1. Notre Dame-this will be one of Notre Dame's most talented rosters ever. The starting 5 will likely be 4 seniors (Turner, Shepard, Ogunbowale, Mabrey) and 1 junior (Young). If they can stay healthy, they'll be very very good. And if they have injuries, they'll still be very very good knowing Muffet. Adding in Turner means Shepard can move to the high post which brings a whole new dimension to the roster.
2. UCONN-another stacked roster for UCONN comes in. A starting 5 of Stevens, Collier, KLS, Walker and Dangerfield give them AA threats at every position. Add in the #1 recruit to spot the guards and the #5 recruit to spot the posts and you have arguably the most dangerous team in the country. The biggest question mark will be on the defensive side now that Nurse and Williams are gone. Can they beat
3. Oregon-I still think they're a year away from being a title favorite, but a Final Four should be the expectation next year. Everyone but Bando returns, plus they bring in an exceptional shooter in Erin Boley. The trio of Sabally, Ionescu and Hebard will give opposing coaches nightmares.
4. Baylor-Kalani Brown will be a POY favorite next year and Cox should be an All American. Those two alone should make Baylor a title threat. Their major loss is outstanding PG Kristy Wallace but they have a nice freshman PG in Morris. They bring in a monster class that will require a lot of juggling by Mulkey to keep everyone happy (see Texas this year). Baylor has been a notorious underachiever for 6 straight years now....can they finally break the Final Four curse in Brown's last year?
5. Louisville-Asia Durr is back along with her entire team sans Hines-Allen. The frontcourt will be fine with Fuerhing and Shook. Their trio of guards (Jones/Carter/Evans) have huge upside and could make Louisville a contender if they can consistently finish shots like they did in the semifinals. This season was by far the best coaching job of Walz's career, I'm curious to see if he can keep it up.
6. Mississippi State-I might be overhyping them, but what they lose in talent they make up for in exceptional coaching...and they have Teaira McCowan, who might be the best big girl in the country next season. They have 2 strong guards back in Danbury and Holmes, and I'd also look for Bibby to step in as a starter. They need someone to emerge as a perimeter scoring threat who can get their own shot, but I don't see Mississippi State completely falling out of the mix.
7. Texas-On paper this team is the 2nd most talented in the country after UCONN. 7 top 10 kids plus Prince who was #12. They have a ton of question marks though. How will Sutton or Patterson step up at PG and replace McCarty? Will Boothe be back? Can Holmes return to freshman form after a tough sophomore year? How does Karen distribute front court minutes? I expect Texas to be streaky like they've been the last several years. When they play well, they are capable of beating anyone, but when they play lazy, they can lose to some bad teams.
8. Maryland-they were a better team this year than I expected. For all the flack she gets, Brenda is actually a pretty good coach. Everyone is back besides Confroy, and they bring in the #3 recruit in Shakira Austin who should stabilize the frontcourt. Kaila Charles is VERY good.
9. Oregon State-I think Rueck is one of the best coaches in the country and he has Slocum on the team and a top 10 recruit coming in. They also return everyone but Gulich from this year's team. I'd look for them to give Oregon a run for their money in the PAC.
10. Texas A&M-they lose Hillsman which is significant but they return Howard, Williams and Carter.
Teams in potential free fall include:
Tennessee-they sign another top 5 class but they lose their 2 best players and have Holly coaching. That's scary.
South Carolina-they were a pretty bad team without Wilson last year and she'll be gone. The lack of perimeter shooting and consistent play is a big red flag.
Duke-they lose their top 2 players and I don't see anyone waiting in the wings to make up the massive void left by Brown/Greenwell.
Ohio State-if they finish in the top half of the Big Ten, I'll be impressed. McGuff just wasted 4 years with Kelsey Mitchell (and 2 with Mavunga/Harper).....they likely plummet out of the national picture.
UCLA-no Final Fours for their #1 recruiting class, they still haven't talent but I don't expect to see them in any Final Four discussions next year.
