Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 4/12/16

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Here are my top five teams coming into next season.

1. Notre Dame

Losses - Madison Cable, Hannah Huffman, Michaela Mabrey,

Gains - Ali Patberg, Erin Boley, Jackie Young

Big losses for ND in Cable and Mabrey. Huffman gave the lineup a lot of grit. But they add in RS freshman Patberg and two terrific freshman in Boley and Young. The two returning sophomores, the younger Mabrey and Ogunbowale will be impact players. Having a senior point guard as talented as Lindsay Allen give the Irish a big advantage. If Turner is 100% after her shoulder surgery, this team will be difficult to beat for anyone.

2. UConn

Losses - Briana Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck, Brianna Pulido

Gains - Crystal Dangerfield, Molly Bent, Kyla Irwin

What more can you say when you see who graduated. There is no way this team will be as dominant as last years. But they have some terrific returning players in Nurse, Samuelson, Williams and Collier. I expect Butler to return to her Georgetown form. Dangerfield will contribute immediately and many folks are underestimating Bent and Irwin. A healthy Chong could supply senior leadership. UConn's coaching and system will keep them near the top.

3. Baylor

Losses - Niah Johnson, Christina Higgins, Chardonae Fuqua

Gains - Lauren Cox, Natalie Chou, Calveion Landrum

Johnson is a huge loss for Baylor, but that is really their only major loss. They bring in two terrific freshman in Cox and Chou. Adding them to the returning players makes them very formidable. Nina Davis should be a first team AA and Alexis Jones is not far behind. The Bears have a size advantage over everyone with Cave, Brown and Mompremier.

4. Maryland

Losses - Brene Moseley, Malina Howard, Tierney Pfirman, Chloe Pavlech,

Gains - Destiny Slocum, Jenna Staiti, Kaila Charles, Blair Watson, Stephanie Jones, Sara Myers

They will miss Moseley and Pfirman. Howard and Pavlech? Not so much. The addition of Slocum will help make up for the players leaving. The roster is huge with six players coming in and only four leaving, but after Slocum and Staiti, the rest of the incoming freshman won't add much to the team this season.

5. South Carolina

Losses - Tiffany Mitchell, Tina Roy, Khadijah Sessions, Sarah Imovbioh, Asia Dozier, Jatarie White

Gains - Kaela Davis, Allisha Gray, Araion Bradshaw, Mikiah Harrington, Victoria Patrick

Any team with A'ja Wilson as a junior will be a force. Add in the returning Coates and you have a terrific front court. They don't have much depth in the post, but they add two dynamic transfers in Davis and Gray. Bianca Cuevas will move into the starting lineup as point guard. Her play will go a long way in determining how far they go, but they will be difficult to beat for most teams.

I also like Texas, Ohio State and Louisville but not better than the teams I have above.

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