In what should be a fantastic marquee race to close the 2024-25 NCAA basketball regular season, the Wooden Award is up for grabs and recognizes the best in college basketball. This year, the Women’s Wooden Award has a trio of players battling for supremacy as the best player in all of college basketball. Currently, the frontrunner to take home this honor is JuJu Watkins of the USC Trojans. Meanwhile, another Los Angeles contemporary is recognized as among the best in the sport with Lauren Betts of UCLA being in contention as well for the honor. Finally, there is another athlete in the mix, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, who could come in and steal the show and take home the high honor.
For this article, SBS will be going over the top three contenders to win the 2025 Wooden Award for women’s basketball and also explore some other notes and news coming from SBS.
| NCAA Basketball 2025 Women's Wooden Award |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| JuJu Watkins (USC) | -200 | -200 | -200 |
| Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) | +270 | +270 | +270 |
| Lauren Betts (UCLA) | +800 | +800 | +800 |
Entering her sophomore season, Watkins was named the Big Ten preseason player of the year, and for good reason. During the 2023-24 campaign, Watkins averaged 27.1 points per game while also accruing an average mark of 7.3 boards per contest. A fantastic player, she was named a unanimous first-team All-American by both the AP and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Additionally, she received the coveted Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation’s top shooting guard and was named the top Division I freshman by the USBWA and WBCA.
This year, Watkins has been on a similar pace with 24.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and also 3.6 assists per contest. With an overall mark of 24-2, the Trojans are tied atop the conference standings with UCLA and have been a force this season with only one loss to date in conference play (14-1).
Another excellent player, Hidalgo is the focal point of the Irish attack. After attending Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, she was named a McDonald’s All-American and rated as the fifth-best player in her class by ESPN. In her freshman campaign at Notre Dame, she earned All-American honors and led NCAA Division I in steals. Entering this season, she was named a preseason AP All-American and the preseason ACC Player of the Year.
This year, she was joined by Olivia Miles, who returned from injury, in the backcourt to form one of the best duos in the nation. Perhaps in the most notable game of the season to date, on November 30, 2024, she recorded 24 points and eight assists in a 74-61 win over Watkins and USC. Earlier this month, Hidalgo scored a season-high 34 points in an 88-71 victory over Louisville.
Closing out our countdown, Betts was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN. Initially, the stalwart started her college career at Stanford before transferring to UCLA after one season. During the 2023-24 campaign, she accrued a mark of 14.9 ppg along with a stellar average of 9.3 rebounds per contest. As a freshman for Stanford, she averaged 5.9 ppg and 3.5 rpg in just 9.7 minutes per game, earning Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention honors.
This year though certainly has been a level up for the Bruins center, with 19.7 ppg to go along with 9.7 rpg. She is incredibly efficient from the field, netting a field goal percentage of 61.3% for these contests. Like Watkins, she has the Bruins at the top of the conference standings and is a formidable foe for most teams looking to tangle in the frontcourt.
This race is a close one, but Watkins has the star power, statistics, and team success to skyrocket her to this award. Of course, this will be a fun race to watch down the stretch.
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About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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