Hoopla 40: 2025-26 Preseason Rankings

THE HOOPS, THEY ARE BACK.

This college basketball season is officially underway, and nine of our beloved Big Ten teams have already played a game. All nine won and there were plenty of takeaways to make, but none of that will be done here, at least not today. We have business to take care of first, let’s save all the Week One thoughts for next Tuesday.

All Hoopla 2025-26 Season Previews

Basket Under Review Post: Some Scattered Storylines to Watch

For new readers, the Hoopla 40 is a list of the 40 best players in Big Ten women’s basketball. These come out at the beginning, middle and end of each season, and each ranking means something a little different. This is the preseason ranking, and it is a lot more focused on what I am projecting out of players and who I believe will be the best players in the Big Ten for the season to come.

2024-25 End-of-Season Hoopla 40

These rankings are not necessarily based on what we have seen from players in the past, which leaves a little more up in the air for me to take some swings on who I think could really break out. So if a player seems too high or too low, you may be absolutely right! But that’s probably due to me taking one of those swings.

As always: Any player on a current Big Ten roster is eligible for this list. That includes new transfers, freshmen and players coming in with injuries (as long as they are expected to play this season, so no JuJu Watkins, etc). There were some availability questions that came out of yesterday’s games, but just like the box scores, nothing from yesterday impacts these rankings, as this is a PRESEASON list.

I’ll say this every year: This list is so fun to make, but also feels impossible. There are far more than 40 deserving players, but I only have so much space and so much time. I welcome any and all feedback on who should have been placed where on this list, so please let me know either here or on Bluesky!

At last, here is my Preseason Hoopla 40. Comments on each player are listed below:

Just missed the cut: Faith Blackstone (Rutgers); Jalyn Brown (Michigan State); Elsa Lemmilä (Ohio State); Maya Makalusky (Indiana); Tori McKinney (Minnesota); Gift Uchenna Okeke (Wisconsin); Kiki Smith (Purdue); Grace Sullivan (Northwestern)

1.) Lauren Betts, UCLA — Returner

The unquestioned best player in the Big Ten this season, and perhaps the best player in the entire country. She nearly averaged a 20-point double-double last season, is reigning Defensive Player of the Year and has become a tremendous passer from the post. Any enhancements to her game from here could get UCLA over the hurdle to a national title.

2.) Kaylene Smikle, Maryland — Returner

A scoring tour de force that fits Maryland’s style of play extremely well, and another year in the system should only enhance her abilities even further. Smikle’s currently dealing with some nagging injuries, but is clearly one of the top players in the conference when healthy.

3.) Kiki Rice, UCLA — Returner

A clearly gifted point guard who has improved her game every season. Rice is a turnover-averse playmaker that can shoot, get to the rim and plays terrific defense. She came off the bench in her debut, but will once again be a force when fully healthy.

4.) Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State — Returner

Ohio State is going to need her to be this good if the Buckeyes want to keep their usual standard. The good news for them is that Cambridge is absolutely capable of it. Last season proved some of what that ceiling could look like, but the keys are now fully in her hands in year two, and the returns should be enormous.

5.) Syla Swords, Michigan — Returner

Michigan’s three-headed monster of a backcourt is going to be a delight to watch once again, and while another Wolverine ultimately co-won the Freshman of the Year award (which I agree with), there’s something about Swords’ game that has felt like it holds the highest ceiling to me. I think we will see more of the playmaking and shooting flash from Swords, and more of that all-around talent that makes her such a special player.

6.) Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA — Transfer

There’s a reason I derailed my UCLA preview to talk about how much I love this transfer. Gianna Kneepkens was one of the best guards in the country last year point blank period, and she’s entering a team with elite talent all around her. Her efficiency should be such a weapon for a Bruins team that was missing some of that from the perimeter last year.

7.) Olivia Olson, Michigan — Returner

The aforementioned other Wolverine, Olson finished last season so, so strong and seems perfectly capable of holding a heavy volume of the offense for this Michigan team. She’s also a great rebounder and active defender who seems to mesh well with her other underclassmen co-stars.

8.) Elle Ladine, Washington — Returner

No reason to believe the way Ladine absolutely ignited to end Washington’s season last year should end there. Washington’s retained core this season, along with the great adds, should allow for her to thrive in a very similar way. A very mysterious game one absence does not apply here, but it certainly has me hopeful that we will see Ladine on the court very soon.

9.) Yarden Garzon, Maryland — Transfer

Garzon has maintained her tremendous perimeter shooting throughout her collegiate career, all the while she has picked up a much more versatile game. She comes to the Terps as a much more complete weapon, bringing excellent rebounding and playmaking to the fray as well.

10.) Kara Dunn, USC — Transfer

To me, a transfer that is not getting enough shine! With no Watkins and Kiki Iriafen to the W, USC is going to need some heavy scorers, and they happened to pick up a guard built to do exactly that. Dunn led Georgia Tech to the NCAA Tournament, is an efficient scorer and, perhaps most importantly, I think USC is going to need to rely on her as the roster gets settled.

11.) Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State — Returner

VanSlooten impressed in her first year with the Spartans, but is now going to be the primary weapon for the offense to build around. It may lead to some gaudy numbers and a whole lot of success for Michigan State.

12.) Sayvia Sellers, Washington — Returner

We are down to one S. Sellers at guard to save the Big Ten, but Sayvia is another great one with tons of promise. She found her three-point shot in a big way last year and brings nearly four assists and two steals per game to the picture as well.

13.) Hannah Stuelke, Iowa — Returner

Big, big year for Hannah Stuelke. She’s had Caitlin Clark, she had Lucy Olsen, but this feels like the time to make her stamp over the course of a season. She’s continually improved her versatility and aggressiveness, and I want to see it all come together.

14.) Britt Prince, Nebraska — Returner

Nebraska departs from the Alexis Markowski era with an extremely exciting point guard to lead the charge. Prince showed no fear as a true freshman and should be opened up to put up some big-time production leading the Cornhuskers this season.

15.) Jazzy Davidson, USC — Freshman

The nation’s No. 1 prospect is on a team that is missing its reigning National Player of the Year all season. Yeah, I’m willing to say that there’s a real opportunity for Davidson to produce for a very good team IMMEDIATELY in her collegiate career.

16.) Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland — Transfer

Duke is the type of team that loves putting opponents in a trash compactor, but sometimes it feels like it comes at the expense of its own stars. Okananwa’s potential in a more free-flowing offense is so exciting, and we already know she is going to be a terror defensively along with it.

17.) Kennedy Smith, USC — Returner

Speaking of defensive terrors! Smith did not look like a freshman whatsoever defensively, and should continue to grow into her game offensively in year two. Like Davidson and Dunn, the moment is there for Smith to take on a large scoring volume.

18.) Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA — Returner

The big wild card, perhaps the biggest in the conference for me. Leger-Walker missed all of last season recovering from injury, but we have seen the eye-popping numbers she had at Washington State. UCLA has a truly nasty amount of talent, but Leger-Walker is going to get involved plenty.

19.) Shay Ciezki, Indiana — Returner

Indiana has a new look this season, but Ciezki stayed through the change and is going to be the lead scoring option because of it. I’m excited to see what that looks like, because she’s been a terrific complementary scorer everywhere she’s been.

20.) Mara Braun, Minnesota — Returner

Please, oh please, give me a full season of Mara Braun hoops. Two seasons straight of injury troubles is a fair reason for pause, but when Braun is healthy, she and the Gophers are at another gear entirely. Her shot-making, defensive tenacity and all-around heady basketball plays can get Minnesota far this year, as long as she’s on the court to do it.

21.) Natalie Potts, Nebraska — Returner

A similar story to Braun, Potts is recovering from an ACL tear that happened very early last season. What we saw in those five games last year seemed genuinely special, and could make for such a fun two-headed attack with Prince. She was out for game one, but should be back in the near future.

22.) Avery Howell, Washington — Transfer

A huge reason for why I am so high on Washington this season. Howell flashed quite a bit for the Trojans during her freshman season, and is a remarkable shooter to put next to two other great ones. That offense, when fully healthy, is going to be special.

23.) Mila Holloway, Michigan — Returner

Expecting a big rise out of Holloway this season feels easy. She’s got the talent, and she has the teammates to bring it out of her and vice versa. A continued improvement of her already great facilitating and finding more scoring opportunities in the offense could be all it takes.

24.) Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA — Returner

Jaquez is not a player I am expecting a massive stat line from this season because of, well, the UCLA roster. But watching the Bruins, it’s so clear her skillset and importance to the roster. She fills the gaps everywhere, and is going to be such a key player for UCLA to have again as it makes a title push.

25.) Grace Grocholski, Minnesota — Returner

Obviously Minnesota would have preferred to have Braun these past two seasons, but the development the Gophers have received from Grocholski in the mean time is a nice consolation. She was such a valuable player last year and has really come into her own. This veteran Minnesota group is going to need her shooting to maintain if it wants to get into the NCAA Tournament.

26.) Berry Wallace, Illinois — Returner

An extremely important era of Illinois women’s basketball has ended, and Berry Wallace is one of the most exciting pieces returning to keep the momentum. Her second half of the season showed a lot of that five-star promise, and the near-40-percent three-point shooting will be a key for the Illini to utilize.

27.) T’yana Todd, Ohio State — Transfer

A really nice addition for the Buckeyes here, and one that should slot in nicely next to Cambridge. Todd shot 45.3 percent from deep as Boston College’s primary weapon. Ohio State would love to see more of that this year.

28.) Addie Deal, Iowa — Freshman

A five-star freshman guard is headed to Iowa, and Deal feels like the, you know what I won’t finish that pun. I’m fascinated at how the offensive production will be split for the Hawkeyes, but I’m confident Deal is going to be involved more and more as the season progresses.

29.) Amaya Battle, Minnesota — Returner

Battle has gotten there, slowly and surely over the past three seasons she has worked on her game and is a truly great point guard for the Gophers entering her senior season. She’s even better when she has weapons, and I think we are going to see her best season yet because of that.

30.) Theryn Hallock, Michigan State — Returner

Hallock is a firecracker of a two-way player who returns as one of the longest-tenured Spartans. Her energy is infectious and she works brilliantly under Fralick’s system, and I think it’s going to be more of the same once again.

31.) Sienna Betts, UCLA — Freshman

Betts is the — sixth — Bruin to be listed here, the most of any team in Hoopla 40 history I am pretty sure. But she is a top-five prospect, Lauren’s sister and a versatile weapon at forward that gives UCLA something new to attack opponents with. If her shot is clicking, the Bruins will not be able to pass up on what she brings to the table.

32.) Kiyomi McMiller, Penn State — Transfer

What in the world is Penn State going to look like this season? A lot of that answer is going to fall on how McMiller looks in year two. She had an incredible highlight reel of offensive plays for Rutgers, but there were also plenty of off-the-court lowlights. The ceiling is obvious and the talent has shown through, but can McMiller turn it into true development and team success?

33.) Gracie Merkle, Penn State — Returner

Merkle will also be a key to those answers. She was great for Penn State last season but nearly left in the portal before ultimately deciding to return. If she can mesh with McMiller, that’s an extremely exciting duo to have for two seasons that you can build around. Regardless, Merkle’s interior scoring and offensive rebounding is a huge asset to have back.

34.) Destiny Jackson, Illinois — Freshman

This is the perfect time for an Illinois Ms. Basketball to be entering the program. As said above, the Illini are going through a transitional phase after a slew of vets departed. Jackson is a high-scoring five-star guard that should have quite the green light (pun not intended) right away for Shauna Green.

35.) Ava Heiden, Iowa — Returner

So one game in and I’m already thinking this might be too low. Heiden’s end-of-season run was remarkable last year, and I knew Jan Jensen would get her involved plenty after that. The fit next to Stuelke will decide how many fireworks are in Iowa’s frontcourt this year, but the potential is clearly brimming over for Heiden no matter what.

36.) Saylor Poffenbarger, Maryland — Returner

Poffenbarger is such an excellent complementary piece to have for this Maryland team. She’s one of the best rebounding guards in the country, is a willing shooter and skilled defender. Like Jaquez for UCLA, I think she can fill the gaps in the rotation, especially if her three ball can improve by a couple notches.

37.) Ronnie Porter, Wisconsin — Returner

The 5-4 guard assassin is overseeing a coaching and roster turnover, but is coming out the other side of it with, in my eyes, a whole lot of promise. Porter’s going to be a terrific playmaker and pesky defender, but I’d love to see her take more control of the offense as such a key returner.

38.) Ashley Sofilkanich, Michigan — Transfer

After truly lighting it up at Bucknell, Sofilkanich is likely not averaging 19.7 PPG in Ann Arbor, but she’s going to be a much more impactful offensive piece than any forward the Wolverines had last season. She also brings 2.2 BPG as well to help improve the interior defense.

39.) Elisa Mevius, Oregon — Returner

If Oregon plays like it did last season, the production is going to be so spread thin throughout the lineup that it will be difficult to highlight anyone. Mevius’ defensive tenacity always helps her stand out, though, and she should step into an increased facilitating role without Deja Kelly and Peyton Scott.

40.) Chance Gray, Ohio State — Returner

Gray got off to such a great start with the Buckeyes before her shot completely abandoned her in the back half of the season. I’m not expecting that to happen again, and I think she’s going to work extremely well playing next to Cambridge and Todd.