For a comparison, I listed the last few national champions and their starting lineups (for the national title game) with each player's ESPN recruiting rankings:
2017: South Carolina - A'ja Wilson (1), Kaela Davis (2), Allisha Gray (7), Bianca Cuevas-Moore (35), Tyasha Harris (28)
2016: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Moriah Jefferson (2), Morgan Tuck (6), Gabby Williams (14), Kia Nurse (33)
2015: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Moriah Jefferson (2), Morgan Tuck (6), Kia Nurse (33), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (1)
2014: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Moriah Jefferson (2), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (1), Bria Hartley (14), Stefanie Dolson (39)
2013: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (1), Stefanie Dolson (39), Kelly Faris (34), Caroline Doty (10)
2012: Baylor - Brittney Griner (1), Odyssey Sims (3), Destiny Williams (9), Jordan Madden (58), Kimetria Hayden (unranked)
Obviously, UConn skews this with their 4-yr run featured Breanna Stewart, but the last 6 national champions all had a #1 player, plus at least two other top-10 recruits. I could only find recruiting rankings back to the HS Class of 2007, but I am assuming Wiggins and Appel were top-10 recruits (correct me if I'm wrong). If I am right, our two national finalist teams (2008 and 2010) featured 3 Top-10 recruits (2008: Wiggins, Appel, Pedersen) and (2010: Appel, Pedersen, Nneka).
With the current #1 HS recruits currently in college, UConn has 2 of them (Karlie Lou - 2015 and Megan Walker - 2017), South Carolina (A'ja Wilson - 2014) and Baylor (Lauren Cox - 2016). It may be no surprise then that all 3 teams are top-5 in the country and consider national title contenders
2017: South Carolina - A'ja Wilson (1), Kaela Davis (2), Allisha Gray (7), Bianca Cuevas-Moore (35), Tyasha Harris (28)
2016: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Moriah Jefferson (2), Morgan Tuck (6), Gabby Williams (14), Kia Nurse (33)
2015: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Moriah Jefferson (2), Morgan Tuck (6), Kia Nurse (33), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (1)
2014: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Moriah Jefferson (2), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (1), Bria Hartley (14), Stefanie Dolson (39)
2013: Connecticut - Breanna Stewart (1), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (1), Stefanie Dolson (39), Kelly Faris (34), Caroline Doty (10)
2012: Baylor - Brittney Griner (1), Odyssey Sims (3), Destiny Williams (9), Jordan Madden (58), Kimetria Hayden (unranked)
Obviously, UConn skews this with their 4-yr run featured Breanna Stewart, but the last 6 national champions all had a #1 player, plus at least two other top-10 recruits. I could only find recruiting rankings back to the HS Class of 2007, but I am assuming Wiggins and Appel were top-10 recruits (correct me if I'm wrong). If I am right, our two national finalist teams (2008 and 2010) featured 3 Top-10 recruits (2008: Wiggins, Appel, Pedersen) and (2010: Appel, Pedersen, Nneka).
With the current #1 HS recruits currently in college, UConn has 2 of them (Karlie Lou - 2015 and Megan Walker - 2017), South Carolina (A'ja Wilson - 2014) and Baylor (Lauren Cox - 2016). It may be no surprise then that all 3 teams are top-5 in the country and consider national title contenders