In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first Associated Press Top 25 poll for women’s college basketball, the outlet has named the greatest players in the sport dating back to 1976 led by Caitlin Clark and Candace Parker.
The list, as voted on by a panel of former players, media members and various AP writers and editors Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press, features a total of 10 players split equally by a first team and second team.
AP Greatest Women’s College Basketball Players
First Team:Â Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut), Cheryl Miller (USC), Breanna Stewart (Connecticut), Candace Parker (Tennessee)
Second Team:Â Sue Bird (Connecticut), Dawn Staley (Virginia), Chamique Holdsclaw (Tennessee), Maya Moore (Connecticut), Lusia Harris (Delta State)
Clark has an argument as the most famous women’s college basketball player of all-time. Her four years at Iowa from 2020 to ’24 led to a spike in television ratings, including an average of 18.9 million viewers for her final game in the 2024 national championship against South Carolina.
In addition to her immense popularity, Clark also has a case as the greatest point guard in women’s college basketball history. She is the NCAA’s all-time leader in career points and ranks third in assists.
The Hawkeyes went 109-30 with back-to-back appearances in the national title game in 2023 and 2024 during Clark’s time with the program.
“Being named an AP All-American is one of the most storied honors in college sports,” Clark told Feinberg. “It means a lot to be named to this all-time list alongside players I looked up to. It’s fun to think about what it would have been like if we all played together.”
Parker’s three-year run at Tennessee from 2005 to ’08 was nothing short of spectacular. She was named to the All-American team every season, led Tennessee to national titles in her final two seasons and was named Associated Press Player of the Year in 2007-08.
As you might expect from a program that has won 12 national titles, four more than any other program, Connecticut is well-represented on the list with two spots each on the first and second team.
Maya Moore was the leader of the Huskies teams that went undefeated in back-to-back seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. She averaged 19.7 points on 52.5 percent shooting (40.4 percent from three), 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 154 appearances over four seasons.
Breanna Stewart was also part of two undefeated seasons at UConn and led the program to national titles in each of her four years in Storrs. She is one of only two players in history, men’s or women’s, to be named AP Player of the Year three times. Ralph Sampson did it with Virginia from 1980-81 to 1982-83.
USC was the first women’s dynasty after the NCAA tournament was adopted in its current form starting with the 1981-82 season. The Trojans won back-to-back national titles in 1982-83 and 1983-84 in Cheryl Miller’s first two years. They also played in the 1986 title game, losing to Texas.
Miller’s scoring average of 23.6 points per game is impressive enough, but it might shortchange how dominant she was because the NCAA didn’t make the three-point line mandatory in the women’s game until the 1987-88 season.
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