Just when you think things can't get any tougher in the PAC12, here are ESPN's rankings of the top six 2022 recruiting classes in the country, with only a few highly regarded prospects yet to commit:

1. Oregon
2. UCLA
3. Oregon State
4. U Conn
5. Stanford
6. Arizona

All of these schools are attracting top recruits from throughout the US and overseas, so don't have to concentrate only on players from the West Coast.

Lest we forget, we had our own top four recruiting class two years ago. But we will now likely need a breakthrough year on the court to get back into this caliber of recruiting competition.

Charmin Smith (or anyone else) cannot recruit effectively when they only win one game. The Bears need to win some games in the lower half of the conference this season to have a decent shot in the recruiting wars. GO BEARS!

Should have also mentioned that Washington is at #10. Now there is a surprise, and yet another contender.

Well, I believe this has been discussed at length in another thread. We have 1 maybe 2 scholarships available for 2022. Hard to build a class with those numbers.

I'm sure Coach Smith and her new staff are pointing to 2023.

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy the 2021-22 season with a full and experienced roster.

On the men's boards, there's a discussion of the importance of a dedicated practice facility, which is just as impactful on the women's ability to recruit.

...more so than for men's?

I don't think it's more so ... recruits want to work on their game, and it's harder at Cal than anywhere else.

Where is Cal's recruiting class ranked in Pac-12 this year? Is it in the upper half? Middle third? Where?

Go Bears!