College hoops fans have mixed reactions to Naismith Player of the Year finalists: "No Angel Reese and it's still stacked"

The four Naismith Player of the Year finalists were recently named and the list contained the cream of the crop that college women's basketball has to offer.

The four finalists include: the record-breaking Iowa Hawkeyes star, Caitlin Clark, talented USC Trojans freshman JuJu Watkins, UConn Huskies returning ace, Paige Bueckers and departing Stanford Cardinal standout, Cameron Brink.

The list surprisingly excluded LSU Tigers star Angel Reese, who has averaged 18.7 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season.

College hoops fans on X had mixed reactions to the final Naismith list, with several complaining about some players left out.

This year's Naismith Player of the Year finalists shed light on future of star-studded WBB arena

The frontrunner for the award is Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark who has blitzed the record books throughout the season and leads the nation in points scored (31.8) and assists (8.9) and has also recorded 7.3 rebounds.

Most importantly, she has led the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten tournament title against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. She has also helped her team navigate a tricky March Madness bracket that has seen Iowa survive several scares to reach the Sweet 16.

Like last year, Clark has been head and shoulders above every other player, even within the Naismith finalists bracket and could easily sweep all the major individual awards on offer.

JuJu Watkins has been a revelation as a freshman, guiding the USC Trojans to the Pac-12 tournament title for the first time in a decade alongside their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament since 1986.

She has broken the USC single season point record initially held by Trojans great, Cheryl Miller and been named a unanimous All-American. She is also only second to Caitlin Clark in points scored per game (26.9).

She has averaged 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this season as well.

It is testament to her burgeoning reputation in the game that she has surpassed established players like LSU Tigers ace and last year's Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Angel Reese, to be named a finalist.

UConn Huskies standout Paige Bueckers has already won the Naismith National Player of the Year award as a freshman in 2021 before back-to-back ACL injuries derailed her college basketball career.

She has stayed healthy all season and is back at the top table, leading the Huskies to the Big East title and the Sweet 16 in the Big Dance, averaging 21.8 points, 5 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Stanford Cardinal forward Cameron Brink recently declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft and won both the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year awards on the back of her defensive prowess.

Brink has averaged 17.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season and she has also guided her team to the Sweet 16 of the Big Dance.

All four Naismith finalists have led their teams to the Sweet 16 of the 2024 March Madness and could potentially face off against each other in what would be epic clashes between titans.