NCAAW: Watch these 10 freshman this women’s college basketball season

The 2024-25 women’s college basketball season is going to be epic as we watch some of the sport’s brightest young superstars grow in their games. Last year, USC’s JuJu Watkins led the freshman phenoms as one of the country’s best players, even in her first season. Now as a sophomore, Watkins has a bit of experience under her belt, and we have a whole new class of rookies to get to know.

We are in a fun era of college basketball. The talent is widespread throughout the country, meaning that there are players to watch at every turn. Here are 10 of the most exciting freshmen:

Sarah Strong (UConn)

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

As the No. 1 recruit for the 2024 class, Sarah Strong had her pick when it came to where to play college basketball. The 6-foot-2 forward has size, strength and IQ to boast, something that UConn head coach Geno Auriemma values in his players.

Coming off a senior season where she was the Naismith Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American, Strong is ready for college. She was a double-double machine, averaging 21 points and 16.8 rebounds per game as a senior. She also has experience at the FIBA level in both U18 5×5 and 3×3 competitions, making her a versatile player. It will be great to see how that translates to the college game.

She’ll be paired with two other former No. 1 recruits in Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, and UConn is ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll. One thing UConn somewhat lacks is size and depth in their frontcourt, but Strong will contribute to that greatly.

Syla Swords (Michigan)

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Syla Swords fan, and while I am not often too biased, let me make my case on why you should be too.

Swords is from Sudbury, Canada, the daughter of Canadian basketball player Shawn Swords of the 2000 men’s Olympic basketball team. After he accepted a coaching position with the Long Island Nets, the family moved to New York, and Syla played her junior and senior seasons at Long Island Lutheran High School. The school sent all five of their 2024 seniors to Division I basketball programs.

Swords made an impact on the high school basketball scene, becoming a McDonald’s All-American and the New York Gatorade Player of the Year. She committed to Michigan as the No. 4 recruit in the class of 2024. More impressively, Swords is heading to Ann Arbor fresh off becoming an Olympian. After making the Canadian women’s national team rosters for two Olympic qualifying tournaments, Swords made the final Olympic roster, playing at the 2024 Games in Paris. She got minutes too—impactful minutes. Despite the team going 0-3 in Paris, Swords showed that she could defend some of the best players in the world. She made smart reads, knew when to pass and when to shoot and proved her advanced skill.

Going into college as a freshman with so much experience is huge for her and for Michigan. They also hired her former Team Canada teammate Natalie Achonwa as an assistant coach. The future is incredibly bright for Swords.

Kate Koval (Notre Dame)

MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another one of the Long Island Lutheran seniors, Kate Koval will be heading to Notre Dame this season. Coming in right behind Swords as the No. 5 recruit in the class, and the No. 1 post player, Koval is a 6-foot-4 forward with a lot of size and power. Along with dominating in the post, she can shoot from the perimeter. As a junior, she shot 60.7 percent from the field.

Also a McDonald’s All-American, Koval already has international experience as well, playing in the U16 and U18 European Championships for Ukraine. Koval moved from Ukraine to America in 2021, and in 2022 played in the U18 3×3 World Cup. Notre Dame will look to pair her with their extremely talented guards.

Olivia Olson (Michigan)

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The No. 2 recruit in this year’s class will be heading to Michigan to join Swords. From Minnesota, Olivia Olson was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 24 points, 4.4 assists and 10 rebounds per game in her senior season. Another guard to add to Michigan’s roster, the 6-foot-1 Olson’s size will come in handy against the country’s talented guards.

She joins one of Michigan’s most stacked rosters in program history, with two McDonald’s All-Americans coming into the program; they are the first McDonald’s All-Americans to commit to the program. Olson’s playmaking prowess was put on display during the All-American game when she made the “prettiest pass of the night” to future teammate Swords.

Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Joining the reigning national champions at South Carolina, Joyce Edwards is staying close to home. The South Carolina native was the No. 3 recruit in this year’s class, and she didn’t have to travel too far to find the right program for her.

Head coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks have been pumping out WNBA talent for years now, all while still dominating the college world. They have not lost a game since April of 2023, and there is no slowing them down any time soon. It’s very possible they go undefeated again this season. The team could use depth in the front court, now that Kamilla Cardoso has left the program for the WNBA. Edwards averaged 31.3 points, 13.6 rebounds per game as a senior at Camden High School. Staley knows how to find great players, and Edwards will only get better.

Kennedy Smith (USC)

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

USC boasts maybe the strongest freshmen class in the country this year, right on the heels of JuJu Watkins’ historic freshman season. Along with Kennedy Smith, the No. 6 recruit, USC was able to sign the No. 13 recruit (Kayleigh Heckel), the No. 16 recruit (Avery Howell), the No. 47 recruit (Vivian Iwuchukwu), the No. 54 recruit (Rian Forestier) and the No. 92 recruit (Laura Williams). USC’s power this season will be in their depth. With a stacked class of freshmen, USC is launching themselves to the next level, and is ranked No. 3 behind South Carolina and UConn in the AP preseason poll.

In committing to the Trojans, Smith is staying close to home, having grown up close to LA in Chino, California. She was the California Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024, and won gold with Team USA at the U18 AmeriCup. A guard, she averaged 20.2 points per game as a senior.

Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State)

Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Coming into college as the No. 2 recruit in the class, Jaloni Cambridge committed to Ohio State. Raised in Tennessee, she averaged 20.7 points per game as a senior at Montverde Academy in Florida. As a junior at The Ensworth School in Nashville, she posted 26.9 points per game. She won the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year in her senior year.

With Jacy Sheldon now graduated from Ohio State, Cambridge is a fantastic recruit for the program.

Toby Fournier (Duke)

Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images

Another Canadian, of course! Toby Fournier is one of the most exciting prospects to come out Canada. As the No. 10 recruit in the 2024 class, Fournier played high school basketball at Crestwood Prep in Toronto.

After going viral for dunking at 14 years old, Fournier has only gotten better. She’s played for Canada at various U18 levels, and yes, she can still dunk. At 6-foot-2, Fournier has a unique skill set, with her under the basket skills mixed with a growing ability to operate on the perimeter. If she’s able to develop that in college, she will be an explosive prospect.

Allie Ziebell (UConn)

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Another recruit headed to Storrs, Allie Ziebell joins a talented UConn program. It was the pair of freshmen in KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade who helped boost the Huskies through an injury-ridden season last year. This season, Strong and Ziebell may see important minutes, too.

Ziebell is the No. 7 recruit in this year’s class, coming from Wisconsin. She averaged 27.5 points per game as a senior at Neenah High School. She also won the 3-point shooting contest at the McDonalds All-American game. UConn could use the depth of a sharp shooting guard, especially since Azzi Fudd has not yet been cleared to return to the court after an ACL injury last fall.

Ava Heiden (Iowa)

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

With Iowa in their post-Clark era, a four-star recruit like Ava Heiden is big for the next chapter of the program. Heiden seems to be a dark horse in many preseason freshmen rankings. In a recruiting class filled with guards, she is a center at 6-foot-4 who averaged 17.2 points, 11.3 rebounds in her senior season at Sherwood High School in Oregon.

Adding size to the frontcourt alongside Hannah Stuelke will be great for Iowa as they face off against teams with excellent bigs.

With a stacked freshman class like this one, it was hard to only pick 10 players to watch. The women’s college hoops action is going to be super exciting this season, and the trend of freshmen taking over the conversation seems to be alive and well.