Skip to the stories
Friday, 23 October 2026
Saved

Next edition

1:00

Headlines

College Sports

Sarah Strong and JuJu Watkins Lead Preseason AP All-America Roster

The Associated Press named UConn forward Sarah Strong and USC guard JuJu Watkins to headline its preseason women's college basketball All-America selection on Thursday.

FTMQ Sports, written by our newsroom0 views

Share

University of Connecticut forward Sarah Strong and University of Southern California guard JuJu Watkins were selected to headline the preseason Associated Press All-America women's college basketball team released on Thursday. The Washington Post and Yahoo Sports reported that the two players led the nationwide voting roster. [1][2][3]

According to Yahoo Sports, Strong and Watkins have won the AP Player of the Year award over the past two seasons. Yahoo Sports also reported that the reigning consensus National Player of the Year received a unanimous selection to the roster. [2][3]

The preseason All-America lineup includes three additional selections. Yahoo Sports reported that Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes, Texas forward Madison Booker, and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo complete the team alongside Strong and Watkins. [3]

Strong plays as a college basketball player for the UConn Huskies, while Watkins plays for the USC Trojans. Strong previously received AP First Team All-American and AP Player of the Year honours last season, as reported by Yahoo Sports. [4][10][11]

Yahoo Sports also reported that South Carolina holds the top spot in the national AP poll, followed by UConn at number two and USC at number three. [3]

Share

In short

  • Sarah Strong and JuJu Watkins headline the preseason AP All-America women's college basketball team.
  • Mikayla Blakes, Madison Booker, and Hannah Hidalgo were also named to the AP preseason team.
  • Strong and Watkins have won the AP Player of the Year award over the past two seasons.
  • South Carolina, UConn, and USC hold the top three spots in the national AP poll.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

  1. [1]UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline preseason AP All-America women’s teamThe Washington Post, 3h ago (the report this story comes from)
  2. [2]UConn’s Sarah Strong and USC’s JuJu Watkins headline preseason AP All-America women’s teamYahoo Sports Top, 6h ago
  3. [3]UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline preseason AP All-America women’s teamYahoo Sports Top, 10h ago
  4. [4]UConn women's basketball star Sarah Strong named to preseason AP All-America teamYahoo Sports Top, 8h ago
  5. [5]UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline preseason AP All-America women’s teamBoston 25 News, 10h ago
  6. [6]UConn's Sarah Strong and USC's JuJu Watkins headline preseason AP All-America women’s teamMySA, 9h ago
  7. [7]Sarah Strong named AP Preseason All-AmericanYahoo Sports, 10h ago
  8. [8]UConn star Sarah Strong headlines preseason AP All-America teamConnecticut Post, 9h ago
  9. [9]JuJu Watkins, Sarah Strong Headline 2026 Women's AP Preseason All-America TeamBleacher Report, 8h ago

Background

  1. [10]Sarah Strong on Wikipedia
  2. [11]JuJu Watkins on Wikipedia
  3. [12]All-America on Wikipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 12 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

Related from FTMQ Sports

Earlier reports of ours on the same people and subjects.

More in College Sports

Get the day in one email

Reports like this one, the top news of the last 24 hours, every morning. Free, one email a day; readers can comment under every report.

By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. Unsubscribe any time.

Comments

Loading

Join the conversation

Comments are open to readers of our daily email: the top news of the last 24 hours, every morning, free. Sign up and the comment box opens.

Already on the list? Enter the same address and we will send a sign-in link.

By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. Unsubscribe any time.