Big 12 Power Rankings: Sun Devils start year near the top
Molly Miller's second act will be here soon, as Arizona State looks to build on the momentum of last year's surprise tournament team. Miller has retooled the roster and upgraded her overall lineup, evidenced by the team's selection to finish fifth by Big 12 media members.
In anticipation of the season tipping off, here are our preseason power rankings for the conference, which mirror the ballot that Echo From the Buttes submitted to the Big 12.
TCU Horned Frogs
Head coach Mark Campbell has been on a tear lately, with a Big 12 regular season title and Elite Eight appearance in each of the last two seasons. He lost almost his entire roster from last year, including bonafide superstar Olivia Miles, but Campbell appears poised for another big season.
Six transfers litter this rotation, headlined by former Oklahoma State star Jadyn Wooten, who averaged 12.8 points and 5.4 assists per game last year. Campbell also added Lanie Grant, a sharpshooter who hit on 42% of her threes last year. It's a lot of roster turnover, but Campbell's coaching prowess and quality of incoming talent leads me to believe TCU will once again be a force in the Big 12.
Oklahoma State Cowgirls
Many have placed Oklahoma State at the top of their lists before tip off, largely thanks to the offseason portal addition of Audi Crooks. Coming in from Iowa State, Crooks dominated the conference last year with 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
The Cowgirls also added First-Team All-SEC Liv Mcgill from Florida, on top of a few other key transfers. Crooks and McGill give Oklahoma State a lethal one-two punch, but is this team ready to be elite? Crooks, for all her immense talents, never led Iowa State into the top six in the conference. She and McGill will need to prove it before truly becoming the best of the Big 12.
Baylor Bears
Much like TCU, Baylor has been a machine as of late. Head coach Nicki Collen has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in all of her five seasons in Waco, and the Bears haven't missed the dance in 22 years.
This year should be no different. Baylor lost four starters from last year, but they return their best player in First-Team All-Big 12 guard Taliah Scott. A mix of transfers and in-house candidates will fill in the holes around Scott, but Baylor is primed for another strong year.
Kansas Jayhawks
The Jayhawks are my dark-horse team this year. They missed the tournament last year, but came on strong down the stretch. Kansas won five of their final seven regular season games, including an upset over Texas Tech, and made it to the WBIT semifinals.
Much of that came behind the dynamic duo of S'Mya Nichols and Jaliya Davis, the latter of whom won Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Getting both players back was huge, and the Jayhawks should be one of the toughest teams to play from the jump.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Molly Miller had immediate success, going undefeated in non-conference play and making just enough noise at the end of the year - including an upset over Crooks' Cyclones in the Big 12 tournament - to get invited to Iowa City.
Heading into Year 2, Miller has upgraded her roster. McKinna Brackens is back after finishing second in scoring, and she's flanked by a trio of key transfers in Tennessee's Ruby Whitehorn, Michigan State's Rashunda Jones, and Central Michigan's Madi Morson, who shot a hair under 40% from deep and was named the MAC Player of the Year. If Brackens can take the next step in her development - she spent the summer playing for Team USA in China - the Sun Devils should be a legitimate contender for the Big 12 crown.
West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia is getting a lot of hype. Perhaps a little too much. The Mountaineers finished second in the Big 12 a year ago and took down TCU in the Big 12 title game. Coach Mark Kellogg has hit 25+ wins in all of his three seasons in Morgantown, and clearly has the program on the rise.
That said, West Virginia lost a lot of talent from that team. To be specific, only two players returned from last season. One of them, though, was lead scorer Gia Cooke. Kellogg is a good enough coach to still have West Virginia among the conference's best, but it may take a little time for all these new pieces to gel.
Kansas State Wildcats
For most of last year, Kansas State was a team that played really good basketball but could never quite put it all together. Then, it clicked during the Big 12 tournament, as they upset both Texas Tech and Oklahoma State before falling to TCU in the semifinals.
They return their top two scorers in Nastja Claessens and Taryn Sides, as well as a few key bench pieces. They also brought in a handful of international players, an approach that other programs have had immediate success with. The Wildcats were in the Sweet Sixteen just two years ago, and they have the goods to get right back there if all the pieces come together.
BYU Cougars
Lee Cummard's first year at the helm of his alma mater was a smashing success, crossing 20+ wins for the first time since joining the Big 12 and just narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament. Even so, the Cougars went all the way to the WBIT championship game before falling.
They also enjoy unusual levels of continuity from last year, with four returning starters and roughly 70% of their scoring output from that team. BYU heated up at the end last year, including an upset over Arizona State, and they'll be squarely on every team's radar this year.
Texas Tech Lady Raiders
Last year was a breakthrough for head coach Krista Gerlich, winning 26 games and taking the Lady Raiders back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Now, though, a rebuild is on the horizon.
Texas Tech lost nine seniors from last year's team, and Gerlich's replenished the roster primarily with incoming freshmen. She also added Conference USA Player of the Year Rhema Collins from FIU, along with a few other transfers. Texas Tech won't be an easy out by any means, but a return to the Big Dance seems challenging, at best.
Colorado Buffaloes
Last year, Colorado was routinely a thorn in the side of the Big 12's best. They scored upsets over Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech, and nearly did the same against Baylor, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State.
Now, they return several key figures, most notably All-Big 12 guard Zyanna Walker and All-Freshman honoree Logyn Greer. The Buffaloes figure to be another tough team this year, but can they keep pace amidst the offseason arms race that this conference has seen?
Utah Utes
Last season marked the first time the Utes missed the NCAA Tournament in five seasons. Gavin Petersen's first full season as head coach did not go according to plan, finishing 19-13 and getting eliminated in the first round of the WBIT.
To make matters worse, Utah had a mass exodus in the offseason, including losing their top two scorers. Petersen hit the portal hard and added an assortment of mid-major stars, as well as two from within the conference. It may be enough to get the Utes back in postseason contention, but a lot will have to go right for that to happen.
Arizona Wildcats
There's no way to sugarcoat it: the Wildcats were bad last year. They won just three conference games, all of them coming at home and in shocking fashion. Only four of their 15 Big 12 losses were within 10 points.
Arizona is looking for growth entering head coach Becky Burke's second season in Tucson, though that's a low bar. For what it's worth, Burke's batch of incoming freshman ranked third in the Big 12 and 20th in the nation, so there is hope for a brighter future.
Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones endured a mass exodus in the offseason. They lost superstar Audi Crooks, yes, but Iowa State also saw Addy Brown, Jada Williams, and six other players leave via the transfer portal.
Head coach Bill Fennelly, entering his 32nd season, is facing arguably his toughest challenge yet. His Cyclones teams have missed the NCAA Tournament just twice in the last 20 years, but this season feels like the streak will be broken.
Houston Cougars
No team was worse in the Big 12 last year than Houston, whose sole conference victory came by two points over Cincinnati. The Cougars were practically an exhibition game for opponents last season, and Matthew Mitchell struggled mightily in his first year as head coach.
That led to a massive roster overhaul in the offseason, headlined by grabbing Justice Carlton from Texas. The former 5-star was expected to be the face of the new-look Cougars, but she tore her ACL last month and is expected to miss the entire season. That's a devastating blow for a Houston team that already needed a lot to go right this year to turn around their fortunes.
Cincinnati Bearcats
The only team to lose to Houston last year, Cincinnati is entering a pivotal year for head coach Katrina Merriweather. After three straight seasons with 15 or fewer wins, Merriweather needs to start showing tangible signs of progress for the Bearcats.
The odds don't seem great. Caliyah DeVillasee returns after being named to the All-Big 12 Freshman team, but the Bearcats lack notable talent otherwise. Merriweather is largely counting on her returners from last year's lackluster squad to take a step forward, but that doesn't feel like enough in a Big 12 that saw a lot of roster movement this summer.
UCF Knights
As the only Big 12 program with a new head coach this year, UCF is starting out at the bottom. Sytia Messer was fired after posting losing seasons in all four years for the Knights, and Gabe Lazo comes in after two seasons as an assistant at Tennessee.
A notable recruiter and Miami native, Lazo makes sense as the coach to help rebuild this program. Expect it to be a slow build, too, as the Knights have been derailed as a program since jumping up to the Big 12.
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