Women's preseason top 25: JuJu is back, but South Carolina opens on top

Women's college basketball is back -- and so is JuJu Watkins . Her return after sitting out all of last season is the biggest story in the country as college hoops teams hit the hardwood for 2026-27. Watkins suffered a torn ACL in March 2025 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The national player of the year that season, Watkins guided the USC Trojans to a No. 1 seed. They reached the Elite Eight before being eliminated.