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With the mercurial growth of women’s basketball, the sport has been increasingly played above the rim in recent years. As such, a dynamic class of elite shot blockers has emerged in college basketball, so here’s a look at the 10 best from around the country:
1. Cameron Brink, Stanford (3.5 blocks/game last season)
While limited to just 24 minutes per game by Stanford’s tremendously talented 13-woman rotation, Brink was still extremely impactful while on the floor last season in red and white, leading the entire nation with 5.6 blocks per 40 minutes.
Standing 6-foot, 4-inches, Brink is unflappable in the paint with strength to absorb contact from bruising post players while maintaining enough mobility to complete trailing blocks on penetrating guards.
In a 36-minute outing against Oregon last season, Brink managed a 10-block triple-double and swatted seven shots in 34 minutes in Stanford’s final NCAA tournament bout against Ole Miss, so a deserved minutes increase for Brink this year could yield even loftier defensive numbers for the two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
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2. Rayah Marshall, USC (3.5 blocks/game)
Rayah Marshall entered her sophomore season in Southern California with an explicit goal — “I want to be a general from my position.” Reporting to her post inside the red painted area of the Galen Center, Marshall certainly achieved her aim, commanding the interior as well as any center in America.
The Los Angeles native enters the 2023-24 season with a number of remarkable active statistical accomplishments, recording at least one block in her last 51 games and at least two blocks in her last 13 games all while shattering Lisa Leslie’s block record at USC in just two seasons and earning semi-finalist consideration for National Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.
Billed as the “next Kevin Durant” during her recruitment, Marshall flexes this versatility on both ends of the floor, scoring at all three levels while matching up with perimeter scorers defensively and, of course, using her lanky frame and quick feet to affect countless shots around the rim.
3. Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas (3 blocks/game)
A long-winded journey to Lawrence — Jackson was previously committed to Ole Miss as a high four-star recruit before spending two seasons at Trinity Valley Community College — quickly paid dividends as the Chicagoan immediately became one of the very best defenders in college basketball.
Jackson averaged 3.1 blocks and 1.8 steals in a stellar freshman campaign at Phog Allen and posted nearly identical numbers last season as she led Kansas to a WNIT Championship last season. Fitting in with her technical interior approach, Jackson showcases tremendous discipline and good positioning on her blocks, rarely losing verticality and smothering would-be drivers and post scorers.
After missing out on the NCAA tournament as a controversial snub, Jackson and the Jayhawks will hope to leave no doubt this season.
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4. Lucy Cochrane, Portland (2.7 blocks/game)
For the thousands of miles Lucy Cochrane has logged in her fledgling basketball career, it was a school just a bit north on I-5 that proved to have all the answers for the imposing 6-foot, 6-inch Australian. Beginning her basketball career in the world’s southernmost metropolis, Melbourne, she competed with the Australian national team’s youth outfit, traveling to New Zealand for the 2015 FIBA Oceania U-16 games and to Spain for the U-17 world championships.
Cochrane developed a major recruiting profile at the latter competition and ultimately committed to Oregon, where she managed to crack just the end of the bench playing seven minutes a contest. She elected to transfer to Portland, and after sitting out for the COVID season Cochrane has helped lead the Pilots to their best stretch in recent program history.
As part of the first 20-win Pilots team in 25 years, Cochrane led the entire nation with four blocks per contest. And while the lanky Aussie’s minutes waned this past season, largely due to a foot injury that sidelined her for six weeks, she continued to be one of the nation’s most efficient shot blockers with 4.7 swats and just 1.5 fouls committed per 40 minutes as Portland made its first NCAA tournament since 1997.
5. Christina Dalce, Villanova (2.3 blocks/game)
While Maddy Siegrist deservedly soaked up much of the front-court spotlight at Finneran Pavilion last season, Christina Dalce has blossomed from relative shade into one of the best defensive forwards in college basketball.
After managing just five minutes per contest her freshman season, Dalce opened 2022-23 with a dazzling statement of intent against Marist, snaring 17 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, and swatting five shots to secure herself a permanent role in the starting lineup.
And despite a slighter frame, at least relative to this monstrous list, — Dalce is listed at 6’2″ — her shot blocking and general defensive acumen continued into Big East play, finishing 13th in the country with 3.9 blocks per 40 minutes and inside the 96th percentile with 1.8 defensive win shares.
6. Makayla Timpson, Florida State (2.1 blocks/game)
As one of the best post players in all of America last season, averaging 13 points and nine rebounds on a remarkable 58 percent shooting clip, Timpson’s rim protection was expectedly elite last season for the Seminoles.
Timpson’s blocks combine to form one of the more impressive highlight reels in college basketball, as her long arms and quick first step allow her to influence, tip and even outright stuff nearly any shot within a ten-foot radius of the rim.
The well-coordinated junior closes down shifty, opportunistic guard surging toward a once-open lane to the rim and walls up larger post players, and her impact shows in Florida State’s overall defensive excellence — FSU opponents shot just 38 percent from two-point range last season, good for 13th in the country.
7. Angel Jackson, Jackson State (2.5 blocks/game)
As a McDonald’s All-American selection out of high school, Jackson waded through her lengthy list of suitors and opted for the scenic drive down from the Bay Area into the heart of Los Angeles. A promising 2020-21 season truncated by COVID-19 amounted to little, however, as Jackson would play just 11 minutes a game the following season and had been passed over in the rotation.
Jackson took her first foray out of the Golden State, fittingly settling on Jackson State to jumpstart her collegiate career. As part of a standout Tiger defense that finished inside the top 100 in defensive rating, Jackson flexed her five-star pedigree, finishing tenth nationally with 4.3 blocks per 40 minutes as JSU waltzed to a SWAC regular-season title.
8. Skyler Gill, Kansas (2.7 blocks/game)
Skyler Gill is comfortably the most unique player in terms of frame and skillset on this list, measuring just 5’10” and playing an almost exclusively perimeter role. However, before transferring to Kansas this offseason, Gill managed to secure consecutive Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year awards while turning away a remarkable 3.8 shots per 40 minutes.
Gill overcomes her more diminutive frame with her excellent closing speed, particularly on defending ball screens, rallying to turn seemingly uncontested slips into highlight reel rejections. After averaging an even loftier 3.2 blocks a game her freshman year, Gill managed to set the North Alabama blocks record in just her second season and will take the chance to test her defensive skillset against the Big 12 this season with Kansas.
9. Abby Muse, Boise State (2.8 blocks/game)
After a disheartening eight-win season in 2021-22, the growth of Abby Muse last season was immense in the Broncos’ first winning season since 2019. Starting in all 31 games for Boise State, Muse grew in efficiency and rebounding while elevating her shot-blocking presence from stellar to truly elite.
Muse’s dominance in the paint not only boosted her own statistical profile — her 4.2 blocks per 40 minutes ranked 11th nationally — but contributed massively to Boise State having one of the best two-point team defenses in the country.
10. Emma Merriweather, Louisiana-Monroe (3.2 blocks/game)
A true college basketball journeywoman, Merriweather has excelled after finally finding a painted area to call her own. Beginning at Long Beach State in 2017 and later playing a pair of seasons with the Jayhawks, — she combined to start just 23 games in those three years — Merriweather arrived in Monroe ahead of last season and went on to immediately average a double-double.
Merriweather’s shot-blocking acumen comes from her excellent size and positioning in the paint, and with just 23 minutes played per game, the California native continues to be one of the most active and productive players in the Sun Belt Conference.