Sarah Strong and JuJu Watkins Headline Preseason AP All-America Women's Team
The Associated Press released its preseason All-America women's college basketball team on October 22, headlined by UConn forward Sarah Strong and USC guard JuJu Watkins, the AP Players of the Year of the past two seasons. Joining them are Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, Texas forward Madison Booker and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo.
Strong received 30 votes from the 31-member national media panel that selects the AP Top 25. Hidalgo and Booker received 28 votes each, Blakes 27 and Watkins 26. It is the third consecutive year Hidalgo and Booker have been preseason picks.
Strong, the reigning AP Player of the Year, averaged 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds and shot 58.2% from the field as a sophomore, leading UConn to the Final Four a year after the Huskies won their 12th national championship. "She was national player of the year, you know, and it's pretty hard to get that much better," UConn coach Geno Auriemma told the AP. "But it's not that hard to get better at some things that she wants to get better at. And I think what we'll see is a much more aggressive Sarah, much more intentional, much more understanding."
Watkins returns after tearing the ACL in her right knee during the 2025 NCAA Tournament and missing all of last season. She averaged 23.9 points in 2024-25, when she was the AP Player of the Year. "We are obviously excited for JuJu to be back on the court," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb told the AP. "She has worked so hard both on and off the court, and the joy and talent she brings to college basketball is a great thing not only for our team, but for anyone who is a fan of the game."
Blakes led the nation with a 27.0-point scoring average last season; Booker averaged 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists; Hidalgo averaged 25.3 points and a national-leading 5.6 steals per game. Strong, Blakes and Booker were first-team All-Americans last season and Hidalgo was a second-team pick; the other first-teamers were Lauren Betts of national champion UCLA and UConn's Azzi Fudd. (GSM, from Associated Press reports)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南加州大学（USC）后卫 JuJu Watkins 2025 年公开活动照。All-Pro Reels 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源。Photo: USC guard JuJu Watkins in 2025. Photo by All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
