The Duke Blue Devils have been inching closer to the Final Four over the past three seasons. Coach Kara Lawson has done a great job building this team into a defensive nightmare, and they are retaining many of the players they had last season.
The NC State Wolfpack has two big pieces to fill. They have lost stars Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers to the WNBA Draft. This team still possesses talented players like Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were one of the best teams in the country for most of the year, but lost in the Sweet 16 to TCU. This offseason, they lost Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the draft and Olivia Miles to TCU in the transfer portal. The Irish still have Hannah Hildalgo; she alone could make this team formidable.
The Tar Heels lost Alyssa Utsby, Maria Gakdeng, and Lexi Donarski this offseason, which was a big blow to the North Carolina roster. UNC still has Reniya Kelley and Indya Nivar to lean on, plus two of the top 30 recruits (according to HoopGurlz) coming to Chapel Hill. This team should still be competitive in the ACC.
The Louisville Cardinals are losing multiple high-level scorers and veterans. Impressive freshman Tajinna Roberts, who was second in scoring for the Cardinals, will have to lead the team with help from Imari Berry to keep the team competitive.
