Women’s college basketball is inevitable.
Mark down the 2023-24 season as the year everyone finally recognized that undeniable truth – including The Sporting News, which presents its inaugural All-America team for women’s college basketball.
That’s not to say we could have reached this point without years of blood and sweat – from Caitlin Clark, from Candace Parker, from Lynette Woodard, from every woman who stepped on the hardwood. All these women loved the game. And their passion made the present moment not just possible but unavoidable.
For another lesson in inevitability, look no further than Clark. The Iowa phenom stepped into a league ready to explode – and with her self-assured swagger and her logo 3-pointers, she not only lit the match but poured gasoline on the fire.
The Hawkeyes’ senior guard set records on and off the court in her final NCAA season, but Clark is far from the lone star. For proof, check out the rest of our 2024 All-America cohort, selected by a panel of TSN staff members. Every one of these 15 players has made their mark in a watershed year for women’s college basketball.
MORE SN AWARDS: Men's 2024 All-America teams | Player of the Year | Coach of the Year
Sporting News First Team All-Americans
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
6-0, Sr. G
Key stats: 31.9 ppg, 8.9 apg, 7.3 rpg, 5.2 3pg
Defining game: 49 points, 13 assists, 9-of-18 3-point shooting in 106-89 win over Michigan.
Overview: One year ago, Clark swept the national player of the year awards and led Iowa to the brink of a national title. She seemed to take that as a challenge to do even better in her senior season. She leads the NCAA in points and assists per game. She set attendance records at arenas across the country. She broke Kelsey Plum’s career scoring record – and then Lynette Woodard’s, and then Pete Maravich’s. So no matter what happens in the NCAA Tournament, the results are in: Clark has produced one of the most transcendent seasons in the history of women’s college basketball.
MORE: Iowa's path to the national title
JuJu Watkins, USC
6-2, Fr. G
Key stats: 27.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.4 spg
Defining game: 51 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals in 67-58 win against Stanford.
Overview: One of the top recruits of the class of 2023, Watkins decided to stay close to home with USC. Already her decision is paying off for the Trojans, who won their conference tournament for the first time since 2014 behind their native star. Watkins is second only to Caitlin Clark in scoring, and she already owns a host of USC records, including: most 30-point games in a single season (13), most points in a single game (51) and most points as a freshman (810 and counting). Don’t let Clark’s historic year overshadow Watkins’ all-time great freshman season.
MORE: USC's path to the national title
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
5-6, Fr. G
Key stats: 23.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.5 apg, 4.6 spg
Defining game: 34 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists in 82-67 win against UConn.
Overview: Hidalgo announced herself on the international stage, dropping 31 points in her NCAA debut – which came in Paris, in a game against powerhouse South Carolina. The Irish played the entire season without star guard Olivia Miles, who is still recovering from a knee injury suffered at the end of the 2022-23 season. But Hidalgo stepped in seamlessly, sitting in the top three in the nation in scoring and first in steals. And when Miles and Hidalgo team up next year, watch out world.
EXPERT PICKS: Yanchulis (South Carolina) | DeCourcy (UConn men) | Bender (UConn men)
Cameron Brink, Stanford
6-4, Sr. F
Key stats: 17.8 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 3.5 bpg
Defining game: 25 points, 24 rebounds, 4 assists in 67-63 win against Oregon State.
Overview: On a deep Cardinal team, Brink averages just 25.6 minutes per game – but she makes full use of every one. With a solid case for best two-way player in the country, Brink leads her team in rebounds, steals and blocks per game, and she’s second in points and assists. Plus, she has 19 double-doubles, so her Pac-12 player of the year and defensive player of the year awards should come as no surprise – and neither should her status as a soon-to-be WNBA draft lottery pick.
Liz Kitley, Virginia Tech
6-6, Gr. C
Key stats: 22.8 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 55.6% FG
Defining game: 34 points, 12 rebounds, 76.5% FG in 61-56 win against Duke.
Overview: After Kitley helped lead the Hokies to the Final Four in 2023, she returned for a fifth year under head coach Kenny Brooks looking to run it back. She won the ACC player of the year award for the third consecutive season, joining Alana Beard and Alyssa Thomas as the only players to do so. The knee injury she sustained during the final game of the regular season underlined her importance to her team, which suffered a blowout loss to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament in her absence.
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Sporting News Second-Team All-Americans
Angel Reese, LSU
6-3, Sr. F
Key stats: 19.0 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 1.8 spg
Defining game: 25 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks in 25-20 win against Auburn.
Overview: If Reese struggled to start her second year at LSU, that was only in comparison to the high standard she set in her debut season with the Tigers. Even after a rocky beginning in nonconference play, the 2024 SEC player of the year sits second in the NCAA in rebounds and has 23 double-doubles on the season – including 12 in a row. As the NCAA Tournament begins, she will aim to lead LSU to another national title.
MORE: LSU's path to the national title
Paige Bueckers, UConn
6-0, Jr. G
Key stats: 21.3 ppg, 53.8% FG, 42.4% 3-PT
Defining game: 27 points, 4 rebounds, 5 blocks in 78-42 win against Georgetown.
Overview: Injuries derailed each of Bueckers’ last two seasons, but she refused to let what-ifs define her UConn career. She returned from an ACL injury, which kept her off the court for all of 2022-23, as a more efficient version of herself, with a 61.1% effective field goal percentage and a killer defensive instinct. Bueckers also carries more of the load for the Huskies, who are still hounded by injuries and ailments. And the best part for UConn fans? The redshirt junior plans to return for at least one more year in Storrs.
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
6-7, Sr. C
Key stats: 14.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.6 bpg, 58.4% FG
Defining game: 20 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks in 100-71 win against Notre Dame.
Overview: The SEC sixth player of the year in 2023, Cardoso stepped into the spotlight after the Gamecocks graduated their entire starting five. She led the team in points, rebounds and blocks en route to SEC defensive player of the year honors. And she is 100% from 3-point range in her career – a perfect 1-for-1, as her first came on a game-winning, banked-in buzzer-beater in the SEC tournament semifinal.
Raegan Beers, Oregon State
6-4, So. F
Key stats: 17.7 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 66.0% FG
Defining game: 20 points, 20 rebounds, 2 blocks in 73-70 double overtime win against Arizona.
Overview: If Beers didn’t play in such a stacked conference (rest in peace, Pac-12), she likely would have gone home with some serious end-of-season hardware. But behind Brink and Watkins, she settled for her second straight all-conference selection and a semifinal exit from the Pac-12 tournament. Still, she holds the second-highest field goal percentage in the NCAA, and she’s posted 15 double-doubles – including her 20-20 game against Arizona, in which she tied the Beavers’ single-game record for rebounds and scored 11 of her team’s 13 points in overtime.
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
5-10, Gr. G
Key stats: 18.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.1 spg
Defining game: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists in 100-92 overtime win against Iowa.
Overview: After missing a solid chunk of her senior year with a foot injury, Sheldon decided to return for a fifth season with the Buckeyes to settle “unfinished business.” A savvy, fleet-footed defender, she also leads her team in points and assists. With the NCAA Tournament looming, she’s aiming to improve upon last year’s finish, which saw Ohio State make its first Elite Eight appearance in 30 years.
PRINTABLE: Download a 2024 Women's March Madness bracket here
Sporting News Third-Team All-Americans
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
6-6, Sr. C
Key stats: 20.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.7 bpg, 62.2% FG
Defining game: 22 points, 12 rebounds, 64.3% FG in 65-58 win against Iowa.
Overview: In a resurgent year for the resilient Lee, not even a midseason ankle surgery could keep her down. The sixth-year player missed her first season due to knee surgery to repair an ACL tear, then missed last season after another knee surgery. This season, she missed four weeks starting in mid-January with an ankle fracture. Before the injury, she led her team to an upset win against Clark and Iowa. Two games after returning from surgery, she posted 34 points and 12 rebounds in an overtime win against a ranked West Virginia team.
Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse
5-5, Gr. G
Key stats: 22.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.6 3pg
Defining game: 29 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists in 73-72 win against Louisville.
Overview: More than one player has soared up the NCAA career scoring leaderboards this season. While the world is watching Clark, Fair is making moves of her own, jumping up to fifth in Division I women’s basketball history. The fifth-year star for the Orange could surpass Jackie Stiles for fourth place (3,393) if she matches her average through two NCAA Tournament games – and if she does a bit better, she could even catch Kelsey Mitchell for third place (3,402).
Alissa Pili, Utah
6-2, Sr. F
Key stats: 20.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 54.8% FG
Defining game: 36 points, 6 rebounds, 81.3% FG in 78-58 win against USC.
Overview: The 6-2 forward, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, carries her Samoan and Indigenous heritage proudly, which has helped her attract a growing fan base over her five-year collegiate career. So has her scoring prowess. Pili can (and will) score from anywhere on the court, with a 59.3% effective field goal percentage and 39.4% shooting from behind the arc. That versatility makes her a nightmare to defend for the Utes’ opponents.
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
6-3, Sr. F
Key stats: 17.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 59.4% FG
Defining game: 26 points 16 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks in 85-44 win against Georgetown.
Overview: As injuries have rocked the Huskies’ lineup over the last three seasons, Edwards has been their rock, playing in all but three games over her four-season career. Two of those absences came in the Huskies’ last two games en route to their fourth straight Big East tournament title, which Edwards missed with a broken nose. While UConn managed without her, the team will be happy to have her (and her all-around skills) back in the lineup for the NCAA Tournament.
Madison Booker, Texas
6-1, Fr. F
Key stats: 16.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.9 apg
Defining game: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists in 70-53 win against Iowa State.
Overview: The Big 12 co-player of the year and freshman of the year, Booker managed to shine even on an experienced Texas team. She missed one game this year with a nagging injury but started the other 33. She leads the team in scoring, and is second in assists per game only to star guard Rori Harmon, who tore her ACL 12 games into the season. Add all that together with Texas’ impressive season, and it’s no wonder she joined Watkins and Hidalgo as the three freshmen among the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy.
