NCAA Women's College 2021-2022 Preseason Predictions
Which players will win the NCAA awards, which teams will make the Final Four and which team will win the title? Read on to find out in the preseason predictions!
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The 2021-2022 women’s college basketball season starts tomorrow headlined by the big South Carolina at NC State game at 5PM Eastern on ESPN. With that comes the preseason predictions of which team will win the national title and who will win the major awards from outlets such as ESPN, the Associated Press, and many more. Of course, we can’t let them have all the fun. Here are my preseason predictions for this season as well as my explanation for each choice.
NCAA Women’s College Basketball 2021-2022 Preseason Predictions
I’m starting off with the Naismith Hall of Fame/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Awards, called the Women’s Naismith Starting Five. Each award namesake heads her own selection committee. Each selection committee is composed of fellow Hall of Famers, WBCA member coaches, and media members.
Katrina McLean Award
The NCAA released its list of 20 power forwards who were named to the watch list of this award. Looking through that list, I believe that Naz Hillmon from Michigan will win this award. This will be her senior year and I think she saves the best for her last year. She was a finalist for this award the past two years (2020, 2021) but NaLyssa Smith of Baylor won the award in 2021. Hillmon was the Big Ten Player of the Year last season, when she posted 16 double-doubles last season and was close to getting several more. Not only that, she averaged 23.9 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game last season. She even had a game in which she scored 50 points(!). She has gotten better and better every year at Michigan and in this recent video from Michigan’s women’s basketball Twitter page, she looks to have expanded her game even more. That’s scary, considering how good and efficient of a player she is around the basket. She scored 1.16 points per play and had an effective field goal percentage of 62.3% last season. Her PER (Player Efficiency Rating) was 39.0 which was fourth among all women’s college basketball players last season.
Lisa Leslie Award
From the list of 20 centers who were named to the watch list of this award, I anticipate that Shakira Austin from Ole Miss will win. Aliyah Boston from South Carolina won this award last season. The reason why I predict that Aliyah Boston will not repeat is because of South Carolina’s depth. They have a ton of great players on their roster this season and Boston won’t have as much work to do because she’ll have Kamilla Cardoso who transferred from Syracuse and was named on the awards watch list beside her. Boston’s numbers will be slightly affected and that should give Austin the edge over her. However, that will not affect Boston’s ability to be on the All-American status as a first team member because she is still very dominant and one of the best players in women’s college basketball. But, Austin is entering her final year so she will bring her best effort every time. Last season she averaged 18.6 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game. She posted 14 double-doubles and shot 51.9% from the floor last season. Ole Miss is expected to be better this season because of their performance in the WNIT, when they lost in the championship game to Rice and Austin will be a big reason why.
Ann Meyers Drysdale Award
Looking at the list of 20 shooting guards who were named to the watch list of this award, predicting a winner isn’t easy. This award could go to five or six players. Christyn Williams can be a big part of Connecticut’s success this season, Diamond Miller has the ability to put up big stats for Maryland this season. Jakia Brown-Turner can potentially have a big season for NC State, Charisma Osborne can do the same for UCLA. Zia Cooke can have a tremondous impact for South Carolina and Charlisse Leger-Walker, who already had a big season for Washington State last season and can take that team even farther this season. It comes down to which player can elevate their team to high standards while still having good individual stats for this award. I’ll go out on a limb to say that Miller will win this award but I’m not confident in that pick.
Nancy Lieberman Award
Among the 20 point guards named for this award, This looks to be a battle between Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Paige Bueckers from Connecticut. Bueckers won this award last season as a freshman. Both of these players are going to have a big impact on their teams and both are just sophomores. Bueckers averaged 20 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 55.2% from mid-range and 46.4% from three. She finished with 12.9 Win Shares which was first overall among women’s college basketball players last season. She scored 30 or more points in three games last season. Clark averaged 26.6 points, 7.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from mid-range and 40.6% from three last season. She had one triple-double last season and was one assist away from another one. Her offensive win shares of 9.7 was first among women’s college basketball players last season. This award is going to come down to which of these two players are going to make an even bigger impact in their second year and so I predict that Clark will win this award.
Cheryl Miller Award
Although the list of 20 small forwards on the watch list for this award includes Haley Jones of Stanford and Ashley Joens of Iowa State, I believe that Rhyne Howard of Kentucky will win this award in her senior year. Last season, she averaged 20.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She posted 6 double-doubles and was close to posting two to three more. She scored 30 or more points three times last season. Kentucky is ranked 13th in the AP women’s preseason poll and I believe that they will be a top 10 team this season with Howard leading the way. I think that this award is hers to lose.
Now that the Naismith Hall of Fame/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Awards are now done, it’s time to look at all the other general NCAA women’s college basketball awards.
Naismith Trophy/Wooden Award/Wade Trophy
There hasn’t been an official watch list released for these awards yet, but there are several top women’s college basketball players that have a chance at winning. Bueckers won both the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award last season as a freshman while NaLyssa Smith won the Wade Trophy last season. Both Bueckers and Smith will probably be in the mix for the Naismith Trophy award alongside several other top women’s college basketball players such as Iowa’s Clark, Howard, Hillmon, Boston and Jones. Since the Wade Trophy is designed for an upperclassman to win the award, Smith will be a contender yet again as well as Howard, Hillmon, Boston, and Jones.
All-America Teams
Listed below are the players who I predict will end up on the All-America teams.
First Team
PG - Paige Bueckers - Connecticut
PG - Caitlin Clark - Iowa
SF - Rhyne Howard - Kentucky
PF - Naz Hillmon - Michigan
C - Aliyah Boston - South Carolina
Second Team
PG - Ashley Owusu, Maryland
SG - Christyn Williams - Connecticut
SF - Haley Jones - Stanford
PF - NaLyssa Smith - Baylor
C - Shakira Austin - Ole Miss
Third Team
PG - Hailey Van Lith - Louisville
SG - Charlisse Leger-Walker - Washington State
SF - Ashley Joens - Iowa State
PF - Nyara Sabally - Oregon
C - Elissa Cunane - NC State
Now that all of the preseason predictions for the individual as well as top women’s college basketball awards are done, let’s take a look at who I think will end up in the Final Four and which team will hoist the trophy.
2022 Final Four
I predict that Stanford, South Carolina, Connecticut and Maryland will make it into the 2022 Women’s Final Four. I picked Stanford because they are the defending NCAA champion and they still have one of the top teams in the country led by Jones, Lexie Hull and Cameron Brink. South Carolina has the deepest roster of any team this season. There are several top names and are strong at every position this year. Boston, Cooke, Brea Beal and Cardoso will help lead the way. Connecticut is the second-deepest team this season after South Carolina. Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Bueckers will play a big role in Connecticut’s success. Finally, Maryland makes the Final Four because they have one of the best offenses in the country which makes it difficult for opponents to stop them. Ashley Owusu, Miller and Katie Benzan will be the top players for Maryland and will be tough to stop.
2022 NCAA Champion
I expect that South Carolina and Connecticut will make it to the championship game. When they face off, I’ll take South Carolina to win the title in Minneapolis, Minnesota this season. They are too deep and they are stacked at every position which is going to be difficult to stop.
Now that all my predictions are done, it’s time to see whether or not they come true. What are your predictions for the season? Let us know in the comments down below!
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