Ranking the Top 10 Women's College Basketball Players Early in 2026-27

The NCAA women's basketball season is upon us.

Many players can help their programs make deep runs and reach the heights they have spent all summer working for, but some stars stand above the crowd.

These are the top 10 NCAA women's basketball players early in the 2026-2027 season.

Michigan has been on a steady climb over the last couple of years. Olivia Olson has largely led the charge. The season didn't end the way Olson would have wanted, as Michigan suffered a blowout loss to Texas in the NCAA tournament, but that loss can be a lesson.

The key piece to Olson's game taking the next step will be getting her three-point percentage back up after shooting 38.3% from deep in her freshman season, but dropping to 30.5% last year.

In terms of production and caliber of opponent compared to the discussion of an individual player, Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge might be the most underrated player in the nation.

Averaging 23.2 points per game last season, the offensive electricity that she brings powers Ohio State in many ways. This is another season where she'll look to do so and potentially break containment, joining the larger national conversation at a higher level. Don't be surprised if you see her in the running for Big Ten Player of the Year.

As the lone true center on this list, Clara Strack is the anchor of everything for Kentucky. Averaging a double-double last season with 16.9 PPG and 10.1 RPG, expectations are high for what Strack can do this year in the SEC.

It feels like there is more untapped potential in terms of true game-takeover potential on the offensive end; if Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks can find a way to get to it consistently, you can see Strack rise up this list and WNBA Draft boards. She has the touch offensively while being a direct deterrent at the rim for opposing teams. There is a whole lot to like from Strack's game.

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When JuJu Watkins went down, there were understandable questions about how USC would fill the void the following season. Jazzy Davidson took that challenge head-on and impressed in her freshman campaign.

It wasn't without some growing pains, but Davidson was immensely impactful on both sides of the ball. She was asked to do it all as the stat sheets kept filling up.

After averaging 17.9 points and two steals and blocks per game, it will be an adjustment for the reigning National Freshman of the Year as Watkins returns. If USC can figure it out, they can be the best duo in the country.

6. Joyce Edwards, South Carolina, Forward

Unsurprisingly, South Carolina is once again stacked with talent, but Joyce Edwards will lead the way this season. Last year, Edwards was tasked with a large increase in responsibility due to the Gamecocks having some of their depth unavailable. Edwards took that increase in stride.

Starting every game and upping her scoring average to 19.2 points per game, she enters this season with that growth and reinforcements that should make her life easier in the paint. With Dawn Staley and her staff's track record of developing bigs, don't be surprised if Edwards takes another leap.

When you are a 3x First Team All-American, a former Big 12 and SEC Player of the Year, it is hard to imagine having more to prove. Yet Madison Booker might be the player with the most opportunity to cement their dominance on this list.

Booker has one of the most unstoppable jump shots in the game with her pull-up in the mid-range. It has guided Texas to back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances. As she enters her senior year after an off-season of roster turnover for Texas, her ability to lead this team deep once again and the potential growth of her three-point shot will be the things to watch to see her leap up this list.

For the longest time, the SEC has been run by bigs dominating in the paint, using their size to assert their command. Then Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes came along. With a nation-leading 27 points per game last season, she has Vandy ready to reach for the greatest of heights.

Blakes has carried a ton of responsibility over her first two years in the NCAA, but she has taken it in stride. Whether it is her using her speed to get to the rim, getting to the free-throw line, or knocking down a three, the defense is in trouble if Blakes has the ball.

If you look up "dawg mentality" in the dictionary, there are no words. It's just a picture of Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo. Few players have the talent of a superstar but the mentality of someone fighting for their roster spot. You mix that with the supreme athleticism that Hidalgo possesses, and you have a player who is one of one.

You can say a lot about Hidalgo's ability to attack offensively, where she averaged 25.3 PPG, but nothing is more impressive than her ability to force turnovers defensively. She averaged an unfathomable 5.6 steals per game, highlighted by her Sweet 16 matchup against Vanderbilt, where she tallied 10 steals and was only three assists off from a quadruple-double. The moment the opposing team gets the ball, they are simply in danger. This gives Hidalgo a unique ability to take over games.

She is back. The last time we saw JuJu Watkins play a full season, she dominated and was on the cusp of a potential deep run toward the NCAA Final Four. As she returns from her ACL tear that kept her out all of last season, she will be looking to show the world she hasn't lost a step.

The 21-year-old got off to an encouraging start on Monday, scoring 21 points in 25 minutes in a blowout defeat of UNLV.

Watkins has been a largely unstoppable scorer and an underappreciated defender in her time as USC's top star. She has averaged over 23 points in both seasons she played, while also averaging over two steals and nearly two blocks a game in that same span.

It is a two-way impact that is incredibly hard to come by. Whether you are the one guarding her or being guarded by her, there is a lot to fear as Watkins steps back on the court in potentially her last ride at USC.

If you can think of an award for best player in women's college basketball, Sarah Strong's name is already on it. Until someone takes it from her, the crown for best player in the NCAA is worn by the star in Storrs.

There already isn't much on the court that Strong cannot do. Now a year removed from the official end of the Paige Bueckers-Azzi Fudd era, the word of the offseason has been assertiveness for Strong—both on the court and as a team leader.

Even with the 20-year-old coming off such a dominating season on both sides of the ball, she still has room to grow. Scary.