The Top 10 Players in the Junior Class
Want to know which players stand out among the juniors? Read on to find out!
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The NCAA women’s college basketball season is now underway and there are plenty of talented juniors this season. But who are the stars? Who are the players that rise above the rest? Below I’ve compiled a list of the country’s top ten juniors.
*Note - Only a week of NCAA games have been held this season; therefore, these rankings are based on the past two seasons plus each player’s potential for this year. Also, please note the list below excludes players unable to play this season.
10. Diamond Johnson - NC State
2021-22 Stats - 10.8 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.3 spg
Diamond Johnson is one of the best juniors because of her ability to be an excellent scorer/shooter when needed. Johnson showed off her remarkable guard skills early in her collegiate career, averaging 17.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game at Rutgers. Upon transferring to NC State for her sophomore season, Johnson earned ACC Sixth Player of the Year honors and helped the Wolfpack capture their third straight ACC tournament title. Johnson came off the bench and dropped at least 10 points 18 times last season, the third-most games among major conference players. Given that NC State graduated four starters from last season’s Elite Eight squad, look for Johnson to take on an expanded role this year. So far in her junior year, she’s shooting 48.4% from the field and 63.6% from three.
9. Alyssa Ustby - North Carolina
2021-22 Stats - 12.9 ppg, 8.6 rbg, 1.7 spg
Alyssa Ustby is one of the top juniors because of what she can do as a center/forward. As a sophomore, she averaged 12.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, helping the Tar Heels reach their first Sweet Sixteen since 2014-15. A member of the All-ACC Second Team, Ustby tallied 13 double-doubles last season, the second-most in the ACC. Ustby, who earned a spot on the preseason Cheryl Miller Award watch list (nation’s top small forward), is off to a hot start during her junior campaign. She’s shooting a remarkable 83.3% inside the arc, and in her team’s season opener against Jackson State, she became the first player in the Her Hoop Stats era (since 2009-10) to post a stat line of at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks in under 20 minutes.
8. Emily Ryan - Iowa State
2021-22 Stats - 13.1 ppg, 7.1 apg, 1.8 spg
Emily Ryan is one of the best point guards in this junior class, and her passing skills are what separate her from her peers. On top of all of that, she’s an excellent shooter, knocking down over 40% of her 3-pointers last year. In her sophomore season, she ranked fourth in the country in assists with 7.1 per game and placed in the top 1% in win shares on her way to All-Big 12 First Team honors. This season, Ryan has picked up right where she left off, shooting 61.5% from the field and dishing out 5.5 assists per contest.
7. Taylor Jones - Texas
2021-22 Stats (with Oregon State) - 12.4 ppg, 6.9 rbg
Taylor Jones missed time during the 2021-22 season at Oregon State due to injuries and transferred to Texas in the offseason. She made quite the impression during her time in Corvallis, Ore., making the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and leading the Pac-12 in blocks in 2019-20. She followed that up by leading the conference in rebounds as a sophomore on her way to an All-Pac-12 Team selection. Jones made an immediate impact in her Texas debut, becoming the first Longhorn since Charli Collier to post a stat line of at least 20 points and five blocks.
6. Jewel Spear - Wake Forest
2021-22 Stats - 18.3 ppg, 2.9 3PM per game
One of the best scoring guards in the nation, Spear’s 18.3 points per game last season ranked in the top 2% nationally, was seventh among all sophomores, and demonstrated how tough it is for opponents to guard her. A member of the 2022 All-ACC First Team, Spear has continued her stellar play this season, dropping a pair of 23-point games in Wake Forest’s first two games and shooting 45% from distance.
5. Charlisse Leger-Walker - Washington State
2021-22 Stats - 16.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.6 spg
An All-Pac-12 selection last season, Washington State’s Charlisse Leger-Walker was among the top 10 finalists for the Ann Myers Drysdale Award (nation’s best shooting guard). Leger-Walker earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2020-21; her 18.7 points per contest and 2.2 steals per game each ranked second in the Pac-12. While her production dropped off a bit last season, it was still enough for an all-conference nod and helped lead the Cougars to the program’s highest single-season win total since 1978-79. Leger-Walker has kicked off her 2022-23 season in style, dropping 35 points against San Francisco and shooting an impressive 60% inside the arc through three games.
4. Hailey Van Lith - Louisville
2021-22 Stats - 14.4 ppg, 3.6 rbg, 1.2 spg
Hailey Van Lith is among the top echelon of juniors because of the wide variety of ways she can score. She proved this during her first two seasons with Louisville, with accolades that include the ACC All-Freshman Team and the All-ACC Team. Last season, her four-consecutive 20-point games in the NCAA Tournament helped lead Louisville to the Final Four. Van Lith earned the Wichita region’s Most Outstanding Player honor for her efforts. She is off to a fantastic start this season, averaging 21.7 points on 49.1% shooting through Louisville’s first three games.
3. Angel Reese - LSU
2021-22 Stats (with Maryland) - 17.7 ppg, 10.6 rbg, 1.7 spg, 1.1 bpg
One of the top forwards in the junior class, Angel Reese was second in the Big Ten last season in both rebounds and blocks per game. During each of her two seasons in a Maryland uniform, Reese ranked in the top 15 in PER and win shares per 40 minutes. A semi-finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year last season, Reese made the All-Big Ten First Team and the All-Big Ten Defensive Team. She transferred to LSU for her junior year and has absolutely dominated for the Tigers in the early going, averaging 21.3 points, 14.3 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks through three games.
2. Cameron Brink - Stanford
2021-22 Stats - 13.5 ppg, 8.1 rbg, 2.6 bpg
Cameron Brink is the best forward/center in the junior class because of her ability to rebound, defend and score. Her freshman and sophomore seasons are indicative of this. In each of those seasons, she ranked in the top 10 in player efficiency rating and in the top five in win shares per 40 minutes, winning Pac-12 Player of the Year and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors last season. A superb rim protector, Brink has placed in the Pac-12’s top five in blocked shots during each of her first two seasons with the Cardinal. This season, she was named to the Naismith Trophy watch list and the Katrina McClain Award preseason watch list and looks to lead Stanford to its third straight Final Four.
1. Caitlin Clark - Iowa
2021-22 Stats - 27.0 ppg, 8.0 rbg, 8.0 apg
This now brings us to the best overall junior. Caitlin Clark is the best player among the juniors because of her ability to score, rebound and assist. She exploded onto the college basketball scene in her freshman season and has never looked back. Clark led the country in scoring during each of her first two seasons, including last season when she became the first Division I player in history to lead the nation in both points and assists The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, Clark also won the Nancy Lieberman Award for the nation’s top point guard. In her junior season, she has continued where she left off, averaging 24.7 points through Iowa’s first three games. This all goes to show just how great of a guard Clark is.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.