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It’s the last year of the Pac-12, at least as we know it. Television and football have conspired to eliminate the only West Coast Power 5 conference, meaning that there will no longer be a major conference with a distinctly Western flavor. Perhaps it’s the most dramatic manifestation of East Coast bias yet seen.
Since 1982, the teams in the current Pac-12 have 83 appearances in the Sweet 16, 46 Elite Eight showings, 23 Final Four appearances by seven different teams, nine championship game appearances by three teams, and five titles.
Perhaps the saddest part of the Pac-12’s demise is the destruction of the greatest group of women’s sports teams in the country. It’s not just one sport or one school. The depth of female excellence across the league has shown what women can accomplish in sports of all kinds. Despite that, the media preference for East Coast content—in both men’s and women’s sports— and the money that accompanies that have helped kill something great.
“It's heartbreaking,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. “This has been my whole life. I woke up when I heard about it, and I said, ‘I'm in a bad dream. This is a nightmare.’ But we are committed to this year being a great year. Our team's theme is Best Year Ever, and I think that that's kind of what everyone wants. We want to make the very best of it, and we're really thankful that we have such support in the Pac-12 from everyone. We represent great universities, and we're very proud of the success that we have, and we're just going to make it the best year ever.”
There is a good chance that this could be the best year ever. As women’s basketball heads into the 2023-24 season, the Pac-12 is showing that it is once again the deepest and one of the most dangerous leagues in the country. Six conference teams appear in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, outpacing every other league despite having fewer members than most. Three more received at least one vote. Two of the top five come from the Conference of Champions.
“The Pac-12 has as long as I can remember always been extremely strong and deep, and this year is no different,” VanDerveer said. “You can't look and think that you're going to get a win against any team. You're going to have to play the game, which is great. We want to have great competitive games. And so whether it's Utah or Colorado or UCLA, I mean, we have great programs. No one can take anyone for granted, and that's a great situation to be in.”
Why is the Pac-12 so deep? Here’s a look at what each team brings to the table in the order in which I placed them in the Pac-12 media poll.
No. 1 UCLA Bruins
Top returners: Fifth-year guard Charisma Osborne, redshirt junior forward Angela Dugalic, junior forward Emily Bessoir, sophomore guard Kiki Rice
Major additions: Post Lauren Betts (transfer), post Amanda Muse (No. 32 recruit)
Biggest losses: Guard Gina Conti
UCLA comes into the season ranked No. 4 by the national media. The Pac-12 media ranked the Bruins second in the league, but my vote went with the national feeling; they were my top Pac-12 team. There are a lot of reasons for that with the biggest factor being the retention of Osborne and Rice. Osborne is, without a doubt, the top fifth-year player in the Pac-12. She led the team in scoring last season with 15.9 points per game. She and Rice were the only Bruins to average double digits in scoring last season.
Cori Close also adds two important young players to her rotation. Last season, the Pac-12 got the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in Betts and Rice. This year, they are both still in the Pac-12 but have teamed up at UCLA as sophomores.
Betts made the extremely rare decision to leave Stanford after her freshman season. It’s not something VanDerveer has much experience with. She had always said that she felt players stayed around for the Stanford education. She also felt that she generally had players who supported their teammates even when they weren’t playing themselves, but she may not have communicated with the team as well last season when she had 15 players on the roster.
With the addition from the portal, it doesn’t hurt that the Bruins only have one freshman in this class. It’s a more experienced group that also has five sophomores, most of whom were highly ranked and got playing time last season. Conti was the only player who contributed a great deal last season and is gone this year, but Rice is ready to step into the point guard role.
No. 2 Stanford Cardinal
Top returners: Fifth-year guard Hannah Jump, senior forward Cameron Brink, junior forward Kiki Iriafen, sophomore guard Talana Lepolo
Major additions: Wing Courtney Ogden (No. 10 recruit), guard Sunaja Agara (No. 37 recruit), guard Chloe Clardy (No. 39 recruit)
Biggest losses: Guard/forward Haley Jones, forward Fran Belibi, forward Ashten Prechtel, guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu, post Lauren Betts, guard Indya Nivar
Everyone knew going into last season that Jones would turn pro after the year was done. Belibi left to go to grad school at Harvard. Prechtel also decided it was time to play professional basketball. The bigger surprises were the transfers who had the option of returning to Stanford.
The Cardinal lost three players to the portal. It has become a common refrain around college basketball, but it hadn’t reached Palo Alto before this season. The loss of Emma-Nnopu after her junior season and both Betts and Nivar after their freshman seasons were blows to a program that prides itself on continuity and providing a Stanford degree to its players.
Those losses and questions about where the offense will come from had both the Pac-12 coaches and media drop the Cardinal to third in the league. With returners like Brink and Jump coached by someone like VanDerveer, I don’t agree. VanDerveer thinks Brink should be in the national player of the year conversation. She also praised her post player for avoiding fouls so far in practice. They must have Brink on the floor to succeed and everyone knows that.
Oh, yeah. They also brought in the No.7 class in the country. They’re still Stanford.
No. 3 Utah Utes
Top returners: Senior forward Alissa Pili, senior guard Isabel Palmer, junior guard Gianna Kneepkens, junior guard Inês Vieira, junior forward Jenna Johnson, junior guard Kennady McQueen
Major additions: Guard Maty Wilke (transfer)
Biggest losses: Forward Kelsey Rees, guard Teya Sidberry
The Utes return a lot from their Sweet 16 team including last year’s Pac-12 Player of the Year Pili. They didn’t lose any of their top contributors, either. Rees and Sidberry both averaged double-digit minutes but were being squeezed out of playing time by the number of stars on the team.
The biggest addition to the team wasn’t in the form of a freshman. It’s former Wisconsin Badger Wilke. The sophomore scored in double figures for the Badgers in 29 starts. She set a program record for made 3-pointers by a freshman with 61. She also averaged 2.1 assists. All those things are prototypical for a Ute player.
Last season, Utah had four players with at least 80 assists and Pili was close with 72. Six players, including Pili, connected on at least 68 3-pointers. Three averaged double-digit points and McQueen was close at 9.1 PPG.
The coaches and the media both picked the Utes to finish first. They certainly have a chance to do that. However, Stanford and UCLA have a lot of experience on their teams and a lot of experience being at the top.
The schedule also breaks in favor of both Stanford and UCLA. Both teams get to play Arizona State and California twice. Those should be the bottom teams in the conference, almost guaranteeing four wins. The Utes only play the Sun Devils once and it’s in Tempe. They also only play Cal once, although they get that game at home. That gives them just two games against the presumed last two teams in the league.
Utah can make up some ground against Stanford in one big game. That game is the only meeting between the two teams. It will be played in Salt Lake City.
No. 4 Colorado Buffaloes
Top returners: Fifth-year guard Jaylyn Sherrod, fifth-year forward Quay Miller, senior guard Frida Formann, junior center Aaronette Vonleh
Major additions: Fifth-year guard Maddie Nolan (transfer), freshman guard Kennedy Sanders (No. 75 recruit), freshman forward Ruthie Loomis-Goltl (No. 78 recruit)
Biggest losses: Guard Jada Wynn
The Buffs are another team that will get several high-performing upperclassmen back. Most importantly, pesky defender Sherrod and the inside tandem of Miller and Vonleh all return.
Colorado also adds an experienced guard who had success at Michigan in Nolan and two top 100 freshmen.
The team lost three members of last year’s freshman class but only Wynn saw much playing time.
It all adds up to a team that should be at least as strong as it was last year. With a few teams that are generally ahead of it in the pecking order expected to have a down year, that should be good enough to pick up the final first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament.
No. 5 USC Women of Troy
Top returners: Senior guard Kayla Williams, junior center/forward Rayah Marshall
Major additions: Fifth-year forward Kaitlyn Davis (transfer), redshirt sophomore guard Dominique Onu (transfer), freshman guard JuJu Watkins (No. 1 recruit)
Biggest losses: Guard Kadi Sissoko, guard Destiny Littleton
Marshall hasn’t won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year yet—and she likely won’t with Brink still in the league and the Pac-12 coming to an end—but it’s not because she has not deserved the recognition. She’s also an impact player on the offensive end of the court.
Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her staff added the top-ranked recruit in the class. Watkins is just the latest in the string of top high school players to pick the Pac-12 as her landing spot. She should have an immediate impact, although there are always growing pains even with the best freshmen.
USC’s top recruit from last year is still working to get back to where she was. Aaliyah Gayles was shot shortly after returning home to Las Vegas from the Jordan Brand Classic in 2022. She took 10 bullets, primarily to her legs and ankles. She has been fighting to get back on the court since then.
“This time last year, Aaliyah…had just learned to walk again, was getting into a day-to-day routine, and where she's come is just, it's nothing short of miraculous,” Gottlieb said. “I don't say that lightly. It's unbelievable to see the impact she's made on our team. And now she's fully cleared. She's full-on practicing, which is unbelievable. She still has a ways to go to get back to where she wants to be and who she wants to be, but there's not a day that goes by that she is not an invaluable member of our team. Her energy, her joy, her resilience. I mean, she's lived it, right? And I think our team just loves her as a human being. But when they stop and think about what she's fought through to get here, it's no doubt that it's on our minds as an inspiration all the time. She's a pretty remarkable young woman.”
With the talent on the court and the inspiration by their sides, the Women of Troy should improve on last year’s season.
No. 6 Oregon State
Top returners: Junior guard Talia von Oelhoffen, sophomore forward Raegan Beers, sophomore foward Timea Gardiner
Major additions: Guard Donovyn Hunter (No. 82 recruit), guard Dominika Paurová, forward Kelsey Rees (transfer)
Biggest losses: Guard Bendu Yeaney, forward/center Jelena Mitrovic
The Beavers lost two veterans who spent a lot of time on the floor last season, but for the first time in a while, they didn’t lose multiple conference stars to the transfer portal. It’s one of several reasons I have the team higher than either of the Pac-12 preseason polls. The coaches project them as the 10th-place team and the rest of the media suggests ninth.
As head coach Scott Rueck pointed out at Pac-12 Media Day, his team dealt with injuries last season that probably have the voters hesitant. Both Gardiner and von Oelhoffen pushed through injuries to contribute. Along with Beers, Gardiner was one of two McDonald’s All-Americans who joined the team last season.
Having Beers back is a big deal. She was a force off the bench last season, winning Sixth Player of the Year honors. She should be an even bigger force this season.
Von Oelhoffen has proved herself over the past 2.5 years since she enrolled early and helped lead a turnaround for the Beavers in the spring of 2021. She will again be a crucial part of the team’s success.
There are no McDonald’s All-Americans this year, but the Beavers signed a class of three headlined by the No. 82 player in the class and an accomplished international who has represented the Czech Republic at several levels, including the full national team. Paurová originally signed with Minnesota but decommitted after the coaching change.
The group should lead the Beavers back into the top half of the league, but it’s possible that they end up anywhere from sixth through tenth. The teams in this group all have questions and could shuffle.
No. 7 Washington State Cougars
Top returners: Fifth-year center Bella Murekatete, fifth-year guard Johanna Teder, senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker
Major additions: Freshman guard Jenna Villa (No. 68 recruit)
Biggest losses: Forward Ula Motuga
It seems like Leger-Walker has been around forever. She burst onto the scene as a freshman and has led the Cougars to unprecedented heights. It won’t be over any time soon, either. As a senior, she still has another year to play if she chooses. The problem for Leger-Walker and the rest of her team is that no one knows where they will play. Along with Oregon State, Wazzu has no conference home next year. They are the only two Pac-12 programs that have not been picked up by another league.
Leger-Walker missed significant parts of last season as her family dealt with end-of-life matters for her grandmother in New Zealand.
She should be full-go this season, which is not good news for the rest of the Pac-12. After all, when she was finally able to play regularly, she led her team to the conference tournament championship.
Having Murekatete back is another huge boost for Wazzu. When she started college, she was inexperienced and raw, having started basketball only after she moved to the U.S. from Rwanda. As she heads into her fifth and final season, she’s one of the most dominant inside players in the league.
Head coach Kamie Ethridge is following her usual game plan by bringing in international players and some under-the-radar domestic players. The ability of Ethridge and her staff to both identify and develop talent has never been a problem, so expect someone to take a leap forward like Murekatete, Leger-Walker, Teder, and Motuga did.
No. 8 Arizona Wildcats
Top returners: Fifth-year forward Esmery Martinez, fifth-year guard Helena Pueyo, sophomore guard Kailyn Gilbert
Major additions: Freshman center Breya Cunningham (No. 14 recruit), freshman guard Jada Williams (No. 21 recruit), freshman guard Skylar Jones (No. 96 recruit)
Biggest losses: Forward Cate Reese, guard Shaina Pellington, guard/forward Jade Loville, guard Paris Clark
Arizona will have a great deal of youth on the court this season. While head coach Adia Barnes brought in three experienced transfers, she has said that she wants to play her freshmen more than she has in the past. She has noted that not playing them leads to transfers out of programs these days.
The Wildcats have dealt with the loss of huge chunks of its highly touted freshman classes over the past two seasons. Last year, Barnes lost half of her freshman class, although the loss of Clark was the only real blow from the group. Three veteran players also transferred after the season.
Barnes has her highest-rated recruiting class ever this year. It includes four players, but freshman Montaya Dew (No. 8 recruit) enrolled a semester early to prepare for this year. Unfortunately, she won’t get to play. Dew suffered a knee injury over the summer and had season-ending surgery. The injury leaves the Wildcats with just 10 healthy players.
The class, which was rated No. 3 in the country even before the addition of No. 96 recruit Jones, is still spectacular. It’s also a class that Barnes wants to hold onto and develop. She said she’s willing to take some losses now so they can grow and do something really special down the road.
If those freshmen can develop fast enough and the three vets Barnes brought in to fill specific roles can be happy with those roles, the Wildcats could be something special later this season. There will be growing pains, though.
No. 9 Oregon Ducks
Top returners: Sophomore forward Grace VanSlooten, sophomore guard Chance Gray
Major additions: Freshman wing Sofia Bell (No. 26 recruit), freshman forward Sarah Rambus (No. 66 recruit)
Biggest losses: Guard Endyia Rogers, guard Te-Hina Paopao
Like Arizona, Oregon had another season of transfers into and out of the program. Also like Arizona, it doesn’t look like the transfers into the program will have the same impact as those who left. One more similarity is that the most talented are likely the younger players on the team. Unlike Arizona, Oregon doesn’t have the No. 3 recruiting class, although head coach Kelly Graves still has some highly regarded freshmen in Eugene this year, including Sammie Wagner, who joined the program in January.
There’s no getting around what it meant to lose both Rogers and Paopao, though. Paopao was the final member of the Ducks’ No. 1 class that joined the team in 2020. All five have now left the program with the point guard landing at South Carolina.
Rogers went back to her home state of Texas, landing at Texas A&M alongside former Arizona post Lauren Ware.
The loss of Rogers and Paopao subtracts 29 points, 7.2 assists, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game from the Ducks’ box score.
No. 10 Washington Huskies
Top returners: Junior forward Dalayah Daniels, junior forward Lauren Schwartz
Major additions: Freshman guard Sayvia Sellers (No. 28 recruit), freshman guard Ari Long (No. 46 recruit), freshman guard Chloe Briggs (No. 93 recruit)
Biggest losses: Haley Van Dyke
After coming home from Cal, Daniels had a breakout season. UW showed some promise last year as the season progressed, ending with a 19-15 record. They also have some solid recruits in Seattle this season. It’s entirely possible that Washington could finish a few spots higher than this. If they don’t, it’s likely to be the depth of the league that keeps them from doing so. They have the pieces to have a good run in their final season before they go to the Big Ten.
No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils
Top returners: Senior guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard Treasure Hunt
Major additions: Sophomore guard Jalyn Brown (transfer), freshman forward Mallory Miller
Biggest losses: Center Kayla Mokwuah
This vote was entered before ASU announced that top scorer Tyi Skinner would miss the season. With Skinner out, the team likely ends where both the coaches and the rest of the media placed them: dead last.
The only hope for the Sun Devils is that Cal is a little bit worse. Before Skinner’s injury was known, that was my expectation. It could still happen, but the odds are much longer now.
ASU head coach Natasha Adair says that the team is healthier than it was last year, but the injury to Skinner is big and it’s not the only one. Sophomore guard Jaylah Robinson, who missed most of her freshman season due to injury, has already been ruled out for the 2023-24 season, as well.
No. 12 California Golden Bears
Top returners: Fifth-year guard Leilani McIntosh, senior forward Ugonne (Michelle) Onyiah, redshirt junior guard Kemery Martin
Major additions: Junior forward Marta Suárez (transfer), McKayla Williams (transfer)
Biggest losses: Guard Jayda Curry, forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt
There’s an argument to be made that Cal will end in last even with Skinner being out for ASU. The Golden Bears had some hope with Curry on the roster, although she wasn’t lifting the team as much as just putting up a lot of points on a lot of shots. Curry is now in Louisville, so even that hope is gone.
It’s not the first year, either. As the losses have piled up over the past several years, the talent has headed out to play for other programs. Cal has brought in some solid players, including the No. 7 class in 2020 which included Onyiah, Daniels, and Sela Heide. Onyiah is the only one of the trio left in Berkeley.
Head coach Charmin Smith has not been able to get Cal on track since taking over in 2019. Depending on the team’s performance this year, her contract, and the state of Cal’s athletic budget, this could be her last shot at pulling the program back into a state of respectability as the Bears prepare for life in the ACC.
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I have high hopes for UW this year. We have also added a 6'6" center, and you know Coach Langley can develop around that kind of height. We made it so far in the WNIT; maybe this is the year we surprise everyone and get back to the NCAA tournament as well.
Glad to read a nice in-depth report like this. How the teams will end up is anybody's guess but I cannot confidently disagree with this projection. My only quibble is not listing 6'8" Phillipina Kyei, #2 rebounder and #4 in blocks, as a key returner for Oregon.