It is that time of year, when everyone tries to pick who are the top 25 teams in women’s college basketball for the upcoming season. Welcome to The Next’s 2024-25 Top 25 preview, where we figure out what goes in to considering a team for this list, who’s at the top, and who just made the cut. National correspondent and analyst Missy Heidrick breaks down her Top 25 for Locked On Women’s Basketball listeners. We know the end of the year will look nothing like this, but that’s why they call it a preview.
Heidrick opens the show by tossing out questions that many fans and listeners are probably wondering. Which teams are at the top and the bottom, how will scheduling affect the season, how will coaches manage their rosters, and so on. But she makes sure to circle back to her succinct motto. “In order to be the best,” Heidrick says, “you’ve got to beat the best.”
Heidrick then goes into some of her Top 25 rankings. “It’s not difficult to be able to anoint that number one ranking to South Carolina,” she says. “They are one of a handful of teams that was able to have an undefeated season and they are on the cusp of just a handful of programs who cold be looking at back-to-back national championships.” Heidrick then names a few of her other top teams, like UConn, USC, and Texas.
After featuring a few more teams that she thinks can go far, like Notre Dame, LSU, and Iowa State, Heidrick then moves onto the bottom portion of her Top 25. In addition to North Carolina, Maryland, and Nebraska, Heidrick sees South Dakota State, her No. 25, as a team that can make a splash this year. “The thing that is scaring folks in the Summit League … is this is a stacked full and healthy roster right now for the Jackrabbits.”
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