Big East WBB Recruiting

[mudcat]

On ESPN I noticed that Creighton has verbal commitments from 3 players ranked in the top 100 by ESPN for 2025.
Two of them are twins and on the state championship team. I don't know of any other Big East
teams other than Uconn and Creighton to have signed a top 100 in the last two years. Anyone know otherwise?

 

[oldhusky]

I think Seton Hall got one or two, but I may be confusing that with portal pickups. In general though I think there is a disturbing trend going on here. The NIL landscape has changed the relative strength of the conferences, making the Power 5 (now power 4) conferences even more dominant over the rest.

The Big East might be the best of the rest, but that probably means less than it used to. Players used to make college decisions based on basketball factors. Now financial factors are very important too. If you are a pretty average Division 1 prospect it doesn't matter much, because you likely won't get much if any NIL money anyway.

if you are a top player, however, playing in a power conference vs. the Big east could be a big monetary difference. Uconn can overcome that disadvantage, but many Big East schools cannot. In the portal the trend is clear, good talent is leaving the Big East. A coach might recruit a player that turns out to be better than their high school rating, then lose them to a power conference because they became good enough to make significant money elsewhere.

I think this affects initial recruiting and the portal. The power conferences have always dominated the top of the recruiting rankings, but now I think it will be even more so. The gap between the top conferences and the Big East will grow, and it will become even harder to keep very good players in the conference even when you recruit or develop them. I also think the gap between Uconn and the rest of the conference will grow bigger with fewer challenged games within the conference.

It is what it is, but NIL has and will continue to make the difference between the haves and the have nots even bigger, and it women's basketball the haves end with the top four conferences and a few exceptions like Uconn.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think Seton Hall got one or two, but I may be confusing that with portal pickups. In general though I think there is a disturbing trend going on here. The NIL landscape has changed the relative strength of the conferences, making the Power 5 (now power 4) conferences even more dominant over the rest.

The Big East might be the best of the rest, but that probably means less than it used to. Players used to make college decisions based on basketball factors. Now financial factors are very important too. If you are a pretty average Division 1 prospect it doesn't matter much, because you likely won't get much if any NIL money anyway.

if you are a top player, however, playing in a power conference vs. the Big east could be a big monetary difference. Uconn can overcome that disadvantage, but many Big East schools cannot. In the portal the trend is clear, good talent is leaving the Big East. A coach might recruit a player that turns out to be better than their high school rating, then lose them to a power conference because they became good enough to make significant money elsewhere.

I think this affects initial recruiting and the portal. The power conferences have always dominated the top of the recruiting rankings, but now I think it will be even more so. The gap between the top conferences and the Big East will grow, and it will become even harder to keep very good players in the conference even when you recruit or develop them. I also think the gap between Uconn and the rest of the conference will grow bigger with fewer challenged games within the conference.

It is what it is, but NIL has and will continue to make the difference between the haves and the have nots even bigger, and it women's basketball the haves end with the top four conferences and a few exceptions like Uconn.

I think you're right, and what it says to me is that the old notion of conferences may need revising in order to remain relevant. Maybe it's time to have much more OOC play and rather less conference play. Maybe only play one game against conference rivals each season and all the rest should be interconference games.

 

[mudcat]

I think you're right, and what it says to me is that the old notion of conferences may need revising in order to remain relevant. Maybe it's time to have much more OOC play and rather less conference play. Maybe only play one game against conference rivals each season and all the rest should be interconference games.

But the rest of the BE probably won't go along. Especially since even losing to Uconn (or any ranked team) is helpful to them.

 

[HuskyNan]

St. John's got #100 Ariel Little. I don't see Creighton on the below list. Geez, even Loyola got the #75 ranked player - where's the Big East?

2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.

www.espn.com

 

[HuskyNan]

Ah, Creighton has three commitments from the 2025 Top 100

2025 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.

www.espn.com

 

[Alydar]

The biggest reason that the mid-majors don't get better recruits is that the supply of elite players is too small. The P-4 dominate mcbb but no way near the level of wcbb. Butler has won btb titles in mens basketball.
NIL may actually end up being the savior for BE womens basketball in that it attracts a lot more female athletes into basketball.

 

[broooce]

The biggest reason that the mid-majors don't get better recruits is that the supply of elite players is too small. The P-4 dominate mcbb but no way near the level of wcbb. Butler has won btb titles in mens basketball.
NIL may actually end up being the savior for BE womens basketball in that it attracts a lot more female athletes into basketball.

The ever increasing popularity of WCBB and the WNBA will in turn continue to spur the growth of girls basketball at the middle and high school levels. You’re spot on: there just isn’t a similar quantity of quality players in the girls’ game as with boys. But that’s changing rapidly and as the financial rewards rises on the women’s side the supply of top players will allow more colleges to field competitive teams. Most conferences, not just the BE, feature the “haves” who routinely and consistently dispatch the “have nots” in WCBB. Rarely do you see a huge disparity in the men’s conference records and standings as you see in the women’s. That will happen eventually for the women’s game!

 

[DEpup]

I would say that the BE has been successful getting transfers who were top 100 recruits.

 

[packwrap]

The biggest reason that the mid-majors don't get better recruits is that the supply of elite players is too small. The P-4 dominate mcbb but no way near the level of wcbb. Butler has won btb titles in mens basketball.
NIL may actually end up being the savior for BE womens basketball in that it attracts a lot more female athletes into basketball.

I'm in line with most here missing the old school scholarship model, but...in 2024 and now 2025 NCAA women's hoops has been great with 5 or 6 top teams and very good play up to 16 deep.

I also agree the big east loses top end talent in the portal, but I saw the league get better at the bottom last year. Pretty competitive all the way down to Georgetown and Providence. Not competitive with UConn, but with one another. The teams also don't fear us, they show up and compete.

 

[Alydar]

I'm in line with most here missing the old school scholarship model, but...in 2024 and now 2025 NCAA women's hoops has been great with 5 or 6 top teams and very good play up to 16 deep.

I also agree the big east loses top end talent in the portal, but I saw the league get better at the bottom last year. Pretty competitive all the way down to Georgetown and Providence. Not competitive with UConn, but with one another. The teams also don't fear us, they show up and compete.

The bulk of the SEC and ACC ranks from 15-50. The bulk of the BE ranks from 40-90. The problem with a lot of the opinions is that they come from people who only watch the BE when UConn is playing. If we only watched SCar's SEC games our opinion of the SEC would be "not much".

 

[Bone Dog]

The bulk of the SEC and ACC ranks from 15-50. The bulk of the BE ranks from 40-90. The problem with a lot of the opinions is that they come from people who only watch the BE when UConn is playing. If we only watched SCar's SEC games our opinion of the SEC would be "not much".

It's so true!

I think we're also looking at the tendency for regional recruiting to matter more. In order to keep the girls "down on the farm," non P5 schools are going to have to recruit with this in mind, with a better sales pitch, and with some sense of local loyalty. Lisa Bluder managed it with Caitlyn and it made a huge difference. Interestingly, in the BE Jim Flannery has managed quite well at Creighton even without landing any superstars. And Denise Dillon recruited quite well regionally. I wonder if Georgetown will be able to build on their end of season success and continue to recruit from the DMV.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

It's so true!

I think we're also looking at the tendency for regional recruiting to matter more. In order to keep the girls "down on the farm," non P5 schools are going to have to recruit with this in mind, with a better sales pitch, and with some sense of local loyalty. Lisa Bluder managed it with Caitlyn and it made a huge difference. Interestingly, in the BE Jim Flannery has managed quite well at Creighton even without landing any superstars. And Denise Dillon recruited quite well regionally. I wonder if Georgetown will be able to build on their end of season success and continue to recruit from the DMV.

It help Lisa that Geno didn't want her, but she had other options too.

 

[cohenzone]

The Big East women league is really weak overall. absent UConn very few teams have a shot at beating strong teams and conference expansion and consolidation is making it worse for conferences like the BE, aggravated by the portal and realistically NIL as well. UConn football, even if it improves, is in independent never never land. The BE hoops
for men is fine right now. Geno keeps the women relevant but the BE league alone won’t help the women if there is any significant drop off post Geno.

For getting into a power conference, obviously only football matters, putting aside whether or not any of the big new conferences will expand further. Our men’s hoop program alone evidently doesn’t make us attractive and women’s hoops might as well not exist as far as being attractive for the power conferences. The other sports also might as well be nonexistent.

There are no obvious Notre Dames, Rutgers and occasionally a few other nationally relevant teams in the new BE as there were in the old BE women’s league. I am not that optimistic about the post Geno era if a new coach is unable to continue upper level performance and recruiting if nothing changes for conference affiliation and football is the name of that game. From a personal perspective, I apparently meet the “older than dirt” test so anything beyond making it to dinner tonight probably doesn’t matter. Go Huskies.

 

[Zonepress]

The Big East women league is really weak overall. absent UConn very few teams have a shot at beating strong teams and conference expansion and consolidation is making it worse for conferences like the BE, aggravated by the portal and realistically NIL as well. UConn football, even if it improves, is in independent never never land. The BE hoops
for men is fine right now. Geno keeps the women relevant but the BE league alone won’t help the women if there is any significant drop off post Geno.

For getting into a power conference, obviously only football matters, putting aside whether or not any of the big new conferences will expand further. Our men’s hoop program alone evidently doesn’t make us attractive and women’s hoops might as well not exist as far as being attractive for the power conferences. The other sports also might as well be nonexistent.

There are no obvious Notre Dames, Rutgers and occasionally a few other nationally relevant teams in the new BE as there were in the old BE women’s league. I am not that optimistic about the post Geno era if a new coach is unable to continue upper level performance and recruiting if nothing changes for conference affiliation and football is the name of that game. From a personal perspective, I apparently meet the “older than dirt” test so anything beyond making it to dinner tonight probably doesn’t matter. Go Huskies.

Have read all of the posts and I think everyone is missing the most important factor
There is no real interest in Big East women’s basketball beyond uconn
Attendance at most games, struggles to reach 500
And other than Villanova Marquette, average attendance is below 1000 figuring in the capacity crowd they get from uconn
There is simply no motivation for top players to go to the schools and any diamonds in the rough enough blossomed into . Very good players I’m more than likely transfer.
Providence Seton hall Georgetown basically play in high school size gymnasiums
And as far as Villanova recruiting well to my knowledge, they haven’t recruit a top 100 player in the last five years and their best two players this year transfer to play in a power five schools
Perhaps one or two of the schools bring in a roster full of transfers up the talent level and find a way to sustain it
Also working against the BE schools. Is that every football school now sees the value of WBB and will do whatever it takes to grow their brand
It’s impossible for a small Catholic school to compete attendance wise with a large state school
Reluctant to say, it’s impossible, but don’t see a path for the BE to improve to the level anywhere near the big 10 ACCACC and big eight
Last year they were no competitive uconn bE games and
Creighton Marquette, and Villanova the top three teams will be substantially weaker this year
While I enjoy every game 30/40. Point wins
Lessen the experience
I completely agree with the comment about post GA
I take the attitude to enjoy every game every season to its fullest and realize as a fan we are really living the dream

 

[cohenzone]

Have read all of the posts and I think everyone is missing the most important factor
There is no real interest in Big East women’s basketball beyond uconn
Attendance at most games, struggles to reach 500
And other than Villanova Marquette, average attendance is below 1000 figuring in the capacity crowd they get from uconn
There is simply no motivation for top players to go to the schools and any diamonds in the rough enough blossomed into . Very good players I’m more than likely transfer.
Providence Seton hall Georgetown basically play in high school size gymnasiums
And as far as Villanova recruiting well to my knowledge, they haven’t recruit a top 100 player in the last five years and their best two players this year transfer to play in a power five schools
Perhaps one or two of the schools bring in a roster full of transfers up the talent level and find a way to sustain it
Also working against the BE schools. Is that every football school now sees the value of WBB and will do whatever it takes to grow their brand
It’s impossible for a small Catholic school to compete attendance wise with a large state school
Reluctant to say, it’s impossible, but don’t see a path for the BE to improve to the level anywhere near the big 10 ACCACC and big eight
Last year they were no competitive uconn bE games and
Creighton Marquette, and Villanova the top three teams will be substantially weaker this year
While I enjoy every game 30/40. Point wins
Lessen the experience
I completely agree with the comment about post GA
I take the attitude to enjoy every game every season to its fullest and realize as a fan we are really living the dream

I think we are making the same point. The better players are not going to BE schools. Playing a strong OOC schedule is what UConn has to rely on. That becomes pretty shaky with any fall off by UConn. Eventually the probably need to be in a power conference. Further expansion of those conferences is unknown but for any chance to be included and secure the future of the women’s program and maybe even the men, root like crazy for the football program. They are the long term key.

 

[ERWUC65]

We are indeed fortunate as BYers that as one poster stated "in 2024 and now 2025 NCAA women's hoops has been great with 5 or 6 top teams". But if you were an alumni, player, fan or friend of the other 345 Division 1 Women's BB teams, you might not feel so good. NIL, the Portal, Conference realignment and just the general failure of the NCAA to administer the sport properly have taken us to where we are today - the demise of the amateur student athlete. Could we not have forseen this by just watching the Men's path? Perhaps we could just take those 5 or 6 top schools, maybe 10 -15 and put them in the WNBA. Then we would have parity and everyone could enjoy the competition again.

 

[Zonepress]

I think we are making the same point. The better players are not going to BE schools. Playing a strong OOC schedule is what UConn has to rely on. That becomes pretty shaky with any fall off by UConn. Eventually the probably need to be in a power conference. Further expansion of those conferences is unknown but for any chance to be included and secure the future of the women’s program and maybe even the men, root like crazy for the football program. They are the long term

Yes we are in agreement
Making any reasonable prediction on conference expansion is impossible
For what it’s worth I suspect the top 40 or so. Football schools will break away at least as far as football is concerned and probably try to keep themselves in the NCAA basketball tournament for the money.
As I said in my post, enjoy the ride at this may be as good as it gets

 

[oldhusky]

As further evidence of how much the Power conferences dominate the recruiting of high end prospects, the ESPN recruiting class rankings, top 25 includes 24 power conference teams plus Uconn. Nobody else from the other 27 conferences.