Ranking the 15 best players in the women’s Final Four

With only four teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament, ESPN’s final women’s college basketball player rankings for 2025-26 have been reduced to 15 as the tournament moves to Phoenix for the national semifinals.

of yukon sarah strong Fort Worth remains on top of Regional 1 after guiding the Huskies to their 25th Final Four with two wins. Strong has been No. 1 since the preseason rankings. The sophomore is trying to repeat what former Huskies great Breanna Stewart did: win four national championships in her four seasons.

Trying to stop him in the semifinals will be South Carolina, which has such a balanced attack that five Gamecocks have made this list. On the other side of the bracket, Texas (madison booker) and UCLA (Lauren Bates) each have a player in the top five.

The national semifinals are Friday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, and Sunday’s championship game is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

forward | 6-foot-2 II

Sweet 16 Rankings: 1

2025-26 stats: 18.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 59.4% FG

By any reasonable standard, a 21-point, seven-rebound performance in the regional final would be considered excellent. Still, these were strong numbers against Notre Dame and it looked like she was a little distant for most of Sunday’s game. Strong has set the bar so high that a 6-13 shooting performance feels like a holiday. However, defensively Strong was unreliable in Fort Worth, Texas. She totaled 10 steals, five blocks and 16 defensive rebounds and was the catalyst in holding North Carolina and Notre Dame to 94 combined points. UConn scored that many points in a game on 10 occasions this season. Strong is the best defensive player in the country, and her play on that end of the field could lead the Huskies to their 13th national title. — charlie cream

forward | 6-1 | junior

Sweet 16 Rankings: 5

2025-26 stats: 19.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.8 apg

She was Fort Worth Regional 3’s Most Outstanding Player when the Longhorns swept Kentucky and Michigan. Booker had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists against the Wildcats and 19 points and seven rebounds against the Wolverines. In this NCAA tournament, she is averaging 22.5 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 58.6% from the field. She is one of the vocal leaders of the team. The last time Booker faced the Bruins, when Texas beat UCLA 76-65 in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas in November, he had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. –Michael Voepel

Protector 5-11 | senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: 4

2025-26 stats: 17.5 ppg, 3.1 apg, 45.5% 3fg

Fudd’s shooting (9 for 24) at field goals was representative of the overall UConn performance. His 23 points in two games fell well short of the 34 points he scored in Round 2 against Syracuse. But sometimes “when” is as important as “how many.” Fudd scored eight of his 13 points against Notre Dame in the fourth quarter, preventing the Irish from even considering a comeback. He also had five assists and three steals against Notre Dame. This is the same Fudge who was the Final Four Most Outstanding Player a year ago. He had 28 and 24 points in two games against South Carolina last season. — charlie cream

center | 6-7 | senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: 6

2025-26 stats: 17.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.2 apg

It’s no surprise that Bates has been UCLA’s best player through the first four games of the tournament and has fueled the Bruins’ return to the Final Four. She averaged 24.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game in the tournament and performed well on every inch of the court. In UCLA’s Elite Eight win over Duke, Bates’ five blocks made him the program’s all-time leader in blocks with 230 for his career. She has reached 71 (and counting) this season alone. –Kendra Andrews

forward | 6-3 | II

Sweet 16 Rankings: 8

2025-26 stats: 19.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 58.2% FG

At 20.5 points per game through four NCAA Tournament games, Edwards is outpacing his regular season game, and that includes an eight-point performance in the regional semifinal against Oklahoma. On Monday against TCU, Edwards equaled his season high with 20 field goal attempts, another example of his growing confidence. She’s no longer trying to figure out what to do in these more pressured games; Edwards is dictating how they proceed. Although it took until the fourth quarter for South Carolina to put the Horned Frogs away, Edwards established the Gamecocks’ inside dominance and was a big part of their 18-point advantage in the paint. — Cream

forward | 6-2 | New

Sweet 16 Rankings: 19

2025-26 stats: 10.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 54.1% FG

Nothing like having the second highest scoring game in the biggest game of your career so far. The regional final moment wasn’t huge for Quinonez, and the game against Notre Dame could have been much different if he hadn’t scored 20 points. Even more significant to the result were the 14 points scored in the first half when Sarah Strong and Ezzie Fudd were not at their best. The day may come when Quinonez is UConn’s best player, maybe even the best player in the country. However, for now, she takes her place behind the two giants and has demonstrated that she is ready when needed. — Cream

Protector 6-0 | junior

Sweet 16 Rankings: 17

2025-26 stats: 12.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 44.5% 3FG

March was Johnson’s month: he scored in double figures in every game except one. Now in April and the Final Four, Johnson is South Carolina’s most dangerous 3-point threat. He is 11 of 17 (64.7%) from behind the arc this tournament, going 5 of 5 in regional wins against Oklahoma and TCU. He had 14 points, four rebounds and two assists against the Sooners and 11 points, three rebounds and two assists against the Horned Frogs. — vopel

center | 6-6 | senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: 22

2025-26 stats: 13.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 58.4% FG

Ocotble went from 15 points in each of the first two rounds to a total of 15 points in the Sacramento area, but South Carolina still won both games by 52 points, which shows how many ways the Gamecocks can win. Her size was still integral in limiting TCU’s Marta Suarez and Clara Silva to a combined 5 of 20 shooting in the Elite Eight. Okot’s performance exceeded expectations throughout the season, but looking back, it was exactly what South Carolina needed to get to this point. Okot is a better player than he was a year ago at Mississippi State, and his ceiling is high. — Cream

Protector 5-9 | senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: unranked

2025-26 stats: 10.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.4 apg

The center of the Gamecocks’ defense, Johnson had a strong field performance. She was 8 of 11 from the field for 18 points, two rebounds and three assists in South Carolina’s Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma. In the regional final win over TCU, Johnson had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. This is his fifth season at South Carolina, after a knee injury forced him to redshirt his first year. The Gamecocks have made the Final Four in South Carolina every season. — Vopel

Protector 5-11 | senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: 23

2025-26 stats: 15.2 ppg, 4.5 apg, 49.7% FG

Rice remained productive throughout the tournament, providing the Bruins with complementary scoring and assists, but his efficiency declined. She’s shooting 38.5% from the floor – which is about 10% worse than her regular season shooting percentage. For the Bruins to get past Texas, UCLA needs Rice to continue to be not only a sharp scorer, but also an offensive threat who will force defenders away from the paint just because he is on the court. — andrews

Protector 6 feet senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: unranked

2025-26 stats: 9.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 50.8% FG

Dugalic has been the Bruins’ second-best player through the first four rounds. In the Sweet 16, he recorded a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double and followed it up in the Elite Eight with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. When she shares the floor with Bates, she gives UCLA a sizable advantage. When the star center is on the bench, Dugalic ensures that the Bruins can still run their offense through the paint, which has been vital to their success. — andrews

Protector 5-foot-6 senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: unranked

2025-26 stats: 8.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 6.3 apg

Harmon set school career records for assists and steals this season and finished an unforgettable career that saw the resurgence of Texas women’s basketball. In his freshman season in 2022, Texas won the Big 12 Tournament title for the first time since 2003. Now in the SEC, Texas is going to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. In Fort Worth Regional 3, he had 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals against Kentucky. In the regional title game against Michigan, he had seven points, seven rebounds and 13 assists, which set an NCAA Tournament record for most assists in an Elite Eight game. In Texas’ November win over UCLA, Harmon led the way with 26 points and five assists. — vopel

Protector 5-8 | senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: unranked

2025-26 stats: 14.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.5 apg

The chance to play in the Final Four is one of the reasons Latson transferred to South Carolina after three years at Florida State. He also thought it would improve his game overall. In the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma, he scored his second-highest points of the season with 28, while also dishing out five assists, shooting 7-of-11 from the field (4-of-4 from 3-point range) and 10-of-10 from the foul line. He had a quiet game in the regional finals, finishing with only three points and three assists against TCU. For the Gamecocks to defeat UConn, they will need Latson’s scoring. — Vopel

Protector 6-0 | II

Sweet 16 Rankings: unranked

2025-26 stats: 13.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg

He had some big moments as a freshman in last year’s NCAA Tournament, scoring in double figures three times, including 16 points against South Carolina in the national semifinals. Lee has really blossomed this season: She’s Texas’ second-leading scorer and third in assists. She had 18 points, three assists and three steals against Kentucky in the regional semifinals. Her performance against Michigan in the Elite Eight was 2-of-17, four points, but coach Vic Schaefer expressed confidence in her after that game, saying she would never play that poorly again. Even on a night when his offense wasn’t on, Lee was still a big role in holding Michigan to 41 points. Lee had 13 points when Texas beat UCLA in November. — vopel

Protector 6 feet senior

Sweet 16 Rankings: unranked

2025-26 stats: 13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 54.2% FG

Jacquez has been a steady scorer and has done it incredibly efficiently this tournament, averaging nearly 11 points per game and shooting 53.1% from the floor. She gives the Bruins an option who can drive at a fast pace to the hoop, helping them thrive in the paint. Her performances haven’t been the strongest during regionals, but when she’s on the field, she adds another dimension to UCLA’s offense. — andrews