneepkens title window now.

The Rest of the Field:

Arizona State -

2023 Record & Result: 11-20 (3-15 Pac-12)

Natasha Adair’s complete rebuild of Arizona State continues apace and while an 11-20 record and 3-15 Pac-12 record is still not great, it’s technically better than the first season in Tempe in which the Sun Devils only won one conference game. Trayanna Crisp is certainly a loss, transferring to North Carolina in the offseason. Jaddan Simmons, the teams’ assist and steals leader, transferred to Michigan State while guard Treasure Hunt graduated and is now coaching at Tennessee State. But aside from that, there’s plenty of talent coming back and some under the radar interesting portal acquisitions. Jalyn Brown (17.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG) is back and will be the breadwinner for the ASU backcourt. Kennedy Fauntleroy and Jazion Jackson are players that had successful first stops but then unsuccessful second transfers. The talent is there for both, it will come down to how Coach Adair can unlock them. Tyi Skinner is also back after a knee injury cost her last season. What sets ASU apart is that they have a ton of size on their roster. 6’7 forward Kennedy Basham transfers from Oregon, 6’4 center Neveah Parkinson from UC Irvine. It’s a lot of projection here at ASU but there’s a Tournament level ceiling in terms of talent. Year 3 may be the season in which Adair’s rebuild comes to fruition but that’s contingent on everyone playing to their ceiling.

BYU -

2023 Record & Result: 16-17 (6-12 Big 12) WBIT First Round

BYU is fighting an uphill battle in terms of establishing themselves in the Big 12. Lauren Gustin (16.7 PPG, 15.3 RPG) was phenomenal last season and arguably the most underrated player in the entire nation. But Lauren Gustin’s eligibility is out. With that, the question is obvious, who is going to fill that gap?

There isn’t a player that screams out that they are going to take that responsibility and run with it. Kailey Woolston looked to be the building block going forward after averaging 13.3 PPG in her freshman season but she will not be on the floor as she announced that she will be serving 18 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

From there the Cougars only return one double-digit scorer in Amari Whiting (10.6 PPG). In the portal they were able to bring in Kemery Congdon (6.7 PPG) from Cal, Mayra Hudgins (7.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG) from Santa Clara, Hattie Ogden (7.5 PPG) from Buffalo, and Kendra Gillispie (3.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG) from Arkansas State. One player to potentially look out for is Arielle Mackey-Williams who missed last season due to injury but was able to jump up from 2.2 PPG to 8.8 PPG between her freshman and sophomore seasons. With gaps in production existing, look for one of these players to potentially break out and see heavy production increase for the Cougars.

Cincinnati -

2023 Record & Result: 14-18 (5-13 Big 12) WNIT Second Round

It is year two of Cincinnati in the Big 12 and year two for head coach Katrina Merriweather as they look continue to build their program foundation. The biggest difference between Cincinnati and BYU? Cincinnati returns their two best players in fifth year Jillian Hayes (12.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG), who was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, and A’riel Jackson (9.4 PPG).

From the portal the Bearcats were able to add three players, Tineya Hylton (4.1 PPG, 1.9 APG) from Texas A&M, Daylee Dunn (2.7 PPG) from Loyola Marymount, and a transfer of personal intrigue, Alliance Ndiba (14 PPG, 11.8 RPG) from Arizona Western in the NJCAA. The 6’3” big mirrors a junior college path taken by another recently successful Big 12 big in Taiyanna Jackson from Kansas and Cincinnati will be hoping for similar results.

Houston -

2023 Record & Result: 14-16 (5-13 Big 12)

For Houston it is largely a new look roster. They went fishing in the portal and were able to bring several players in to join their solid leading scorer Laila Blair (15.9 PPG) for this upcoming Big 12 season. The name you likely know most will unfortunately be out for season in Kateri Poole who won a national championship with LSU but will be out for this season due to injury. Outside of Poole, Houston brought in three players from the portal. Eylia Love (3.8 PPG) from Louisville, Ashley Chevalier (2.8 PPG) from Texas Tech, and Leilani Augmon (4.6 PPG) from Troy. The Cougars also add Gigi Cooke who transferred from Maryland prior to last season but was out due to injury.

Texas Tech -

2023 Record & Result: 17-16 (5-13 Big 12)

Last year in the Big 12, Texas Tech had one of the more underrated duos in the conference with Jasmine Shavers (15.4 PPG, 5 RPG) and Bailey Maupin (14.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.1 APG). In the offseason, head coach Krista Gerlich went portal diving to find them some more help, adding five players to the roster. Denae Fritz (1.6 PPG, 8.2 minutes per game) saw a massive drop-off last season at Baylor after finding genuine impact at Iowa State in the previous two years, she could become a very solid piece for Tech if they are able to get her back to that form. Adlee Blacklock (3.5 PPG) joins from the mass exodus from Oregon State. Maya Peat (10.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG) from UAPB injects size into this roster standing at 6’6”. The final two players come from the junior college route, Ivana Krajina (18.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.0 APG) and Sarengbe Sanogo (11.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG) both from Odessa College. Similar to Cincinnati, they will be hoping to replicate the success of Taiyanna Jackson.

UCF -

2023 Record & Result: 12-17 (3-15 Big 12)

UCF has an absolute bucket getter in Kaitlin Peterson (20.7 PPG) but the drop off last season outside of her scoring is massive with no other players able to average 10+ PPG. Lucky for Peterson, there is some help on the way from the portal. A scorer who proved herself in the Big 12 last season is making her way to UCF in Hannah Gusters (14.3 PPG) who lead Oklahoma State in scoring. Joining her will be Ally Stedman (2.2 PPG) who never got rolling at Miami but if she can get back close to her Pepperdine form of 15.6 PPG could turn into a major pickup, Lucie Castagne (2.3 PPG, 2 RPG) from Brown, and Neveah Brown (13.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG) who was named Named to the All-SoCon First Team at ETSU last season.

The Three Best Players You Know:

Hailey Van Lith (TCU) - 11.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.6 APG

2024 3x3 Olympic Bronze Medalist

2023 AP, USBWA All-American Honorable Mention

2023 All-ACC First Team

Audi Crooks (Iowa State) - 19.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.0 APG

2024 AP All-American Honorable Mention

2024 All-Big 12 First Team

2024 Big 12 All-Freshman Team

Ayoka Lee (Kansas State) - 19.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.8 BPG

2024 WBCA All-American Honorable Mention

2024 All-Big 12 First Team

2020 Big 12 Freshman of the Year

NCAA Record Holder - Single Game Points (61)

The Five Best Players You Need to Know:

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Baylor) - 10.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.5 APG

2024 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention

2023 Big 12 Freshman of the Year

JJ Quinerly (West Virginia) - 19.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.9 SPG

2024 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

2024 All-Big 12 First Team

Serena Sundell (Kansas State) - 12.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.6 APG

2024 All-Big 12 First Team

Jada Williams (Arizona) - 9.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.4 APG

2024 Pac-12 All Freshman Team

Gianna Kneepkens (Utah) - (2023) 15.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.1 APG

2023 WBCA All-American Honorable Mention

2023 All-Pac-12 First Team

2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

Cinderella Story:

Arizona State: Look, the last two years haven’t been great. I don’t think anyone is denying that. But personally I love the roster Natasha Adair has and think their ceiling is a good NCAA Tournament team. They bring back plenty of talent, a leading scorer and absolutely loaded up their front court with players that projected well out of high school but maybe didn’t have the right fit at their first stop. If she can get the most out of a Kennedy Fauntleroy or Kennedy Basham then there’s a lot of teams that won’t want to see the Sun Devils on their schedule. I trust Coach Adair, who has won at every stop, albeit with smaller programs. But success can travel and translate. The rebuild after Charli Turner Thorne’s retirement has been extensive yet this roster gives me reason for optimism. If they can get the chemistry and pieces right, they’ll be right back to where they’ve always been as a dangerous Tournament team.