Women's March Madness 2024: Top 25 players in the Sweet 16 - ESPN

Nine new players. Big jumps. And plenty of missing names from our previous ranking.

We're down to the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA tournament, and there are plenty of notable changes as we rank the 25 best players in March Madness. Nine players that made our list before the first round tipped are gone, as their teams have been eliminated. Some players who had key performances in the early rounds have made big jumps.

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark remains No. 1, as has been the case all season. But UConn guard Paige Bueckers is making a push for the top spot and has moved into second place. Bueckers missed all of last season with a knee injury, and UConn lost in the Sweet 16 to Ohio State in 2023.

That ended the Huskies' NCAA-record Final Four streak that had started in 2008. With Bueckers back at full strength, UConn could start another streak this season. But Duke, looking for the program's first Elite Eight appearance since 2013, upset Ohio State in the second round and hopes to follow the Buckeyes' path in defeating UConn.

Four freshmen made the rankings, with three rookies in the top five.

Only one school, No. 5 seed Baylor in Region 3 in Portland, doesn't have a player on the list. Although Bears guard Sarah Andrews was considered, Baylor's balance made it difficult to single out one player.

ESPN's Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel look at some of the top stars you will be seeing starting Friday (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Albany and Portland.

Guard | 6-foot-0 | senior
Stats: 31.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 8.8 APG, 1.8 SPG
Previous ranking: 1

Iowa struggled with West Virginia's defense in the second round, but that was expected. The Hawkeyes still got through to the regional semifinals, with Clark setting the Division I