Women's NCAA tournament 2022 - Top 25 players in the women's bracket

The debate over who should be the national Player of the Year has been as spirited this women's college basketball season as the one over which team might hoist the 2022 NCAA trophy.

South Carolina junior Aliyah Boston and Iowa sophomore Caitlin Clark will no doubt headline every All-America team — and they lead the way in our ranking of the top players in the women's NCAA tournament, as voted on by ESPN's Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Mechelle Voepel.

Twelve players have been featured in all three of ESPN's top 25 player rankings this season (denoted below with *). Not much has changed at the very top of the list from our last ranking on Jan. 12, but one big name was added: UConn's Paige Bueckers, who was No. 1 in ESPN's preseason list but was omitted from version 2.0 after being sidelined by a knee injury.

Some top players were eliminated from these rankings when their teams were not included in the NCAA bracket. And Tennessee's Jordan Horston — who received enough votes to make the cut — was taken off the list as her status for the tournament is uncertain due to a fractured dislocation of her left elbow suffered Feb. 17.

From potential first-round picks in April's WNBA draft to impact underclassmen, these are the 25 best players in the Big Dance. Stanford, UConn and Louisville each put two players on the list.

Forward | 6-foot-5 | junior

Her SEC-record double-double streak is at 24, and she was named SEC Player of the Year and the league's top defender, averaging 16.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Boston's leadership has been stellar all season. The unexpected loss to Kentucky in the SEC final gives her another chance to demonstrate it going forward in the NCAA tournament as the Gamecocks seek a second