2026 Champ Week women's tournament and conference POY picks - ESPN

With the regular season complete in the Power 4 conferences, Champ Week has arrived. Conference tournament titles will be decided in the next two weeks, and leagues will be handing out awards over that same period.

Player of the year in some conferences will be easy choices — UConn's Sarah Strong in the Big East and Richmond's Maggie Doogan in the Atlantic 10 look like locks — while other races are close calls, such as in the ACC and Summit League.

The same goes with projecting champions in each conference. In some cases, the No. 1 seeds will be clear favorites. In others it might be the hottest team or a potential Cinderella.

But what is the fun in waiting to find out? Let's make some predictions on both conference champs and players of the year to whet the appetite for March.

Predicted champion: Vermont Catamounts

After battling Binghamton all season, Vermont pulled away over the final two weeks. That included a win over the Bearcats on Feb. 12 in Burlington. That's where the rematch will take place should the two meet again in the conference tournament title game.

Player of the Year: Adrianna Smith, 6-0, senior, F, Maine Black Bears

The 2023 America East Player of the Year will leave Maine as one of the program's most productive players of all time. She led the conference in scoring twice and in rebounding three times. This season Smith pulled off the rare triple, topping the America East in scoring, rebounds and assists.

Predicted champion: Rice Owls

The Owls don't have a player in the top 10 in the American in scoring or assists but cruised to the regular-season championship. They did it with defense, leading the nation in opponent 3-point rate. Hailey Adams was one of the conference's best shot blockers and