With Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese gone, a new crop of talented women’s basketball players are ready to take over

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese helped create women’s basketball new heights in the past two years. Although there may be a drop in viewership compared to last season record highthere are plenty of talented players like Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins, Deja Kelly and Hannah Hidalgo ready to continue the rise.

“I know we’ve lost some great players in Angel and Caitlin, but we’ve gained so many more. We gained so much more talent, skill and marketability,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m glad it happened at a time where I can bear witness to it and share it with other people who are just now experiencing it.”

Watkins, a Los Angeles native, turns heads at home games in Southern California, which are routinely sold out and known to have celebrity crowds.

“I don’t know if there has been a young African-American superstar in women’s basketball at this age who can have this platform, and I think this will mean a lot to communities in LA and across the country,” said USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb. said. ‘I wouldn’t bet on her being able to handle anything. At the same time, it is our job to prepare her for what may come and ensure that she can have joy and be a child.

USC asked Iowa for advice on how to handle the attention on Watkins this year. The USC sophomore said it was special that the first time they met, Caitlin Clark offered to help her if she ever needed advice on how to be the face of women’s basketball.

‘She’s great. It shows how good she is outside of basketball,” Watkins said. “To have that kind of mentorship and that relationship with her, it definitely means a lot. She has had the biggest impact on women’s basketball and it is truly inspiring to see her journey.”

Watkins is part of a very talented sophomore class. Three out of five preseason All-Americans his sophomore year – the first time that’s ever happened.

“I never thought I would be the face of something,” said Hidalgo, one of three All-Americans. “I had no expectations when I came in. I just wanted to come in and play basketball and obviously win. Just seeing this generational talent is unlike any other.”

Bueckers and Kelly bridge the gap between the next group and the previous one. Both attended school at the same time as Clark. Bueckers’ career was sidelined by injury, while Kelly is among the last class to benefit from a COVID year.

“I think we’ve had one of the best classes, my class of 2020, in a while,” said Kelly, who transferred to Oregon from North Carolina for her senior season. “And obviously, since half of them entered the draft last year, you still have a good number in school. I don’t want people to forget that.”

Ten years ago, the exceptional players were only present at a handful of schools, but now they are more widely spread across the country, giving more people the opportunity to witness their stardom. It has also helped increase the number of games on TV and give players more exposure through name, image and likeness at a younger age.

“I just think there’s a lot of stars waiting to explode,” NC State coach Wes Moore said. “And with the exposure and coverage we’re getting now, there’s going to be a lot of new stars emerging.”

Kelly sees that the sport is in good hands and will continue to flourish even with the rest of her class gone.

“Everyone at their respective school is doing their best to make a name for themselves,” Kelly said. “And we still have, like I said, a lot of big names in college wanting to enter the draft this year, and that’s going to continue. So I think women’s basketball is in a super good place.”

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AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard and AP Sports Writers Andrew Seligman and John Zenor contributed to this story.

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