Perhaps this list of potential players of the year for 2025-26 will bring some calm to the chaos, a chance to look at who should be the best performers in each conference. Some seem easy to call -- there don't appear to be any true challengers to UConn's Sarah Strong in the Big East or Richmond's Maggie Doogan in the Atlantic 10 -- but other races like the SEC and Big 12 should be tight until the final day of the campaign.
As much as February and March get most of the attention, NCAA tournament résumés begin their construction the moment the college basketball season begins. November and December matter. They matter plenty. Those are the games that shape the narrative for the rest of the season and are referenced when the selection committee is making many of its most difficult decisions.
Hopefully it's a little bit of a confidence builder and not, Oh my God!' Auriemma said. I'm happy for them. We talk a lot about how we're not out here to prove that we're defending national champions or we're preseason number one in the country, and we have to beat everybody by 40. We don't want to get caught in that trap. You tend to finish the year where you're predicted. So I like being in this position.