We’re now a little over the halfway mark of the season and just a couple of months away from Selection Sunday. We’ve had upsets, buzzer-beaters, unexpected injuries, international arrivals, and stars emerging from everywhere. With the Big Dance getting closer, it’s time to highlight the players who’ve shaped this year. Here are our WBB All-America candidates at the midway point.

All-America First Team

The top five is going to look pretty similar everywhere because these players have been on another level this season. The only spot we really argued over was regarding the center position, where there were multiple deserving candidates. Here’s our list.

1. Sarah Strong (F)

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Strong is the overwhelming favorite to win National Player of the Year and is currently averaging 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. She leads the nation in total win shares for the second straight season, despite playing fewer than 27 minutes per game.

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UConn’s dominance has felt routine at times, but it’s no less terrifying. Since Michigan came within three points after a late surge, the defending champions have blown out their last 12 opponents by at least 26 points. While the rest of the country trades blows, UConn appears to be pacing itself for a March crescendo. The Huskies are still unbeaten and look every bit like the best team in the country, and a lot of that has to do with how Sarah Strong has played for them.

2. Madison Booker (F)

Sarah Strong might be the NPOY favorite, but Madison Booker is right there with her. After taking Texas to its first Final Four in 22 years, Booker has kept that same energy this season. She leads the Longhorns in scoring (19.2), rebounding (7.3), and sits second in both assists (4.0) and steals (2.6).

Aside from assists, each of those marks is a career high for the junior. The biggest jump, though, has been on defense. She’s up to 3.3 combined steals and blocks per game, compared to 2.1 last year. A two-time First Team All-American and the 2025 SEC Player of the Year, Booker also became just the fourth player in Texas history to record a triple-double earlier this year.

Texas has six ranked wins this season, and Booker has shown up in every one of them. Against ranked opponents this year, she’s averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.0 steals per game, and she hasn’t scored fewer than 15 in any of them.

Her resume more than warrants her inclusion on our WBB All-America First Team.

3. Mikayla Blakes (G)

Mikayla Blakes exploded onto the college basketball scene early, scoring 50 points multiple times as a freshman. This year, she took it even further, becoming one of only nine NCAA women’s players to reach 1,000 career points in 42 games or fewer. That club includes Indiana Fever stars Kelsey Mitchell (41 games) and Caitlin Clark (40 games). Blakes also became the quickest Commodore to hit the mark since Chantel Anderson, who did it in 57 games.

Blakes is leading the way for Vanderbilt, averaging 24.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.6 steals a night. The Commodores remain unbeaten alongside UConn and Texas Tech, and their 17–0 record matches the best start in program history. And that’s not all! Blakes also sits as the nation’s second-leading scorer.

Vanderbilt is also sitting at the top of the SEC at 4–0, and Blakes has dropped 112 points in those games, averaging 28 a night. That’s an All-America First Team resume, through and through.

4. Olivia Miles (G)

Oliva Miles is the best point guard in the country without a shadow of a doubt. The New Jersey native is playing the best basketball of her collegiate career as a Horned Frog, posting career highs in points (19.5), assists (7.6), rebounds (7.2), and steals (2.0) while shooting an efficient 52.4% from the field.

As things stand, Miles is on pace to become the first Division I player — men’s or women’s — this century to average at least 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals per game. She also enjoyed a December to remember, becoming the first player since Sabrina Ionescu to record four triple-doubles in a single month.

TCU has lost just one game this season and looks poised to repeat last year’s fairytale run, when the Horned Frogs won both the Big 12 regular-season title and the tournament. And if Miles keeps performing at this level, a deep Big Dance run isn’t out of the question either. That’s exactly why she’s an automatic selection for our WBB All-America First Team.

5. Lauren Betts (C)

This might be the most controversial pick. Betts gets the nod on our WBB All-America First Team over the nation’s leading scorer, Audi Crooks, and she makes a compelling case to be here.

Despite a rather slow start, Lauren Betts has slowly but steadily found her groove as the season has progressed. Through 15 games, she’s averaging 16.4 points and 8.5 rebounds, which is slightly lower than last season, but she’s still a key part of what UCLA is doing.

The Bruins have won their last nine games, including four against ranked opposition, and also happen to be the team with the most Quad 1 victories this season with seven. Betts’ ability to impact the game with her scoring and rebounding ultimately made her our pick for the WBB All-America First Team.

All-America Second Team

1. Audi Crooks (C)

She had to be here, no matter what. Crooks has established herself as one of the best offensive threats in the country. She currently leads the nation with 453 points on 187 made field goals and has redefined what dominance looks like in the paint.

For anyone who has followed her journey, Crooks’ path has been one of struggle and persistence. She entered college with skeptics doubting her potential, ranked just No. 57 by espnW in the Class of 2023, and now she’s proving every one of them wrong.

She has six 30-point games this season, and her scoring doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. But Iowa State has struggled massively without Addy Brown and Ariana Jackson, losing its last three games and dropping from unbeaten to 14–3, with a Big 12 record of just 2–3 after being touted as contenders.

That drop-off is exactly why we had to move Crooks from our WBB All-America First Team to Second Team.

2. Joyce Edwards (F)

Did you really think South Carolina wouldn’t have a player on this team? Joyce Edwards has been the shining light in what has been a season full of injuries for Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks. With depth being an issue, the Gamecocks haven’t been touted as championship contenders this year, but we’d be foolish to count them out as long as Joyce Edwards is on the floor.

Edwards is putting up 20.7 points, 6.3 boards, and 2.5 assists a night this season. And there was a four-game stretch in December (North Carolina Central, Penn State, South Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast) where she honestly looked like the best player in the country.

Over that four-game run, Edwards averaged 29.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks, showcasing elite two-way production. That level of impact earns her a spot on our WBB All-America team.

3. Khamil Pierre (F)

A rather controversial name, given NC State isn’t really in the contender conversation right now and sits at 12–5 overall with a 5–1 ACC record, which doesn’t exactly jump off the page. But Khamil Pierre has had a stellar season so far.

She is currently averaging 15.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. And while those scoring numbers are down from the 20.4 points she averaged last season, her overall game has grown by leaps and bounds since leaving Vanderbilt for NC State. Adjusting to a new environment takes time, but she has already shown she can be the face of a franchise and a high-level two-way player.

4. Hannah Hidalgo (G)

Poor Hannah Hidalgo. After experiencing so much joy with Notre Dame last season — right up until the late-season collapse — the Fighting Irish have gone through major changes, the biggest being Olivia Miles’ departure. That was a gap coach Niele Ivey couldn’t fill, and as a result, the Fighting Irish dropped out of the rankings.

But to her credit, Hidalgo hasn’t stopped performing. She’s currently averaging 25.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 5.9 steals per game. And it was her 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals in a dominant all-around performance that helped the Fighting Irish beat No. 22 North Carolina 73–50 and climb back into the Top 25 rankings.

As long as Hidalgo keeps performing, Notre Dame will still have a shot at finally breaking their Sweet 16 curse.

5. Azzi Fudd (G)

The post Paige Bueckers era at UConn has gone smoothly thanks to captain Azzi Fudd leading from the front. The reigning Final Four MOP is averaging 17.6 points, 2.5 boards, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 steals in just 27.4 minutes as a senior, and UConn looks poised to go back-to-back.

As long as Fudd and Strong stay healthy, there’s every chance title No. 13 is coming back to Storrs this April. So watch out.