1. UConn
Stratton Stave, Sports Editor
The Huskies have their best shot at a national championship in a long time with one of their most loaded teams yet. The headliner is senior Paige Bueckers, who won National Player of the Year her freshman year, but has been plagued with injuries since. Coach Geno Auriemma claims she’s in the best shape she has ever been in. It helps that All-American forward Aaliyah Edwards returns, along with Azzi Fudd, who had been poised to earn national honors before her season was derailed by injury. Nika Mühl is somehow the fourth player mentioned here, but is the two-time Big East defensive Player of the Year and holds UConn’s single-season record for assists. The team brings in a slew of freshmen, but KK Arnold is poised to be the most impactful as the preseason Big East Freshman of the Year. There aren’t many holes in this team’s roster, as they’ll look to break their seven-year drought.
Women’s Basketball DC Staff Picks
| Player of the Year: | Paige Bueckers, G, UConn |
| Freshman of the Year: | KK Arnold, G, UConn |
| Coach of the Year: | Tony Bozzella, Seton Hall |
| All Conference Team: | Jordan King, G, Marquette Azzi Fudd, G, UConn Lucy Olsen, G, Villanova Aaliyah Edwards, F, UConn Christina Dalce, F, Villanova |
2. Marquette
Gavin Friedman, Campus Correspondent
After a disappointing first round exit in last year’s NCAA tournament, the Golden Eagles are ready to have a bounce-back campaign. Graduate student Jordan King returns for her fifth season after being selected to the All-Big East First Team in 2022-23. Last season, King led the team with 15.9 points and 4.0 assists per game. While Marquette did add freshmen Skylar Forbes and Halle Vice, their primary source of improvement during the offseason came from the transfer portal. Marquette acquired Frannie Hottinger, Lee Volker, Abbey Cracknell and Bridget Utberg, which will bolster the depth on their roster. Hottinger has four seasons of experience at Lehigh, where she averaged 20.3 points per game last year. The duo of Hottinger and King will make Marquette one of the best teams in the Big East this season.
3. Villanova
Sam Calhoun, Staff Writer
In her final season, superstar forward Maddy Siegrist became the Big East’s all-time leading scorer. She led Villanova to their second ever Sweet Sixteen, their first since 2003. It will be up to guard Lucy Olsen, named to the Preseason All-Big East Team, to take over. She averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 assists per game, while shooting 41.1% from the field. Olsen was the second-leading scorer on the team and looks to have a breakout season. Forward Christina Dalce averaged 7.9 rebounds per game and is considered one of the best shot-blockers in the conference. While no one will replace Siegrist, who accounted for 41% of Villanova’s points, the Wildcats should find themselves within the top four of the conference with the duo of Olsen and Dalce. Head coach Denise Dillon has not yet coached a team without Siegrist, so this will test how much of the Wildcats’ success is from her or Siegrist.
4. Creighton
Cole Stefan, Senior Columnist
Any expectations the Bluejays had of another deep NCAA Tournament run vanished when the 11th-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs downed them by 15 in the first round. Despite the tough defeat, the three-headed monster of seniors Lauren Jensen (16.1 PPG), Morgan Maly (14.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG) and Emma Ronsiek (13.2 PPG) have Creighton thinking title or bust. Look out for Molly Mogensen as an X-factor; her seven points and four rebounds per game finished fourth on the team in both categories. Only Rachael Saunders and Carly Bachelor departed during the offseason, so the Bluejays replaced their talents with McKayla Miller, who scored over 1,400 points at Cimarron High School in Kansas. This may be the final year Creighton can do something special with their current core, but they have the pieces to make it as far as the Elite Eight like they did two seasons ago.
5. St. John’s
Ava Inesta, Staff Writer
Coming off a 23-9 season and fourth-place finish in the Big East, St. John’s looks to do more this year. The Red Storm had some key departures: three players who started in all 32 contests last season and their two top scorers are gone. However, Jillian Archer (7.2 pts, 7.7 rebounds) and Unique Drake (8.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game) are two notable returners for the Johnnies. The conference announced last week that Drake was named preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention. Along with four freshman additions, the Red Storm has four incoming transfers to bolster their roster; two that catch the eye are Phoenix Gedeon and Ber’Nyah Mayo. Making the NCAA Tournament after three straight losing seasons was huge for the program. From all that they’ve acquired and built around, there’s a glowing outlook for head coach Joe Tartamella and his St. John’s team this season.
6. Seton Hall
Bridget Bronsdon, Staff Writer
In the wake of an average season, 19-15 overall and 10-10 in conference, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team sits at No. 5 in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ poll for the upcoming year. While this ranking is a small step up from last year’s sixth place conference finish, the group is hoping to do more. Last season, Seton Hall fell to Creighton in the second round of the Big East tournament in a 75-74 overtime nail-biter. The Pirates will also look to fill big shoes this season with the loss of Lauren Park-Lane, 2022-23 All-Big East First Team and all-time program leader in assists. Hoping to do that will be freshman Savannah Catalon, two-time high school league Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Despite the ups and downs of the year prior, Seton Hall will hope for an explosive start to the 2023-24 season.
7. DePaul
Nahum Valiente, Campus Correspondent
DePaul is coming off a mediocre season, with an overall record of 16-17. This season’s performance also resulted in the team failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons’ unsuccessful campaign led many players, such as Aneesah Morrow and Darrione Rogers to depart the team and head to the transfer portal. However, there is some hope for DePaul with the return of Anaya Peoples. Peoples enters the season as a Preseason All-Big East selection. In the prior season, Peoples was third on the team in points per game (9.5). Legendary coach Doug Bruno will also return to the team, seeking to bring the program back into shape. With many players leaving, there are a number of newcomers ready to step up. Katlyn Gilbert, Brynn Masikewich and Michelle Sidor are all veterans transferring to DePaul. They will be accompanied by a cohort of four freshmen.
8. Georgetown
Evan Rodriguez, Associate Sports Editor
The entire women’s college basketball world suffered a great loss before the season due to the death of former Georgetown head coach Tasha Butts. The Hoyas are left in the hands of Darnell Haney, and similar to the men’s program, he’ll be looking to build the women’s program back up to greater heights. As for the specific talent on the court, Haney will get back last year’s leading scorer for the Hoyas, Kelsey Ransom, but the loss of Kennedy Fauntleroy certainly stings for this roster. While this team has plenty of solid rotational pieces like Jada Claude or Brianna Scott, they’ll need some players to step up in order to take that next big jump. Could that be Mya Bembry, a transfer from Seton Hall, or Alex Cowan, a transfer from Wagner? That remains to be seen, but with the amount of talent in the Big East this season, it looks to be another tough season for Georgetown fans.
9. Butler
Sean Ahern, Staff Writer
Despite a 2022-23 season where the Bulldogs finished tied for eighth in the Big East with a record of 11-19 overall, it was a step in the right direction for the program. In head coach Austin Parkinson’s first season at Butler, he helped the Bulldogs go from zero Big East wins in 2021-22 to six. Losing leading scorer Rachel McLimore (11.0 PPG) is a tough blow to the offense, especially considering her game-changing 39% three point accuracy. However, returning second leading scorer Sydney Jaynes (9.8 PPG) and pairing her with two transfers and three new freshmen should keep fans optimistic about more improvement this season. There is still a lot of work needed to be competitive in the Big East, but Parkinson has made the proper changes thus far in his tenure to lead them in the right direction.
10. Providence
Patrick Boots, Campus Correspondent
This year, Providence has an experienced lineup with some hopeful additions. Junior forward Olivia Olsen returns as a double-digit scorer and started 31 games last season, along with Nariah Scott and Brynn Farrell, two strong shooters. Rounding out returning players are Emily Archibald and Audrey Koch, who both played in every game last season. The team has welcomed some new players, including forward Sarah Bandoma, a strong starter from the Saint Francis Terriers, and Marta Morales Romero, transferring as a guard from Wake Forest after playing in Spain. The women’s team is also experiencing a coaching shift, welcoming Erin Batth as head coach. Batth comes out as a successful assistant coach at North Carolina State and as a center for the WNBA’s Cleveland Rockers. Closing out the era of former coach Jim Crowley, the Friars look to plant seeds for future success, though winning in the short term could be an uphill battle.
11. Xavier
Noah Reed, Staff Writer
Rounding out our predictions are the Xavier Musketeers. Xavier ended the year on a 20-game losing streak, all in conference play, to finish at 7-23. Mackayla Scarlett returns for her senior season after averaging 10.9 PPG, which led the team, while Billi Chambers takes over as head coach after spending the last 10 years with the Iona Gaels. Guards Kaysia Woods (35% 3PT) and Shelby Calhoun (67 AST) are two key players Chambers and the Musketeers are going to be dependent on if they want to improve this year. The Musketeers biggest loss of the offseason was Courtney Prenger. The forward transferred to FIU after leading Xavier in games started (29 out of 30) and total minutes. Replicating Pregner’s output will play an important role for the Musketeers if they want to build upon a rough 2022-23 season.