As tremendous as last year’s NCAA tournament was, what with all the compelling games, colorful personalities and controversy that kept people talking well into the offseason, it’s not enough.

If the women’s game is to capitalize on the skyrocketing interest in women’s sports, that needs to be the starting point, not the high point. This season needs to be even better, even more captivating, if the game is going to continue growing and reach its full — and long-overdue — potential.

Fortunately, there are all the makings for that to happen. And then some.

Look at the USA TODAY Sports preseason women's basketball poll, and there are storylines galore. Angel Reese and LSU are back to defend, of course, and Kim Mulkey is sure to regale us all with more game-day outfits that defy both description and the rules of fashion. You just know Caitlin Clark has been stewing all summer about Iowa getting bulldozed in the title game, and it won’t be long before her trash talking and staredowns commence.

South Carolina finds itself in the unfamiliar role of underdog, having lost Aliyah Boston and the rest of the core that led the Gamecocks to the 2022 national title and a 71-3 record over the past two seasons. Cameron Brink and Stanford are trying to regain their footing. Teams like Virginia Tech, Miami and Ohio State will be looking to prove their deep runs weren’t a fluke.

Best, of all, Paige Bueckers is back. Which means UConn will be, too.

“I'm looking for some great competition, some upsets — and hopefully it's us upsetting some other people because we're not the hunted anymore. We're the hunting,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told USA TODAY Sports. “People probably aren't talking about us as much, and we're good with that.”

People are talking about the women’s game, however. More than ever. And those conversations need to continue and get even louder.

TOP 25:LSU voted No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports women's college basketball preseason poll

This is a transformational time for all women’s sports. Every week, it seems, another attendance record falls at either an NCAA or a professional game. Sponsors and media companies are looking for pieces of the action. Players like Reese, Clark and Bueckers are having the kind of commercial success once reserved for male athletes.

But the transiency of college sports can make stacking success a challenge. Players graduate or transfer. Coaches go elsewhere. One injury can derail a team’s title aspirations.

Which is why this season is such a gift.

Boston aside, the players who made last season so riveting are all back. Some might be in different places — Hailey Van Lith, for example, went from Louisville to LSU — while others will have different roles. South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, the SEC’s Sixth Woman of the Year last year, will be expected to shoulder more of the load.

But casual fans will not have to go searching for new stars. They will not have to wait and see how the start of the season goes to decide whether it’s worth it to invest their time. They already know it is because they lived it last year. All they have to do is pick up where they left off.  

TEAM CAPSULES:Outlooks for preseason Top 25 in women's college basketball poll

Important as this season is for the college game, it matters for the WNBA, too. The league has already announced one expansion team, San Francisco, that will begin play in 2025, and at least one more is expected to be announced soon. Additional teams mean additional roster spots, something the WNBA has desperately needed.

Too often in recent years, players have been standouts in college only to find there was no room for them in the WNBA. (See Brea Beal.) That’s not great for building interest, at either level. Why should you get invested in a player when you might only have a year or two to watch them? But fans who get on board now know there’s a better chance they’ll be seeing these players at the next level, too.

Thinking the NCAA tournament was simply the end of last season is the wrong way to look at it. It was the start of something big, something transformational, and this season can only build off it.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

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