Caitlin Clark, four freshmen among top 25 players in country - ESPN

Conference play across January and February has been college basketball's great equalizer, showing what players and teams are made of before the stage gets even bigger and brighter in March. And so with Championship Week right around the corner, ESPN is back with its newest edition of the top 25 players in women's college basketball.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark remains the No. 1-ranked player, a unanimous selection by our panel of 19 women's basketball experts. But there was a shakeup at No. 2, which the USC freshman JuJu Watkins takes over after receiving 13 second-place votes. Stanford's Cameron Brink and UConn's Paige Bueckers round out the top four of our list.

Five newcomers joined the party, including Tennessee senior Rickea Jackson, who didn't qualify in our December ranking due to injury. Only players who have played in at least half of their team's contests this season are eligible. Players such as Texas' Rori Harmon (No. 6 in ESPN's December ranking) and UConn's Azzi Fudd (No. 11 in November), for example, no longer qualify after suffering season-ending injuries before the new year. But Kansas State's Ayoka Lee is eligible after returning from a four-week absence because of an ankle injury.

This season's status as The Year of the Freshmen is reflected on the list, too, with four rookies earning spots, including newbie Madison Booker of Texas. Notre Dame standout Hannah Hidalgo received a massive bump since December, coming in at No. 5 overall.

Several other notable risers and fallers included LSU's Angel Reese, Utah's Alissa Pili and Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley, as performance during conference play weighed heavily on voters' minds.

ESPN women's basketball broadcasters and digital reporters who voted in December