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At the start of every college basketball season, there are always a few returning stars we know for certain will make a big impact on their teams. However, there are also those surprise players who spend the offseason taking their game to the next level, and begin to show early in the season that they are prepared to steal some of the spotlight.

Although it is only mid-November, we have already seen some head-turning performances that deserve recognition. Here are five players who are looking dangerous and have the potential to make even more noise as the season progresses. 

Marta Suarez, TCU 

Marta Suarez has had a very unique college basketball journey. The 6-foot-3 forward started at Tennessee, where she missed her sophomore season due to a lower leg injury and then cut her third year short to step away from hoops and return to Spain for personal reasons. She then transferred to Cal and started for the Bears for the next two years. She averaged 12.9 points and 7.2 rebounds last season, which are respectable numbers, but it seems like she is leveling up with the Horned Frogs. 

Suarez made her TCU debut with 19 points against North Carolina A&T, and then reached 19 points again in the Horned Frogs' 122-39 win over Tennessee State. But her most impressive outing was a 26-point performance in a 69-59 win against then-No. 10 NC State. She shot over 55% from the field, which included going 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. 

"If you saw how hard she worked, she truly beats on her craft. That's her journey," said coach Mark Campbell. "She is literally our dream stretch forward because ultimately she's a guard, a play-making guard."

Kate Koval, LSU

Kate Koval, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward from Ukraine, started only 10 games at Notre Dame as a freshman before transferring to LSU in the spring, and has already earned a spot in Kim Mulkey's starting lineup. Associate head coach Bob Starkey said Koval impressed the coaching staff as soon as she arrived on campus because of her willingness to put in the extra work. Despite a quiet game against Tulane on Monday night, she is averaging 9.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in just 16.6 minutes per game -- a sharp increase from the 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds she averaged in 18.3 minutes per game in South Bend. Her field-goal percentage has also increased from 45.1% to 60.7%.

"Just a really committed, hard-working, intelligent post player," Starkey told CBS Sports. "She has been absolutely a blessing to coach. She is one of the kids who does the unrequired work. She is always in the gym. She is doing extra with our strength coach, she's in here with me watching film. She's actually been a leader, too. That's one of the things coach Mulkey has been excited to see, how she is working and helping her teammates. She is definitely going to impact our program."

Jordan Lee, Texas

Despite making it to the Final Four last season, it was clear Texas was in need of more shooters on offense, and coach Vic Schaefer correctly predicted that now-sophomore Jordan Lee had the potential to step up in that area. 

Lee averaged 5.8 points per game last season while playing just under 20 minutes per contest. Her defense was already solid, but the hope was that she could add depth to the team as a scorer. Lee started off her sophomore year with a career-best 21 points in Texas' 123-51 win over Incarnate Word. She shot 9 of 14 from the field and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in that performance. Lee is currently averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting almost 55% from the field. She has shown she can be a solid 3-point shooter, it's just a matter of finding consistency.

Tessa Johnson, South Carolina 

Tessa Johnson is another player who was challenged by her coach to level up after last season, and she most certainly did that over the summer. The junior guard became a starter this season and has significantly improved her stats in every category, including going from 8.4 points per game to averaging 15 points in the first four games. She has been consistent and efficient, shooting 53.5% from the field. This kind of potential is fun to see in a team that already has stars like Joyce Edwards and Ta'Niya Latson.

Dawn Staley has lamented that Johnson didn't really make a big jump from her freshman to sophomore year, and in fact, the coach thought the freshman season was probably the better of the two. It's early, but it looks like her junior year will far surpass both. Johnson herself said she is noticing "a huge difference" now that she started taking better care of her body and taking all the off-court work more seriously. According to director of performance Molly Binetti, Johnson has even added five inches to her vertical in the past two years.

Ava Heiden, Iowa

In her freshman year at Iowa, 6-foot-4 guard Ava Heiden played just under 10 minutes per game and averaged 5 points and 2.6 rebounds. After her first start this season, Heiden said a door of opportunities had opened. She has certainly taken advantage of those opportunities as she has doubled her playing time and almost tripled her impact. This season she is averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. She has already registered two double-doubles and has shot over 60% from the field in three out of four games.

Iowa has not played a ranked opponent yet, but that first big test is coming up soon when the Hawkeyes host No. 7 Baylor on Thursday night. That should provide a good opportunity for Heiden to continue to show how high her ceiling can be.