The 2022-23 college women's basketball season will be missing top players such as UConn's Paige Bueckers and Kansas State's Ayoka Lee due to injuries, but there won't be a shortage of stars to watch.
Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks will be strong as ever with the return of Aliyah Boston. She was the best player in the nation last season and has the awards to prove it. Caitlin Clark has been, and will continue to be, a must-watch player in Iowa. The Stanford Cardinal can once again be competitive with versatile stars. Meanwhile, the future of Notre Dame looks bright with young players that have shown a lot of potential to thrive alongside veteran Dara Mabrey.
The season is set to start on Nov. 7 and there will be a lot of players worth keeping an eye on. Here are some of them:
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Boston was not the only player to contribute to the Gamecocks' success, but she was definitely the most impactful. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged a double-double of 16.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She registered a total of 30 double-doubles through the season, including 27 straight – breaking the SEC record. Her list of accolades is unsurprisingly long, as she led the best team in the nation in scoring, rebounds, blocks and steals. Boston was named the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year for the third consecutive season, while also earning the Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. She is expected to continue that momentum this season and potentially lead the Gamecocks to another national championship.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Clark helped the Hawkeyes earn both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same year for the first time in program history. Although her team was upset by Creighton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, her overall season was quite remarkable. In January, she became the first Division I college basketball player, male or female, to register back-to-back 30-point triple-doubles. Clark averaged 27 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists through 32 games. She showed she is one of the top players in the nation by leading in points per game, assists and free throws. Clark's efforts were recognized with the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award. She was also the Dawn Staley Guard of the Year Award recipient, becoming the first player to ever win it in consecutive seasons
Haley Jones, Stanford
The 2021 Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament did not get to repeat last season, but she was still one of the four finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award. Some of the honors she did get include Pac-12 Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament Spokane Region Most Outstanding Player. Also, for the second year in a row, Jones was a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, which is given to the best small forward in Division I women's basketball. She can certainly be a small forward, but her abilities don't stop there. She has a high basketball IQ and versatility, and has even been compared to NBA legend Magic Johnson because she can play any position. Last season, Jones averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists through 33 games.
Hailey Van Lith, Louisville
The 5-foot-7 guard led the Cardinals offense with an average of 14.4 points per game. She was consistent and reached double digits in 26 of her 34 games last season, including 14 of 17 ACC games, which helped her make the All-ACC First Team. Overall, she had eight games with 20 points or more, with a season-high 34 points against Clemson in February. That same month, Van Lith was named one of 10 watch list candidates for the 2022 Nancy Lieberman Award. She was a key player for Louisville's deep NCAA Tournament run, which became only the fourth time in program history that the Cardinals have reached the Final Four.
Cameron Brink, Stanford
The Cardinal had a deep team last season, but Brink certainly stood out. She wrapped up the year leading her team in scoring, rebounding and blocks. The 6-foot-4 forward was solid on offense as she averaged 13.5 points per game while shooting at 55% from the field, but she also proved herself on the other side of the ball. As a sophomore, she was the youngest of the four finalists for the 2022 Naismith Trophy Women's Defensive Player of the Year award. Brink was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the media's selection for Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Joens won the Cheryl Miller award for the second consecutive year last season, which made her the first player to ever win it back-to-back. Per tradition, the 6-foot-1 wing was a standout in the conference and made the All-Big 12 First Team for the third straight season. Nationally, she was a top 20 scorer by averaging 20.3 points in 34 games. Joens almost averaged a double-double as she also registered 9.5 rebounds per game, which was best on her team. With her help, the Cyclones earned a program-record 28 wins, along with a program-best 14 conference wins. Their efforts paid off as they were ranked in the AP Top 10 for the first time since 2002.
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
Miles' college career is looking quite promising. As a freshman, she led her team in scoring with 13.7 points in 33 games. The 5-foot-10 guard and First-Team All-ACC selection also led in assists with 7.4 assists per game -- second best in the nation. In March, she was named one of five finalists for the 2022 Nancy Lieberman Award. Miles made March Madness history when she became the first freshman — woman or man — to record a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against UMass. She registered her first college triple-double last December with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists against Valparaiso.
Tamari Key, Tennessee
Key was not the leading scorer for her team, but she registered 10.5 points through 34 games with Tennessee's best shooting percentage of 58.4% from the field. She was also a solid rebounder with 8.1 boards per game, including 3.7 offensive rebounds per contest which was 26th best in the country. Key led the nation with a total of 119 blocks, and was third with 3.5 blocks per game. She broke the school's single-season blocks record while playing against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. Unsurprisingly, she made the SEC All-Defensive Team. The 6-foot-6 center was also a Lisa Leslie Award Finalist and a Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist.
