2026 Women’s March Madness Players To Watch

We skip the bracket talk and lock in on the real drivers of March Madness: the women who can take over a game on both ends. I run through my must-watch list across the country, from proven stars to freshmen, and I want to hear who you’re most excited to see. 
• Sarah Strong’s two-way ceiling at UConn and why her size matters 
• AZ Fudd’s efficiency and the case for a repeat March takeover 
• Michaela Blakes’ scoring punch and why Vanderbilt is worth tracking 
• Hannah Hidalgo’s steals, defense and best two-way guard debate 
• Madison Booker’s junior-year expectations and postseason pressure 
• Lauren Betts’ 6'7 dominance test and No. 1 pick talk 
• Olivia Miles as a complete guard and how far she can carry TCU 
• Joyce Edwards’ South Carolina comparisons and March translation 
• Jelani Cambridge’s rise plus elite three-point shooting 
• Olivia Olson’s sophomore leap and what it signals long term 
• Audi Crooks’ known dominance and WNBA projection questions 
• Duke’s Toby Fournier and the need for her in March 
• LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson growth as a shooter and final run vibes 
• Freshmen watch with Aaliyah Chavez and Jazzy Davidson 
please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the women's March Madness tournament, as well as my show 

Transcript

Why Players Matter More Than Picks

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey, as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Listen, we're gonna get right on into it, right? Because there are some players that I want to focus on. Come March Madness. Now, I said players, not teams. I'm not giving y'all the team that I expect to win or the round breakdown. Because you know what? I'm a Duke fan, okay? And I'm not gonna add no negative juju to my team. I just want to sit up here and watch good hoops. Okay, I don't wanna I don't want to feel like, oh, I threw out my prediction and now we lost. Nope. I'm gonna just enjoy the season because I think both Duke teams can win. So I ain't gonna say nothing for the men or women's side. But since we're here, I guess we can talk about some players, right? So we're gonna start it off with the women's side of March Madness. That's right. We're gentlemen on the on get a bucket, okay? So we let the ladies go first. So my my player, some of my players to watch going forward in March Madness. We got here Sarah Strong. That's right, we're starting out the gates real strong with it, okay? Out of Yukon, listen, she might be the best player in the game of college basketball. And when I think about her, I get somewhat of like a Nafisa Collier vibes. I'm not talking about specifically game, not even stature, but how she's elite on both sides of the ball. And we gotta remember, ladies and gentlemen, she's 6'2. So she can guard the forwards, she can guard the big, like she has the height to go up against someone like an Asia Wilson, but still has the height to guard someone like a Nafisa Collier, someone like a Juju. So again, I I love Sarah Strong. I love her game. I loved her when she was a freshman on the team. She was a champion with Paige Beckers, and I would actually be curious to see. I don't think Paige is gonna be, I don't think the Dallas Wings are gonna be trash enough to get Sarah Strong two seasons from now. But I mean, anything's possible. But she is a hooper, and I look forward to seeing her over a few more seasons. Because again, ladies and gentlemen, she's just a sophomore. It's crazy. Giving you 19 points, eight rebounds on 60% field goal percentage. Like she shoots 43% from the three. It's ridiculous. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I wholeheartedly will be watching Sarah Strong. As well as AZ Food, I guess, since we got to talk about it, because she is on UConn squad. So UConn, we will have some eyes on you. We will definitely have some eyes on you. Now we gotta look at Michaela Blake's, okay? Listen here, ladies and gentlemen. As a 5'8 guard, like the short guards, you can have a questionable, you can question a little bit. But she's throwing up 27 points, four assists, and three steals. I'm not questioning, but so much respectfully. Like, keep it a buck with you. That's pretty daggone good stats. Again, I don't think she's better than Sarah, but she's pretty daggone spectacular. And we're talking about her when we could be talking about someone like a Hannah Hidalgo, right? Like, so again, pay attention to Vanderbilt because Michaela Blakes could actually be hooping. But Hannah Hidalgo, she is 5'6 junior. So we're talking about a sophomore and a junior, okay? Both of them are hooping. Now, Hannah, she gave him 25 points, five assists. Wait for this, ladies and gentlemen. Five steals. Five points for to be exact. She's having she's averaging more steals than she is assist. I don't even know what the turnover rate is, but damn, that's got to factor in. If you're turning the ball over, but you're getting five, you're getting more steals than you are assists. That right there is ridiculous. And I'm curious how that translates in March Madness. Will she get the same production defensively? Could we talk about Hannah Hidalgo as the best two-way guard for college basketball? That could be a thing. And as I'm thinking about it, Dag, can we talk about that on the men and women's side? That may have to be talked about. But again, Hannah Hidalgo 5'6 Jr. out of Notre Dame. I'm looking forward to seeing you hoop. I'm looking forward to seeing you get a bucket and stop getting a bucket, actually. Stop people from getting a bucket, actually. I'm telling y'all, that's she can hoop, bro. She can really truly hoop. Now, I mentioned AZ FUD earlier. Alright. I mentioned AZ FUD earlier. She was the Final Four's most outstanding player just last season for her national championship UConn team. Like Paige Becker's hoop, don't get me wrong. Sarah Strong's surprise, folks. Don't get me wrong. But AZ FUD did come out as the Final Four's most outstanding player. And when we're thinking about this too, ladies and gentlemen, she's giving you 49 from the field, 45 from the three, 90 from the free throw line with 2.5 steals. That's almost 50-40-90. That's kind of hard to pass up on. I'm not gonna lie to you. Like with the wings getting the number one pick and AZ Fudd being a senior this year, we could see AZ Fudd paired with her boot thang and Paige Becker's. So does that continue during the March Madness? Would she be Final Four most outstanding player again? Because if Yukon ends up winning this, and if she is the re if she wins it again, all I'm saying, ladies and gentlemen, is she might have a solid case at going number one. She already does, to be clear. Because those are good stats. And pairing her with Paige, that might not be bad. You got a solid, you have arguably the best backcourt, future backcourt of the WMBA. I'm just saying, I'm looking forward to seeing AZ Food and how she dominates, or if she dominates in March Madness. Now we're gonna move on down to Madison Booker. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, out of Texas, she had a lot of people talking about her pretty highly, okay? And she can still hoop, she can still get a bucket. Shooting 61% is not bad from the field. Okay? That is not bad. Her numbers look good. And she's a junior. So with you being a junior, I do want to see you dominate a little bit more. That is something I'm looking forward to seeing. Because I expect more out of the upperclassmen. And once you hit a junior status, I consider you upperclassmen. Sophomore, you still are still a little young. But junior, it's time for you to showcase some things. And again, during the mid-season break, oh, people were talking about her pretty highly. Pretty highly. So I'm looking forward to see if Madison Booker. Yeah, either either you look at it as she dipped or the players ahead of her vaulted upwards. But again, I want to see if she can get back to that status because we got a couple sophomores that we listed. And she's a junior. So I'm very, very curious how this goes. Now, I also want to look at Lauren Betts out of UCLA. Okay. Lauren Betts at 6'7. 6'7. 6'7. Like she is a hooper. And and and okay, I'll I'll give you this, right? She's the Big Ten's player of the year and defensive player of the year. Her team swept the regular season title and conference tournament title. They're on a 25-game win streak. Like that's well, yeah, a 25-game win streak. And they only lost to Texas. Like Madison Booker's Texas. Now, Lauren, as a 6'7 senior, I need to see Lauren dominate the game. Like, I'm not talking about have UCLA win a championship. That'll be great, but I'm talking about her dominate the game. Because we know what other players can do. Like we've seen Sarah Strong as a sophomore get a bucket as well as defend quite well. I need to see Lauren Betts do very similarly. Like remember, we're looking at Lauren Betts as a possible number one draft pick. And I went, we were thinking about that last year. AZ Food, with her efficiency, makes you question that. Lauren, if you can showcase, hey, you can dominate whether it's by scoring, rebounding, defense, hell, even playmaking. We'll take it. Because at six seven, six, seven, six, seven. Like she is. That's funny. But she is really, like, you can't teach height. So I gotta look forward to seeing Lauren Betts in March Madness. Now, somebody who's not as tall but is still a senior. We got Olivia Miles out of TCU. 5'10 guard and is liable to get you a triple-double at any point in time. Throwing up 20 points a game on seven rebounds and six assists. Honestly, if I'm just being honest, bro, if I'm just being honest, I understand Hannah Hidalgo is out there doing her thing. I understand AZ Fudd is out here doing her thing. I understand Michaela Blakes is out here doing her thing. I personally think Olivia Miles might be the best guard in college basketball. Let me say it again. Olivia Miles might be the best guard in college basketball, ladies and gentlemen. She is a complete player. And while I don't think she has the same stills as a Hannah Hidalgo, which is, again, crazy. 5.4, that's disgusting work. But Olivia Miles is no slouch on the defensive end. So I'm looking forward to seeing how far can Olivia Miles carry her TCU team. Because remember, this is her first year there, even though she's a senior. She used to be on Notre Dame. But now that she's on this squad, I would actually love to see TCU versus Notre Dame. That'd be really nice. That'll be real. Oh wow, that'd be really nice. But again, ladies and gentlemen, Olivia Miles, one of the best playmakers that we've seen in quite some time. Now, another player we gotta mention. We got Joyce Edwards out of South Carolina. Again, another sophomore. We got a lot of young players in March Madness kind of hooping when I'm thinking about it. Tag home. But this girl is starting to get comparisons to that of an Asia Wilson. Now we could talk about that because she goes to Asia's alma mater. Okay, but at 6'3, standing at him as a forward, given again as a sophomore, 20 points per game, six rebounds, on about 40 or 59% from the field. Yeah, Asia was averaging 16 points on 53 shooting as a sophomore at South Carolina. So I understand the comparisons. Joyce Edwards can hoop. She can hoop without question. I want to see how much can she dominate. How well can she dominate as a sophomore in March Madness? Are these numbers dominant? Yes, but again, March Madness is a little bit different than the regular season. So again, I do want to see how well can she as a sophomore on South Carolina's team dominate. Because again, South Carolina does have some, they do got some hoopers now. They got some hoopers. So if she can stand out as a sophomore more than what she's already done, we may be talking about some things in about two years when the WNBA draft comes. I'm just saying. But again, I'm looking forward to seeing her outside of just watching South Carolina and Don Taylor do their thing. Because we know, we know how they usually do. We know how they usually do. Now, we got here a Jelani Cambridge out of Ohio State. Listen to me, ladies and gentlemen, at 5'7, 5'7, 5'7. It don't have the same effect. It really don't at 6'7. I don't know why. It is what it is, though. She has arguably climbed up the most. Like during the mid-season rankings, right? She was like a top 25 player, but at the bottom of the top 25 rankings, if I'm being honest. And she's impressed a lot of people, okay? Giving you about 23 points a game, six rebounds, and five assists. Hey, that ain't bad. That's not bad at all. She's one of the top scoring guards in the country and can dish out a decent amount of assists. She's shooting 46% from three, by the way. That is disgust. That's disgusting work. Like, and she has scored in double digits in all of her games this season. Jelani can get a bucket. Like my show is called Get a Bucket, and Jelani embodies that. Like that is ridiculous. So again, I'm paying attention, and I I know for a fact my homeboy, as an Ohio State fan, has got to be loving her. Because again, 43% from the from the three is disgusting. That is ridiculous. So shout out to Jelani on getting a bucket. You know what I'm saying? Shout out to Jelani. Now, I'm gonna finish off here. Alright, because I only wanted to give about 10 names. Okay. Olivia Olsen out of Michigan. Again, another sophomore. All right, at 6'1. We got a lot of 20-point per game scores. Now she gives 19, okay? Six rebounds on 48% from the field. Again, she's made a decent jump. Like a decent jump. But I'm paying attention to Olivia because again, as a sophomore, same thing with everybody else. I am curious how well she's able to dominate as a sophomore. Because that's going to speak to her as a future player in the WNBA. But ladies and gentlemen, I am extremely looking forward to seeing Olivia Olsen. And now keep in mind, too, I could have mentioned someone like an Audi Crooks, but we already know what Audi does, though. Audi be out and about getting it. Like what? Arguably, and I said arguably, the most dominant force in the game of women's basketball, college basketball, at 6'3. She is a junior. Okay, so I will be looking forward to see Iowa State play. Because she's given 26 points on eight rebounds and 65% from the field. I ain't gonna lie to you. I'm very curious how she does when she gets to the WNBA. Her stature has me questioning some things. Then you got to get a little bit better shape, personally, for the WNBA's athletes. But Audi ain't no slouch. And I expect that of her too. If she keeps her strength at 6'3, yo, that might be problematic. That just might be problematic. So again, I look forward to seeing Audi in the NCAA tournament. And remember, we've already seen her do work, right? As a freshman, she she had 40 points. Then she had 27 and 28 in two games last season. I'm just saying, we know what Audi's gonna do. We know that she's gonna dominate. Shout out to my girl Toby Fournier, too, out of Duke. I just wanted to give her some love right fast because you know Toby can hoop a little bit. I think Duke kind of started off a little sluggish. And I think we proved that Toby is our star. Yes, at 6'2 and is a sophomore, she's giving you 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. Could she up that without question? But is she our star, without question? Now, did she not live up to quote unquote expectations in the ACT game? Yes, she only gave seven points, and we still won. So Duke can win. We can win without her, but we're gonna need her for March Madness. And again, as a sophomore, it's now time to show that Toby, that Toby can dominate. And it's the same girl that can dunk. She can get a bucket now, ladies and gentlemen. So I'm looking forward to her to see her dominate on the court. And I I I had to do this too. I had to do this because I guess I got to talk about Flager Johnson. You know what I'm saying? 5'10 senior out of LSU, right? Now here's the thing LSU got some more talent. So she don't have to do as much as she did in the past, okay? But to be clear, Flager is still a hooper. She's shooting 40% from the three, which, to be clear, that was one of the knocks against Flager, was her shooting. So the fact that she upped that, we know what type of player she is. She's a hooper, she's a defender, she can do a lot. Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to seeing Flager and LSU because this is gonna be the last time we see Flager. Like, she was on the same team with Angel Reese. I look forward to seeing Flagay's last year. I think she's gonna give us a lot. I genuinely do. Like I wholeheartedly do. Who else do I want to talk about here? Because there was, ooh, arguably the best freshman, Aaliyah Chavez, right, out of Oklahoma. I want to see what she does her debut year in March Madness. Again, number one freshman coming into the into college, and she doing her thing. You gotta love it. You gotta love it, man. So I'm looking forward to seeing exactly what Aaliyah does. And speaking of freshmen, too, because I guess I could talk about Jazzy Davidson out of UCA. Oh my gosh, out of UFC, a 6-1 freshman. Ladies and gentlemen, I understand that Aaliyah did her thing, right? And a quality season for sure. A quality season for sure. Jazzy on her team, mind she plays, well, she would be playing with Juju next season, okay? So we're I I really want to see that. But on this USC team, she led in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks. That is disgusting work. Averaging 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. Yo, that is wild. I gotta see what that looks like, come march madness. Because it's a little bit different. And both of these girls are freshmen. So I want to see exactly how they do come march madness. I expect nothing but good things, to be honest with you. Could they have a bad game? Maybe. Maybe. Again, they're both young. But I wholeheartedly look forward to seeing these women play. So, ladies and gentlemen, there are a bunch of other women that I could talk about. Like Malaysia Fool Wiley on LSU, Hooper. Hooper. You know what I'm saying? Like Tania Lotson, Hooper. I was really high on her last season, too. So she gotta turn it around too. South Carolina, I'm looking at, I'm looking at I'm I'm looking at I'm looking at South Carolina for sure. But again, ladies and gentlemen, there are a bunch of players that you can focus on. Kiki Rice out of USC or out of UA, out of my gosh, out of UCLA. Like, I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of players out here get a bucket, stop players from getting a bucket, help their teammates get a bucket. Like, I'm looking forward to seeing all this. But I'm curious who you all are looking forward to seeing the most. Do you have a top five, a number one, a top ten? I'm curious. But ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the end of this episode. So I'm looking forward to seeing these women play. As should you. But ladies and gentlemen, please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the women's March Madness tournament, as well as my show. My name is Trey, I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.