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This women's college basketball season has taken us on a roller coaster ride with multiple upsets and some unexpected programs stealing the spotlight. For example, it wasn't a surprise that UConn was still undefeated in mid January, but nobody saw Vanderbilt and Texas Tech joining them. 

Meanwhile, the Freshman of the Year race originally started out as a question of USC's Jazzy Davidson or Oklahoma's Aaliyah Chavez. Those two are still the frontrunners, but Gonzaga has a freshman with some eye-popping stats.

As for Iowa, the Hawkeyes are thriving in Jan Jensen's second season at the helm of the program. Here is a closer look at the biggest surprises of the 2025-26 season so far.

Iowa

When Caitlin Clark left for the WNBA and Lisa Bluder retired in 2024, the Hawkeyes didn't exactly fall off the map, but they were not at the same level they were when they reached back-to-back national championships. Last year, Iowa, led by Lucy Olsen, was unranked for the latter half of the season and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Since the Hawkeyes only had Olsen for one year, they had to readjust in the offseason.

The result? Iowa is up to No. 8 in the AP Poll and riding an eight-game winning streak that includes four victories over ranked opponents. Let's not forget this is only Jan Jensen's second year at the helm of the program. The Hawkeyes' 91-70 victory over Ohio State on Sunday was their third consecutive regular season win against a ranked opponent, which is a first in program history. Their 9-0 start in the Big Ten is also their best league start since the 1995-96 season, when the Hawkeyes began conference play 12-0.

A key part of this success has been sophomore Ava Heiden, who entered the starting lineup this season and became the leader of the team. Her growth has been so impressive that she earned a vote for Most Improved Player in the CBS Sports midseason awards.

Gonzaga's Lauren Whittaker

The Freshman of the Year race has been a lot closer than it seems. While Oklahoma's Aaliyah Chavez was the unanimous pick for the CBS Sports midseason awards, what Gonzaga freshman Lauren Whittaker has been doing this season also deserves to be talked about.

The 6-foot-3 forward is averaging 20.1 points per game, which is 17th best overall in the nation. She is also in the top 20 in rebounds with 10.3 per game. Despite Gonzaga losing 92-87 to Oregon State in overtime during the Zags most recent outing, Whittaker showed she can perform against top competition with 37 points and 14 rebounds. That was her 11th double-double, which is the most for any freshman and tied for 10th most in the country.

The New Zealand native arrived to Gonzaga late December 2023 but chose to redshirt instead of stepping on the court midseason. She had to wait even longer for her debut because she tore her meniscus ahead of the 2024-25 season and qualified for a medical redshirt.

Vanderbilt

We already knew Mikayla Blakes was a star when she set the NCAA single-game scoring record during her freshman year. However, nobody predicted the Commodores were going to be so successful this season. On Jan. 13, they entered the top five of the AP Poll for the first time since their 2001-02 campaign. They suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of South Carolina on Sunday, but before that, they were one of the last two undefeated teams along with No. 1 UConn. 

Shea Ralph's group started this season 20-0, the best start in program history. Vanderbilt went 22-11 overall and 8-8 in conference play last season, which means the team only needs two more victories to tie that win total. They also need just three more wins to tie the most wins in a season in the Shea Ralph era.

The SEC is tough and currently has a record 10 teams ranked in the AP Top 25. However, the Commodores inserted themselves into the conversation with a perfect start that included an impressive win against Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers.

Texas Tech

While Vanderbilt's 20-0 start to the season was surprising, it was even more surprising that Texas Tech nearly matched that. This is a program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2013, but the Lady Raiders started the season 19-0. The last time they had a winning streak that long was during the 1992-93 season, when Texas Tech won the national championship.

As we discussed earlier this month, Texas Tech had a successful start thanks to a combination of returning players improving and strong additions from the transfer portal. The roster might get even more interesting soon, as the team recently signed 7-foot-1 Nigerian center Stephanie Okechukwu, who will be the tallest player in women's college basketball history if the NCAA approves her eligibility. 

After a perfect start, Texas Tech suffered back-to-back losses to Kansas State and BYU. However, the Lady Raiders responded well with a dominant 77-49 road win against Utah and still have a spot in the AP Top 25.