Time to get up to speed on all the teams. I went through all the Big 12 rosters. I have brief comments for each team, and listed the freshmen from the ESPN 100.
Arizona
Complete turnover with coaching staff and roster. Don't have a good handle on what the expected outcome is here. I'd guess they're worse than last year, but I really have no idea. They should retain a good home court advantage at least.
Arizona State
I'm not familiar with the players except Poa and Brackens, but either way I expect them to be a top half of the conference team due to the coaching boost. Maybe sniffing around top 5 even. Miller nabbed one of Walz's top assistants for her staff.
Baylor
(might post longer form comments in a separate post)
Incoming freshmen -
#41 Marcayla Johnson
BYU
I feel like BYU is a high variance team. Their coach last year wasn't completely awful schematically. The team would have good moments but lacked consistency. Hard to get a read on Cummard. Delaney Gibb is a POY candidate. So I could see them being good. Not sure how big a loss Whiting is.
Incoming freshmen -
#86 Sydney Benally
Cincinnati
Landed top-ranked freshman in the conference. Jillian Hayes is a big loss, but they return other pieces. I'd guess they're in about same position as last year. They actually outperformed their true quality in conference play last year (IMO).
Incoming freshmen -
#11 Darianna Alexander
#62 Caliya DeVillasee
Colorado
This team might've been good last year if not for bad injury luck. Unfortunately they've lost those core players: Formann, Diew, Garzon, Wetta et al. They return Masogayo but no one else of note I think. Zyanna Walker is a good addition, but hard to imagine this is better than a middle of the pack team. They should be frisky in Boulder though.
Incoming freshmen -
#81 Logyn Greer
Houston
I'm bullish Matthew Mitchell. I could see a scenario where they're middle of the pack too. Maybe upper half even. There are a lot of uncertain teams in the conference this year.
Iowa State
Lose Emily Ryan, Kelsey Joens, Lily Hansford. Ryan is a big loss. Jada Williams is a nice replacement though. Joens was in rotation so it'll be interesting to see who fits in there. Hansford didn't really seem to play. Not sure why her Corvallis shooting didn't translate. This team should be top 3 in the preseason poll.
Kansas
Great continuity from last year. Rotational players Conesa, Nichols, Evans, Copeland, Harshaw, Williams all return. They nabbed Lily Meister from Indiana, not sure how much this changes things. They add the best freshmen class in conference (probably). Really like the situation here. Nichols is a player of the year candidate. Dark horse contender? Not to win conference but to be among the upper echelon. Maybe not since they still seem to lack a big. I expect they'll be upper half tho.
Incoming freshmen -
#19 Jaliya Davis
#31 Keeley Parks
#43 Libby Fandell
Kansas State
Rebuild. Lost Zyanna Walker, Temira Pointexter, Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Kennedy Taylor,
Eliza Maupin, Gisela Sanchez, Imani Lester, Ayoka Lee. Still have Taryn Sides but that's it. Added Izela Arenas. Great freshmen class.
Incoming freshmen -
#16 Jordan Speiser
#47 Aniya Foy
#58 Bradie Harrod
Oklahoma State
Seems like they'll be a contender again. Magassa is a loss. But they brought in bigs who should approximate her. Asi is a loss. But Whiting should be ok. Maybe Stailee Heard's little sister is good too.
Incoming freshmen -
#56 Lena Girardi
TCU
Really like TCU's roster. They brought in a million bigs to replace Prince (Including several freshman bigs from overseas). I assume they'll hit on one.
Ballhanding - Sheffey, Miles, Hunter
Shooting - Miles, Scherr, Bigby, Parker, Suarez
Bigs - Roberson, Basham, Silva
Texas Tech
Rough situation once again. Tech was actually a little better than their record last year. They found ways to blow games. Situation looks worse this year. They return Fritz, Bristow, Maupin. Lost Merritt, Shavers, Johnson. Freelon as well--strange she hasn't been picked up elsewhere.
UCF
A lot of attrition in the offseason. Ngodu is really the only one left. Rough situation.
Departures -
Kaitlin Peterson (Ole Miss)
Emely Rodriguez (Iowa)
Achol Akot (Oklahoma State)
Adeang Ring (Virginia)
Utah
Not a bad situation. Better than many others. Return Wilke and Lani White (sort of). Should be upper half again (IMO).
Incoming freshmen -
#28 Leonna Sneed
#44 Avery Hjelmstad
West Virginia
Lost Quinerly and Watson (significant). Also lost 2 serviceable if not great bigs (Moore and Blacksten). I think McCray and Wheeler should be upgrades in the frontcourt. Returning on the perimeter is Harrison, Woodley, and Shaw. Good foundation. Cooke is a good addition. Overall, team should be similar to last year.
Incoming freshmen -
#88 Madison Parrish
