You already know who the preseason POY is
Big East Basketball Media Day is coming up on October 23rd, so we should probably make some preseason picks, huh? What follows is my attempt to predict how the Big East coaches will vote for the various women’s basketball awards when the results of the poll comes out at Media Day. We’ve got two individual awards in Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, a five-woman preseason all-conference team, and a predicted order of finish for all 11 squads in the Big East this season.
Let’s get right to it!
Preseason Player of the Year: Paige Bueckers, Connecticut
Duh.
Here’s most of the Big East’s writeup on Bueckers’ second POY trophy at the end of last season in case you actually needed to see the justification.
Bueckers becomes the eighth player in league history to earn multiple BIG EAST Player of the Year certificates after claiming the honor following the 2020-21 season. She is the fifth Husky to repeat and first since three-time honoree Maya Moore (2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11). Over 18 league games, Bueckers finished No. 2 in scoring (22.0), No. 5 in assists (4.3), No. 6 in steals (2.0), No. 8 in blocks (0.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.574) and No. 1 in free-throw shooting (.904). The two-time national player of the week (USBWA) enters the postseason with four 30-point performances on the year and a BIG EAST-best 20 20-point games. She has led the Huskies in scoring 16 times.
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Sarah Strong, Connecticut
Duh. The 6’2” forward from North Carolina is ESPN’s #1 prospect in the Class of 2024. We pick Sarah Strong and we move on with our lives.
Okay, okay, I will also note that UConn’s Allie Ziebell is #7 in the recruiting class and UConn’s Morgan Cheli is #11. I will be surprised if Strong does not win this, and I will be shocked if one of the three Huskies doesn’t get the postseason version. I suppose there’s a chance that Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe (#97) or St. John’s A’riel Little (#100) could earn votes, but I’m not expecting them to topple Strong right now.
Preseason All-Big East Team
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Azzi Fudd, UConn
Lauren Jensen, Creighton
Morgan Maly, Creighton
Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown
This was ridiculously easy to figure out. There are four women from last year’s postseason All-Big East First Team coming back for 2024-25, and Jensen was a unanimous pick. That’s four of the five you see here. The fifth is Azzi Fudd, and if you think that I’m just going to pretend that she’s not one of the five best players in the league because she only played two games last year, you’re wrong. Yes, this means the list of five is very UConn and Creighton heavy, but everyone else is playing for Third Place in the Big East this season behind them, so that’s how it goes.
In fact, there’s actually only seven women returning from the entire list of postseason honorees a year ago. The Big East likes to put out a Big List when it comes to this preseason all-conference team, so don’t be surprised when you see Butler’s Caroline Strande, Providence’s Olivia Olsen, and UConn’s (yes, the Huskies again) Ashlynn Shade.
Predicted Order Of Finish
I’m going to break this up into tiers just to drive a point home here.
1 — UConn
2 — Creighton
3 — Butler
4 — Georgetown
5 — St. John’s
6 — Villanova
7 — Marquette
8 — Seton Hall
9 — Providence
10 — DePaul
11 — Xavier
UConn’s at the top of the league. They could win this league if head coach Geno Auriemma keeps every single one of his transfers and freshmen on the bench the whole season. They’re crazy loaded.
Creighton’s right behind them, but one tier down. The Bluejays return almost everyone who matters from last year’s squad that was probably better than the second round NCAA exit that they ended with last year. It’s hard to beat top 10 ranked teams on the road.
And then we get into the fun. Yes, I’m putting Butler and Georgetown together at 4 and 5. They return too much to not have a leg up on the teams that I’ve put behind them that have way too many question marks for various reasons. If nothing else, the door is wide open for them to make a jump this season and it’s their fault if they don’t go flying through it.
St. John: Huge roster turnover. Villanova: Massive roster turnover. Marquette: Massive roster shakeup and a coaching change. Seton Hall: Big ol’ roster turnover. Providence: Not much of a turnover, but they didn’t have one after a coaching change last summer and were basically unchanged in wins and losses. You could draw names out of a hat for this five team run and have just as much luck figuring out who’s better.
Xavier was atrocious after a coaching change last year, so I refuse to pick them anywhere else but last until they prove to not be last. That makes DePaul 10th, and the Blue Demons have certainly looked like they’re trying to fight their way down to the basement of the league. Don’t do it, DePaul!
Got problems with any of this? That’s what the comments section is for. Have fun!