Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese met in the 2023 national championship game in Dallas, and the Iowa-LSU showdown was the most-watched game in the history of the sport.
A year later, Clark and the Hawkeyes faced Reese and the Tigers in a Monday night Elite Eight rematch. It was a record-breaking redo, with 12.3 million people tuned in to set another viewership mark that lasted only a week before Iowa lost to undefeated South Carolina in the 2024 national championship. The game was viewed by 18.9 million people — the most-watched basketball game of any level since 2019.
Clark and Reese were lightning rods for audience growth in women’s college basketball. The phenomenon translated to the pro level. Clark was a sharpshooting guard for Indiana and Reese served as Chicago’s relentless rebounder. Sellout crowds, high-water marks in ratings and apparel sales skyrockets in their rookie campaigns in the WNBA.
Their next-level success at the next level might bring fear of a looming void of star power in women’s college basketball.
Allow us to introduce you to the heiresses to the throne vacated by Clark and Reese.
There are several candidates primed to step into the spotlight, and many already played thriving roles in their team’s success and the popularity of the sport.
Who’s got next? If you’re asking that question, there are more than a few potential answers.
“I just remember being younger and seeing women’s basketball not getting that talk, where I feel like we deserve it,” says Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo. “To see people like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and before that Aaliyah Boston and Zia Cooke, and how women’s basketball is on the rise and seeing how many people are talking about it, I just think being a part of this generation is truly a blessing. It’s only up from here. We’re still growing, and women are progressing now.”
Let’s start there in South Bend, Ind., with Hidalgo. She burst onto the scene last year and won a bevy of awards while leading Notre Dame to an ACC Tournament title and an appearance in the Sweet 16.
There were doubters last season with Fighting Irish All-American point guard Olivia Miles set to be sidelined while recovering from a knee injury. Instead of trying to fill Miles’ shoes, Hidalgo kicked them aside, tied up her own sneakers and played the game her way – which turned out be a significant part of a winning formula for Notre Dame.
The speed, confidence and instincts of the 5-foot-6 sophomore from New Jersey allowed her to lead the nation in steals per game with 4.6, and she finished seventh nationally in scoring with 22.6 points per game. Hidalgo also led the country in defensive win shares with 2.9.
When the season ended, Hidalgo had been named a First Team All-American, ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP. Hidalgo had a knack for playing well in big games as a freshman, pouring in 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a road win at rival UConn, and piling up 22 points, six rebounds and six assists in an ACC title game win over NC State.
Hidalgo is ready for her encore. A healthy Miles is set to join her in the backcourt this season, making Notre Dame look like a real contender.
“It’s going to be electric. I think everyone is going to be really excited to see those two play together,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “You’re looking at two of the best in the business when it comes to running the point.”
On the west coast, another star emerged last season at USC.
JuJu Watkins entered her freshman campaign with a ton of hype. Billed as the top high school player in the country, she didn’t disappoint. Like Hidalgo, she was a First Team All-American, and was also named National Freshman of the Year by the WBCA and won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the best shooting guard in the nation.
The 6-foot-2 California native averaged 27.1 points per game, second only to Clark, and led the nation in free throws made per game with 7.1. Watkins also set the all-time national scoring record by a Division I freshman, piling up 920 points. She powered the Trojans to a Pac-12 tournament title and an appearance in the Elite Eight — USC’s first since 1994.
For the mega shoe brand Nike, it’s betting big on Watkins’ star power, as it inked her to what ESPN called “one of the richest shoe endorsement deals in women’s basketball.”
With USC joining the Big Ten this year, Watkins will play more often on national television. Last season, when Watkins scored a program-record 51 points in a road win at Stanford, it was buried on the difficult-to-find Pac-12 Networks. USC will play seven times on ESPN, NBC or Fox this season, and other games on Peacock, FS1, truTV and the Big Ten Network.
“There are household names. Everybody knows JuJu. Everybody knows Hannah Hidalgo, MiLaysia Fulwiley. Everybody will know Joyce Edwards,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “The future is incredibly bright. I do think the decision-makers of our game, they’re going to put us on, they’re going to put women’s basketball on, they’re going to put us center stage because the numbers are real.”
Indeed, there are other stars elsewhere.
Staley’s Gamecocks – the defending national champs – return a handful of starters and multiple key contributors, including Fulwiley, the SEC Tournament MVP.
Edwards, one of the top incoming freshmen, figures to have a key role for South Carolina this season.
Elsewhere in the SEC, Flau’Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow are back at LSU, while Rori Harmon returns from injury to partner with Madison Booker to lead Texas, and Georgia Amoore prepares to power new-look Kentucky back to relevance.
In the Big East, Paige Bueckers – the National Player of the Year in 2021 – returns for what will likely be her final season of college basketball at UConn. She’s widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
And then there’s always a chance that a new star blossoms as the season goes along.
“We’ve got so many great players now. I don’t think it’s going to go backwards because we’re able to showcase what we have,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “For our game to continue to grow, I think we’ve got to do a better job of making sure we’re willing to showcase those ones that we didn’t anticipate to be great, because they’re out there. It’s fun to watch.”
Stay tuned.
–Mitchell Northam, Field Level Media
