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Strong and Watkins lead preseason All-America women's team

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 18:15 · Archive

UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline the preseason AP All-America women's college basketball team, which was released Thursday. Strong and Watkins have won the Associated Press Player of the Year award in consecutive years. They are joined by Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, Texas forward Madison Booker and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo. Hidalgo and Booker have now been honoured as preseason picks for the third consecutive year.

Strong, the reigning AP Player of the Year, averaged 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds whilst shooting 58.2 per cent from the field as a sophomore forward. She helped UConn reach the Final Four a year after the Huskies won their 12th national championship. UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he expects to see 'a much more aggressive Sarah, much more intentional, much more understanding' from his player this season.

Watkins is returning to play after missing last year whilst recovering from an ACL tear in her right knee, which she suffered in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. She earned AP Player of the Year honours that season as a sophomore. According to the outlets, Watkins is healthy and ready to play. In the voting, Hidalgo and Booker each received 28 votes, Blakes had 27 and Watkins 26.

Strong and Watkins lead preseason All-America women's team
Image: Clickorlando

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How it is being reported

In this story: Sarah Strong · JuJu Watkins · Mikayla Blakes · Madison Booker · Hannah Hidalgo · UConn · USC · Vanderbilt

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem