Fan Rankings Home » NCAAB » Top 10 Women’s Freshman College Basketball 2025-2026 Rankings

Who is the best Women’s Freshman College Basketball Player in the Country this season?

Every season a new wave of talented freshman rocks the Women’s College Basketball landscape and the same can be said for the freshman landing among Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Freshman 2025-2026 rankings list. From Power Four juggernauts to mid-major darlings, these freshmen haven’t merely earned their minutes, they’ve demanded them, stolen headlines, and in some cases, become the face of their historic college programs.

As conference tournaments get underway and March Madness mayhem just around the corner,  the conversation about basketball’s future burns brighter than any buzzer-beater. These freshmen have supplied some of the most jaw-dropping moments of the year: 30-point explosions in overtime thrillers, record-shattering double-doubles, conference awards that hadn’t been handed to a first-year player in decades, and defensive performances that have made veteran opponents look foolish. This year’s talented group of freshmen includes Lauren Whittaker of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Aliyah Chavez of the Oklahoma Sooners, and Jazzy Davidson of the USC Trojans.

These talented women’s basketball players are playing not just with skill, but with an urgency that only the best young players carry, the hunger of someone who has arrived at the exact place they were born to be.What makes this class special isn’t just the individual brilliance, though that is undeniable. It’s the variety of the impact. Some of these freshmen are statistical bulldozers, piling up numbers in categories that defy first-year logic.Together, they represent the full spectrum of what women’s basketball can be: physical and finesse, power and pace, brilliance and balance. The future of Women’s College Basketball continues to build from one season to another.

Here is a look at the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Freshman 2025-2026 Rankings

Honorable Mention

Destiny Jackson

School: Illinois Fighting Illini

Position: Guard

As one of the standout performers landing just outside the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Freshman 2025-2026 Rankings conversation, Destiny Jackson of the Illinois Fighting Illini has quietly assembled one of the most complete freshman guard seasons in the Big Ten.

The 2025 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year arrived in Champaign as the No. 28 prospect in the country, and she has lived up to every bit of that billing. Jackson capped off her freshman season averaging 9.4 points per game to go along with 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor.

On the defensive end of the floor Jackson was also equally impressive shutting down opposing guards while forcing nearly two steals per game (1.6). Jackson’s floor vision, combined with a genuine two-way presence, makes her a franchise-caliber building block for Champaign.

Charlotte Tuhy

School: American University Eagles

Position: Forward

Don’t let the mid-major address fool you, Charlotte Tuhy has been one of the most statistically dominant frontcourt freshmen in the entire country this season.

The 6-foot-1 forward from Madison, New Jersey, joins fellow freshman Lauren Whittaker as the only two freshmen in the country to average a double double this season. Over 28 games played, the American University Eagles star has posted 11.2 points per game to go along with 11 rebounds. In addition, Tuhy also added 1.4 assists, one steal, and 1.4 blocked shots per game delivering the team an all around player on both ends of the hardwood.

Her rebounding instincts and physicality are rare at any level, and coaches around the country have been watching closely.

Top 10 Women’s Freshman College Basketball Rankings

10. Blanca Quinonez

School: UConn Huskies

Position: Forward

As you look around the landscape of Women’s College Basketball it is easy to see how Blanca Quinonez lands at number 10 on the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Freshman 2025-2026 Rankings list.

Arriving on one of the top basketball programs in college basketball, Quinonez has not only earned consistent minutes all season (19.7), but has also produced in her time on the floor. The talented forward averaged 10 points per game over 23 games played this season while adding 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and two steals per game. Her basketball IQ, honed through years of pro experience, is immediately apparent: she reads defenses ahead of the ball, spaces the floor, and gives head coach Geno Auriemma legitimate lineup flexibility between big and small lineups.

For a program that was already a national title contender, Quinonez didn’t join, she added another weapon to the roster. As Azzi Fudd departs for the pros after this season, she positions herself as a cornerstone of UConn’s next wave.

9. Caliyah DeVillasee

School: Cincinnati Bearcats

Position: Guard

The Cincinnati Bearcats freshman point guard Caliyah DeVillasee, turned heads from the very first week of the season when she set the University of Cincinnati’s single-game assist record with a staggering 15 dimes in just her fourth game of the season.

After the strong start, the production never dropped for DeVillasee, who finished off the season averaging 31.3 minutes per game over 26 games played while averaging 14.7 points per game. The production did not stop just with scoring, as the Bearcats guard delivered four assists per game to go along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

Despite playing for a Bearcats team that has struggled in a demanding Big 12, DeVillasee’s creative playmaking, crafty scoring, and strong court vision have made her one of the most entertaining and productive freshman guards in the nation. Her ceiling is immense.

8. Lara Somfai

School: Stanford Cardinal

Position: Forward

The young Aussie wasted no time introducing herself to the ACC. Stanford’s 6-foot-3 freshman forward Lara Somfai opened up her college career earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors for the first week of the season while posting three games with at least 14 points and two double double games.

The strong start delivered the Stanford Cardinal team a player who could not only score but also attack the glass with the best players in the country. Somfai would finish off the season averaging 10.7 points per game and 9.2 rebounds over 26 minutes per game played. She is a physical, relentless presence on the glass who scores efficiently within the flow of the offense and defends with high effort every possession.

With Stanford looking to bounce back in the ACC and NCAA Tournament picture, Somfai is a foundational piece of their return to relevance.

7. Madison Francic

School: Mississippi State Bulldogs

Position: Forward

Inside Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, something is stirring, and it walks in a 6-foot-2 frame wearing number 40.

That something is the talented Mississippi State Bulldogs freshman Madison Francis who delivered an all around performance on both ends of the floor all season for the team. The freshman forward capped off her first season finishing second in the nation with 2.8 blocked shots per game. On the opposite end of the floor the talented Bulldogs star averaged 13.4 points per game to go along with 1.4 assists per game. Francis’s production didn’t stop there however, the first year star also added 1.5 steals to go along with a strong 7.5 rebounds per game.

Francis, a former Team USA gold medalist at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup, plays with a physicality and technical sophistication well beyond her years. Francis doesn’t just protect the rim, she controls it, deterring shots before they ever come, and projecting as one of the premier defensive forwards returning next season.

6. Naomi White

School: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Position: Guard

Buried deep in the Big Sky, a freshman guard from Omaha, Nebraska, has been rewriting the leaderboards with a quiet ferocity.

Northern Arizona’s Naomi White capped off her rookie season leading all freshmen in scoring while averaging just under 20 points per game (20.7). White has delivered in peak moments throughout the year, recording three 30 point performances including a career high 37 points in the team’s 71-58 win over Weber State back in early January. In addition to scoring, White has also turned in a solid stat line that features 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game over 31 games played this season.

At a program that has needed a dynamic offensive star, White has been that player and more, injecting energy and ambition into every possession. Her raw scoring output at the freshman level is among the most impressive in the entire country this season.

5. Uche Izoje

School: Syracuse Orange

Position: Center

In the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Freshman 2025-2026 Rankings, there may be no player who has been a bigger defensive revelation than Uche Izoje, the 6-foot-3 center out of Nigeria.

The Syracuse Orange freshman center claimed the ACC Rookie of the Year award becoming only the second player in the schools history in the ACC to take home the award. Over her freshman season Izoje was brilliant on both ends of the floor delivering the Orange a dynamic scoring threat who is also equally impressive on the glass as well as a shot blocker. Izoje finished the season averaging 15 points per game to go along with 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, nearly one steal (0.9), and 2.6 blocked shots per game.

Izoje has helped push Syracuse to a 22-7 record and an NCAA Tournament projection. She plays like a veteran and has the ceiling of a future WNBA cornerstone.

4. Aubrey Galvan

School: Vanderbilt Commodores

Position: Guard

On a Vanderbilt Commodores team that finished 27-3 and ranked No. 5 nationally, the sophomore scoring star Mikayla Blakes attracting all the headlines, Aubrey Galvan delivered a breakout performance during her freshman season.

The talented freshman delivered a brilliant all-around performance while running the team’s offense averaging 5.9 assists per game while demonstrating great court vision all season. In addition to the 5.9 assists, Galvan added 12.9 points per game on the offensive end of the floor to go along with 3.3 rebounds. Galvan plays with a flair that goes beyond the box score: no-look passes, behind-the-back deliveries, and court vision that makes defenders tilt their heads.

She and Blakes have formed one of the most dynamic duos in college basketball, with Galvan’s ball-distribution freeing Blakes to focus entirely on attack mode. Galvan has helped give Vanderbilt its best season since the 2008-09 campaign and its first 12-win SEC season in program history.

3. Jazzy Davidson

School: USC Trojans

Position: Guard

Step into the spotlight when JuJu Watkins goes down, easier said than done. But one of the top recruits in the 2025 class did exactly that all season for the USC Trojans.

Jazzy Davidson has averaged 17.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game in the 2025-2026 rankings season, earning the unprecedented distinction of being the only Division I player leading her team in all five major statistical categories simultaneously. Her play on both ends of the floor ranks not among the best freshman players in the country but also among the best overall players in Women’s College Basketball.

She was awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Year, earned First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors, and became the first USC player ever to claim a Big Ten freshman award.

2. Lauren Whittaker

School: Gonzaga Bulldogs

Position: Forward

The best Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Freshman 2025-2026 Rankings story belongs to a 6-foot-3 forward from Canterbury, New Zealand, who redshirted her first year at Gonzaga due to injury, returned healthy, and proceeded to produce at the highest level among the incoming freshman class this season.

The talented forward Lauren Whittaker was one of only two freshmen to average a double double this season averaging 19.3 points per game to go along with 10.2 rebounds. The strong performance earned Whittaker multiple honors including being named both the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, only the second freshman in WCC history to sweep both honors, and the first in 45 years.

There is simply no freshman in the country who has produced more consistently, more efficiently, and more impressively all season long.

1. Aaliyah Chavez

School: Oklahoma Sooners

Position: Guard

Before she ever played a college game, Aaliyah Chavez had already shattered records: 4,796 career points in high school, a state championship, McDonalds All-American, a Gatorade National Player of the Year award, and the distinction of being the No. 1 recruit in the country by three major services.

The 5-foot-10 guard has delivered on every headline written about her before arriving as well as now with the Oklahoma Sooners. Chavez closed the regular season averaging 18.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game. Chavez has helped Oklahoma to a 23-6 record and rise into the AP Top 10, proving that being the most hyped freshman in years was never a burden, it was a blueprint. In addition to that success, Chavez has delivered 10 games this season with 20 or more points including a career-high 33-point performance in a dramatic overtime win over No. 25 NC State. 

The future looks bright for the Sooners with Chavez emerging as a potential National Player of the Year Award candidate heading into her sophomore season next year.

How would you rank these college basketball freshmen from the 2025-2026 season? Rank below to be added in the NCAA Power Rankings.