Another regular season is in the books, which means it’s time to honor our 2025-26 The Athletic All-America teams. If you look back at our preseason votes, what’s clear is the best players in college basketball lived up to expectations this season. There aren’t too many surprises, rather a collection of players who delivered on the promise of individual and team success. All but two players have been on an All-America team before.
UConn followed its latest national title with yet another undefeated regular season behind the stellar performances of Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd. In addition to Strong, the sophomore class continues to be one of the deepest in recent memory, comprising half of our All-Americans and boasting oodles of promise for years to come.
Another trend among our selections is that winning matters. It was hard to break through as a top-10 player without playing in meaningful games. Our four-person panel of Sabreena Merchant, Chantel Jennings, Zena Keita and Eden Laase had some bias toward power conference players, but again, stakes are important.
Of course, the ultimate goal for these players is to continue their winning ways and make an all-tournament team. Nobody starts the season chasing individual honors. The grand prize of a championship still awaits.
First team
Sarah Strong, UConn, sophomore, forward
On the floor, Strong plays with the fluidity of a WNBA vet, leading UConn to an undefeated regular season with ease. She was one missed free throw away from being the first player in men’s or women’s college basketball, the NBA or the WNBA to complete a 60-40-90 season (60 percent from the floor, 40 percent from beyond the arc, 90 percent from the free-throw line). Defensively, no player in the country has had a better season. In the last decade, no player has averaged at least three steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Strong finished the regular season with 3.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt, sophomore, guard
The upper echelon of women’s hoops this season looks strikingly similar to a year ago with the exception of Vanderbilt, and that’s because of Blakes. The sophomore led the nation in scoring this season, averaging 27.1 points per game, while pushing Vanderbilt to unprecedented heights. In February alone, she had five 30-point games against top-25 opponents (and six 30-point games overall through the month). Her five consecutive 30-point games against ranked opponents are the most of any player in the last five seasons. On top of being a scorer, she’s an excellent distributor (4.6 assists per game) and an elite defender, averaging 2.9 steals per game.
Lauren Betts, UCLA, senior, center
Betts remains the hub on one of the top teams in college basketball. She is an all-world defensive force who walls off the paint and the center of gravity on offense who opens up driving lanes and jumpers for her teammates. Betts is averaging 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds, one of six power conference players to tally at least 16 and eight per game, but her real value lies beyond the box score. Opponents shoot 11.1 percent worse at the rim when Betts is on the floor and 7.1 percent worse in the rest of the paint, per CBB Analytics, and she defends without fouling. Everything the Bruins do revolves around Betts’ running the floor, sealing the paint and setting picks, and she is the main reason they finished the regular season with only one loss.
Olivia Miles, TCU, graduate student, guard
The nation’s best pure point guard — even after transferring from Notre Dame in the offseason — still has complete command on the court. TCU runs a basic pick-and-roll offense that relies on Miles to make reads — and she can make all of them. She averages 20.1 points and 6.5 assists, and the Horned Frogs offense is 22.4 points per 100 possessions better when she is on the court. The defense knows exactly what TCU is going to run — more than 50 percent of Miles’ possessions are as a pick-and-roll ballhandler — but Miles continues to get to her spots and put her teammates in position to succeed.
Madison Booker, Texas, junior, forward
Since Booker stepped on the Texas campus three years ago, she has been the perfect part of Vic Schaefer’s system, and in each season she only further solidifies herself as one of the best in the country. The Big 12 player of the year as a freshman and the SEC player of the year as a sophomore, she’s once again an All-American as a junior. This season, she has been a steady force for Texas, averaging 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Near the basket and in the mid-range, she’s nearly unstoppable, and her versatility and length make her a defensive matchup nightmare for opponents.
Second team
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina, sophomore, forward
Edwards is the latest Gamecocks player to seamlessly step into a larger role and thrive. Her 19.8 points per game and 59 percent field goal shooting have led to 18 20-point games for Edwards. At 6 feet 3, she’s also a defensive force, grabbing 6.3 rebounds (including 2.6 offensive boards) with 1.1 blocks per game.
Sophomore Joyce Edwards has led the way for the Gamecocks. (Sean Rayford / Getty Images)
Azzi Fudd, UConn, graduate student, guard
As a leader on the nation’s No. 1 undefeated team, Fudd is hitting career-high marks: 17.9 ppg, 3 apg, 2.5 spg, 49 percent overall shooting and 45.1 percent 3-point shooting.
Olivia Olson, Michigan, sophomore, guard
Her game winner against Ohio State won’t soon be forgotten, but Olson has been a steady force for the Wolverines all season. A unanimous All-Big Ten pick by coaches, she ranks fifth in conference scoring (19.6 ppg), scoring in double figures in every game this season with 16 20-point games.
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame, junior, guard
The ACC player of the year and defensive player of the year, Hidalgo has managed to keep the Irish relevant this season with her remarkable production. She became the fastest ACC player to reach 2,000 career points and ranks second among active Division I players with 2,281 points. Her 162 steals this season are second most in conference history.
* Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State, sophomore, guard
A unanimous pick for the Big Ten first-team by coaches and media, she led the league in scoring (23.4 ppg) and ranked ninth in assists (4.5 apg).
* Flau’jae Johnson, LSU, senior, guard
Johnson’s stats have dipped as a senior as she’s played fewer minutes, just 13.8 points in 25 minutes per game. But there’s no denying the energy and playmaking she brings as a two-way player.
* Johnson and Cambridge tied for second-team placement
Also receiving votes: Khamil Pierre, NC State; Audi Crooks, Iowa State; Clara Strack, Kentucky.
