Who will become women’s March Madness stars? Watch these standouts become famous
Superstars are made in March. While diehard basketball devotees tune in from November until the national champion is crowned in early April, casual, chaos-loving fans tend to lock in after Selection Sunday. March is when Caitlin Clark made the logo 3-pointer her signature shot.
When then-freshman JuJu Watkins dropped nearly 28 points per game during USC’s Elite Eight run. When Arike Ogunbowale hit back-to-back buzzer-beaters for Notre Dame against UConn and then Mississippi State to secure a national championship. When Paige Bueckers finally broke through during her senior year, hoisting UConn’s first title trophy in a decade.
Clark and Bueckers cemented themselves as March Madness staples and are now in the WNBA. Watkins suffered a torn ACL in a second-round win over Mississippi State last season and has yet to return. Throughout the 2025-26 season, several players have turned in admirable performances, but none have broken through the zeitgeist to become sensations like the household names of Caitlin, Paige or JuJu.
Viewership ratings and attendance for women’s basketball have remained strong, but the buzz hasn’t been quite the same. Yet here we are, about to pull back the curtain on one of the most theatrical sporting events of the year. The NCAA Tournament has long been the perfect stage for players to elevate their notoriety — as long as they can dazzle during an extended tourney run.
Who will win the hearts of March Madness fans? There are plenty of contenders, and many of them are here to stay. There are, of course, some upperclassmen to watch, but one of the best things about these budding stars is that they are young.
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