UConn basketball continues to pile on the preseason accolades, with ESPN's annual Top 25 women's NCAA player rankings listing star Sarah Strong at No. 1 ahead of her sophomore season with the Huskies.
Even more, UConn emerged as the only program with two Top 10 players, as ESPN put Strong's teammate Azzi Fudd at No. 8 entering her final NCAA season.
New UConn transfer Serah Williams also made the cut at No. 18, as the preseason AP No. 1 Huskies attempt to repeat their 2024/25 title despite losing superstar Paige Bueckers to the WNBA.
Last season's Final Four participants No. 2 Lauren Betts (UCLA), No. 4 Madison Booker (Texas), No. 11 Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), and No. 17 Kiki Rice (UCLA) round things out, accompanied by more individual standouts like No. 3 Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and No. 5 Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU).
The lineup also featured big-name offseason transfers, including highly touted newcomers No. 6 Olivia Miles (TCU), No. 7 Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), No. 14 Gianna Kneepkins (UCLA), and No. 19 MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU).
Freshmen were not eligible for ESPN's preseason rankings, though NCAA debutants can make the updated list as it shifts throughout the year.
How to watch the ESPN Top 25 players in action
The NCAA basketball elite will tip off the 2025/26 season on Monday, with a full slate of games beginning at 11 AM ET.
The ESPN 2025/26 NCAA basketball preseason Top 25 players
1. Sarah Strong (UConn)
2. Lauren Betts (UCLA)
3. Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame)
4. Madison Booker (Texas)
5. Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU)
6. Olivia Miles (TCU)
7. Ta'Niyah Latson (South Carolina)
8. Azzi Fudd (UConn)
9. Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
10. Audi Crooks (Iowa State)
11. Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)
12. Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
13. Raegan Beers (Oklahoma)
14. Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA)
15. Kymora Johnson (Virginia)
16. Zoe Brooks (NC State)
17. Kiki Rice (UCLA)
18. Serah Williams (UConn)
19. MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU)
20. Yarden Garzon (Maryland)
21. Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee)
22. Khamil Pierre (NC State)
23. Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss)
24. Toby Fournier (Duke)
25. Maggie Doogan (Richmond)
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is doubling down on NIL, spotlighting the offseason league's deep roster of NCAA talent in its "Future Is Unrivaled" (FIU) collection drop on Tuesday.
The new merch line features FIU-branded sports apparel and accessories alongside one-offs like pleated skirts, button-ups, and jackets, all backed by a social media campaign starring college stars Lauren Betts (UCLA), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Azzi Fudd (UConn), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Sarah Strong (UConn), Syla Swords (Michigan), and JuJu Watkins (USC).
After first signing NCAA stars Paige Bueckers and Flau'Jae Johnson in late 2024, Unrivaled added more than a dozen of college basketball's biggest names to its "Future is Unrivaled" Class of 2025 earlier this summer.
While they cannot play in the upstart league prior to turning pro, the NIL signees did participate in July's Unrivaled Summit, a multi-day event in Miami that focused on skill development, content creation, brand building, social media strategy, and community service.
Unrivaled basketball's investment in the next generation of superstars underlines the 3×3 venture's growing influence in the sport, as it becomes a wedge issue in the WNBA's ongoing CBA negotiations while prepping to tip off a second season in January.
How to purchase from the "Future Is Unrivaled" collection
The full merch collection is available now online at Unrivaled.
Upstart 3×3 league Unrivaled Basketball stole some of the WNBA's thunder over the 2025 All-Star weekend, with the offseason venture announcing Saturday the signing of 13 NCAA stars to new NIL deals.
Headlining the group is USC guard and 2025 National Player of the Year JuJu Watkins, with the Trojan junior joined by Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Syla Swords (Michigan), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Madison Booker (Texas), and Olivia Miles (TCU).
Rounding out the new signees are a pair of reigning national champions in UConn guard Azzi Fudd and forward Sarah Strong — the 2025 National Freshman of the Year — as well as a trio of UCLA Bruins: guard Kiki Rice, center Lauren Betts, and forward Sienna Betts.
The younger Betts sister, Sienna, is notably the only incoming freshman inked by Unrivaled.
Bringing the 3×3 league's current college class to a total of 14 players is LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson.
Unlike the 13 other players, Johnson's NIL deal is a renewal, with Unrivaled extending their partnership with their second-ever college signee.
Last season, Unrivaled inked just two NIL deals with NCAA stars, partnering with Johnson after signing former UConn guard and current Dallas Wings rookie All-Star Paige Bueckers.
While Bueckers and Johnson both secured equity in the league last year, this year's deals — with Johnson as well as the 13 other NCAA players — do not include that benefit, though Watkins holds an additional unique position as one of Unrivaled's initial investors.
Despite the NIL partnerships, Unrivaled does not guarantee any future roster spots to the 14 athletes.
While the league is targeting a two-team expansion for the league's 2027 season, Unrivaled plans to keep their core roster number at 36 next year, though injury replacement players are again on the table.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.
This week, Sports Are Fun! talks all things 2025 WNBA Draft. The crew dives deep into who went where, which teams scored big, and — most importantly — who wore what.
For Sports Are Fun!, style definitely stole the show.
"This is one of my favorite parts of draft night," said O'Hara. "It's seeing how people dress, what they choose, how they bring in their own bits of personality, or things that they want to pay tribute to."
"I'm a suit girl, so Paige [Bueckers] and Georgia [Amoore] were my two favorites," she added.
"Well do you know the background behind Georgia's?" asked Diaz. "She is the first WNBA player to be styled by an NBA player. Russell Westbrook has his own brand, Honor the Gift, which is so cool. And to see them both just interacting yesterday was so cool."
"I loved it," she continued. "I hope it sparks even more collaborations with other players and brands. Even them — I'd love to see them do some more work together.
"Yeah, I hope that Russ has some tunnel fits for Georgia going into the season. That'd be sick," said O'Hara. "I'd like to see more."
Over an action-packed 49 minutes, Sports Are Fun! also gets into the state of the USWNT post-Brazil friendlies, Midge Purce's return to Gotham, and so much more.
'Sports Are Fun!' rate player outfits from the 2025 WNBA Draft
After wading into the 2025 WNBA Draft style conversation, Sports Are Fun went all in. O'Hara, Diaz, and BJ didn't hold back when it came to WNBA Draft night fashion, discussing the good, the glam, and the uncomfortable.
"Apparently Georgia [Amoore] was like, 'I just want a blazer and I want to wear a skirt and I don't want to wear heels,'" O'Hara said, referencing the Kentucky grad's Russel Westbrook-designed outfit. "And I was like, girl after my own heart. She looked good, but she looked comfortable."
"So speaking of uncomfortable," O'Hara began, switching gears. "Paige [Bueckers] wore a three-piece suit on the Orange carpet. Then she did a fit change — still a suit, but went blazer, no shirt underneath. Clearly she was having some malfunctions, because she was having to hold it."
"She was also mic'ed up," reasoned BJ. "You could see her fixing the mic."
"I love that she matched Azzi," said Diaz, shouting out Bueckers's UConn teammate Azzi Fudd, who was seated next to her at the event. "They had a little matchy-matchy vibe. They both look so good in the black. And Azzi told me she straightened her hair — she's like 'Greydy, this is the first time I straightened my hair in like four years!'"
"Loved this look, amazing," O'Hara continued. "But [Bueckers] was having to hold her blazer down a lot and I was like, I just want her to be comfortable in this moment.
"I love this fit, I just like 'Could can someone get the girl some fashion tape and so she doesn't have to hold on?' In those moments, you want to look amazing and you want to feel your best but you don't want to be uncomfortable."
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
NCAA basketball standouts are still making decisions on whether to remain in college or make the leap to the pros as the 2025 WNBA Draft looms on Monday — and many are choosing to stay in school.
In the most recent example of this trend, Texas senior Rori Harmon announced Wednesday that she’ll use her injury redshirt year to return to the Longhorns next season.
While most players in this year’s senior class began college in 2021 — after the cutoff to receive an extra year of eligibility following the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown — 2025’s draft-eligible group includes many players opting to stay in the NCAA.
Like Harmon, injuries resulting in redshirt seasons are allowing college standouts like South Carolina's Raven Johnson, newly announced TCU transfer Olivia Miles, and 2025 national champion and UConn star Azzi Fudd a final shot at the NCAA court.
LSU's Flau’jae Johnson and UCLA's Lauren Betts — current juniors who are draft eligible under the WNBA's age clause, which permits players who have not hit four collegiate seasons to go pro so long as they turn 22 years old within the draft's calendar year — have also declined to make the jump in 2025.
Star-power still up for grabs in the 2025 WNBA Draft
Despite the collegiate holdouts, there will still be significant NCAA names earning WNBA spots on Monday, led by UConn guard Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers is still considered a lock for the 2025 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick, which is held tightly by Dallas — in spite of speculation that the Wings might not be her preferred destination.
Other projected first rounders include Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, USC forward Kiki Iriafen, LSU forward Aneesah Morrow, South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao, Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore, and Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers — with TCU guard Hailey Van Lith also making an early-round draft case through her 2025 March Madness play.
Monday could also see international prospects making a splash, with some mock drafts expecting French prodigy Dominique Malonga to go as high as No. 2, with Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka and Lithuanian shooting guard Justė Jocytė also possibly earning WNBA invites.
All in all, the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft class boasts experience, solid shooting, and many winning resumes, but it's up to the pro scouts to determine who will fit their team best.
Fifth-year UConn star Paige Bueckers confirmed to Huskies legend Rebecca Lobo on Friday that she will indeed be declaring for the 2025 WNBA Draft, opting to forgo her final year of college eligibility.
“Honestly, I thought I declared a long time ago,” Bueckers joked, making it clear that she has always considered this season to be her last in a UConn jersey.
Her decision follows UConn guard Azzi Fudd's announcement that she will forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft. Instead, the 22-year-old will will return to the Huskies for the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season.
The 23-year-old's declaration came one day before she scored a career-high 40 points in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. The subsequent 82-59 blowout advanced UConn's March Madness run to the Elite Eight.
“Obviously, Paige was spectacular,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after Saturday's win. “That was as good a game as I’ve seen her play the whole time she’s been here, at the most important time. When you’re a senior and you’ve been around as long as she has, this is what you’re here to do. This is why you came here.”
“Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season going as long as possible,” added Bueckers. “We all love playing together, we love playing here. We just love this program.”
Other expected top WNBA draft picks remain uncertain
Bueckers is considered a lock for this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, currently held by Dallas. But uncertainty has loomed over other lottery slots, with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks recently exchanging hands.
Notre Dame senior Olivia Miles’s professional intentions remain unknown as of Saturday, with the projected No. 2 pick telling reporters she’s “leaning towards” declaring after crashing out of the NCAA tournament.
Eligible LSU junior Flau’jae Johnson is similarly undecided following Sunday’s loss to UCLA, with the soon-to-be 22-year-old also an expected top draft pick.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and NWSL champ Merritt Mathias serve up their hottest takes on all things women's sports. And in today's episode, the crew is talking March Madness, as the NCAA tournament cruises to the Sweet 16.
After lamenting their busted brackets, the discussion turns to UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd. Is a healthy Fudd this year’s secret NCAA tournament weapon?
“I think my biggest one that I was like, ‘whoa,’ was UConn,” O'Hara said of Connecticut’s first-round blowout.
“UConn by 69!" marvels Diaz. "We do have to talk about miss Azzi Fudd. 21 points in the first half of that game.”
"Is that why you wore the shirt?" asks O'Hara, pointing to Fudd's face emblazoned on Diaz's Round 21 t-shirt.
"Of course!" says Diaz. "We gotta show love to Azzi Fudd."
“We said if she shows up, she will be a differentiator for this team going deep into March Madness,” echoed Mathias.
All in all, the co-hosts tackle the NWSL's top weekend goals, followed by the future debut of World Sevens Football, Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton's hard launch, and so much more.
'Sports Are Fun!' hosts debate NWSL Rookie of the Year odds
Later, the hosts put on their soccer hats to discuss the NWSL Rookie of the Year. With younger players joining the league — coupled with the abolishment of the college draft — what subsequently even counts as a true rookie season anymore?
"People are already starting to have these these chats about who's up for Rookie of the Year," starts O'Hara. "My take is this: When is Rookie of the Year going to no longer exist? Because like you said, [Seattle goal-scorer] Jordyn Bugg is technically in her second year. But in my opinion, she's still a rookie."
"These players who are showing up to the league as teenagers, not coming out of college, their chances of Rookie of the Year are greatly diminished," she continues. "Are we going to get a Under-20 Player of the Year award at some point?"
"It's a conversation to be had. But it's also the evolution of the game," says Mathias. "If you want to enter the league at such a young age, it signals, 'I'm willing to forsake like Rookie of the Year awards to be able to develop my game in this environment.'"
"You want to go to college and run that route, that is your reward for taking that time, feeling a bit more able to take on the pressure, the demands," she adds. "So you get rewarded with things like Rookie of the Year and allowing your stock to grow."
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
No. 5 Texas’ Rori Harmon is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear, per a release from Texas Athletics.
Harmon tore her ACL in practice on Dec. 27 and she did not play in that evening’s contest against Jackson State.
The junior guard was named Big 12 preseason player of the year and she averaged 14.1 points and 7.8 assists per game in her 12 games played.
“I’m grateful for the support of my teammates and coaching staff during this difficult time,” Harmon said in the press release. “I also want to thank our medical staff at Texas for taking care of me. I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to play with my teammates this season, but I’m going to support them and be the best teammate I can be.”
Just Women’s Sports is tracking injuries to key players throughout the NCAA season and, when possible, outlining the timetables for their returns.
Out for the season
Azzi Fudd, UConn
Fudd is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and a torn meniscus in her right knee. She played just two games before injuring her knee in practice. Fudd is the second Huskies player in two years to miss the majority of the season with an ACL tear, following Paige Bueckers’ lost season in 2022-23.
Sa’Myah Smith, LSU
Smith will miss the rest of the season for No. 7 LSU with tears to the ACL, MCL and meniscus in her right knee. Smith, who appeared in just seven games this season, will be given a redshirt for the remainder of this season and will be able to get this year of eligibility back, per LSU Athletics.
Destinee Wells, Tennessee
Tennessee senior point guard Destinee Wells is out for the rest of the season with a lower right leg injury, the program announced Tuesday.
A transfer from Belmont, Wells was seen with a brace on her right leg during the team’s win over Wofford. The news of her season-ending injury came on the same night senior forward Rickea Jackson returned from injury. Wells played in just 10 games this season.
Head coach Kelli Harper, who dealt with ACL tears twice in her playing career at Tennessee, understands well the pain of season-ending injuries. So she knows it will “be hard throughout the year” for Wells, who had averaged 6.8 points, 3.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game.
Gianna Kneepkens, Utah
The star guard will miss the rest of the season after breaking multiple bones in her foot, the school announced on Dec. 4. An All-Pac-12 player and the team’s second-leading scorer, Kneepkens was injured late against BYU on Dec. 2 and had to be helped off the floor.
Utah head coach Lynne Roberts called Kneepkens’ injury a “blow to our program,” which is ranked No. 11 in the country at 7-1 as of Dec. 14.
“If there is a kid that eats, sleeps and breathes basketball, it is her. But this is part of life. Life can stink sometimes. This is going to be a process for her that she is going to have to push through,” Roberts said. “She has got a group of teammates and coaches who love her. She will be all right. It is still a little raw. The fact that the season is over for her, she is still working through that.”
Ayanna Patterson, UConn
UConn lost one more player for the season, as Ayanna Patterson was announced to miss the remainder of the season following knee surgery.
Patterson had not appeared in a game this season for the Huskies. Last season, she played 30 games, averaging just over two points and two rebounds. Head coach Geno Auriemma said the surgery was to address patellar tendinitis that Patterson has dealt with since high school.
Emily Bessoir, UCLA
No. 2 UCLA’s Emily Bessoir is out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. The senior injured the same ACL that sidelined her for the entirety of the 2021-2022 season while she was playing in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers for her native Germany.
While Bessoir has played in just one game for the Bruins this season due to her international duties, she appeared in all 37 games last season and she was selected to the Pac-12 All-Tournament team.
“I’m just heartbroken for Emily, for her and for us,” head coach Cori Close told the Associated Press. “She’s been such a steady leader for us and she had so many things going for her this year. I look forward to seeing how this is going to be part of her conquering story.”
Out with injury but expected to return
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
Miles injured her knee in the Irish’s 2023 regular season finale. She was sidelined during the ACC Tournament and has remained so into this season. Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey provided a look into Miles’ recovery via Instagram, where she posted a video of Miles shooting around, though there remains no timetable for her return to action.
“She’s doing a lot of great workouts, and so just wanted to kind of just highlight her because she is she’s doing really, really well,” Ivey said to ABC 57. “She’s in great spirits, her knee looks really good.”
Caroline Ducharme, UConn
The junior guard played in No. 17 UConn’s first four games this season but she has been out since Nov. 19 with neck and back spasms. Ducharme has dealt with concussion issues in past seasons. On Dec. 1, head coach Geno Auriemma could not provide a timeline for her return to the team.
“Don’t ask me how long, because I wish I knew,” Auriemma told ESPN. “You don’t know when they’re coming and you don’t know how long they’re going to last. We just keep trying and trying and trying. . . I feel terrible for the kid.”
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame
Citron sustained an injury to her leg in the third quarter of the Irish’s game against Northwestern on Nov. 15. The junior guard needed help to return to the locker room after she was injured.
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey had announced that Citron was dealing with a sprained knee and would be out for just a couple of weeks. But on Nov. 28, Ivey said Citron would need a few more weeks of recovery before she could return to the court.
Returned to the court
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, who had been out of Tennessee’s lineup since Nov. 13 with a lower leg injury, returned to the court on Dec. 19.
“She steps on the court and she changes things,” Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. “Her presence affects them when they step on the court. She gives them great confidence.”
UConn’s injury woes have continued into this season, and it’s led to the Huskies’ players and coach experiencing déjà vu from years past.
“It just kills me to watch us play sometimes,” head coach Geno Auriemma told reporters after practice on Friday.
Last month, star guard Azzi Fudd went down with an ACL and meniscus tear in her right knee that will sideline her for the rest of the season. Junior guard Caroline Ducharme, meanwhile, remains out with neck spasms, and her timeline for return remains unclear.
“Don’t ask me how long, because I wish I knew,” Auriemma said of Ducharme. “You don’t know when they’re coming and you don’t know how long they’re going to last. We just keep trying and trying and trying. … I feel terrible for the kid.”
Many had thought this year would be different. Paige Bueckers, the 2021 National Player of the Year, is back from the ACL tear that kept her sidelined last season. Fudd, who has dealt with injuries throughout her career, started the season fully healthy. Now, Fudd and Jana El Alfy, who tore her Achilles tendon in July, will both miss the rest of the season. Sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson is also out following an offseason knee surgery.
In their absence, UConn has lost two of their last three games, including an 80-68 defeat to Texas on Sunday. The 4-3 Huskies haven’t lost three games this early in the season since 1980.
“I think they were all anticipating that this year was going to be different, that this year all that was going away and that was all behind us. And the response, I think, has been like a real punch in the gut. Like, ‘I’ve got to do this again,’” Auriemma said. “Me seeing that and me seeing their frustration, and them seeing mine, I think it’s inevitable. You can’t hide it.
“And I probably have not handled it great internally, and probably externally at times, as well. And that’s my job is as an adult, to make sure that I handle it, make sure that I am in complete control of myself and that I’m able to [answer], ‘How do I get each individual through another season?’ Like anybody else you know, I don’t think anybody deserves to be in this situation as many times as we’ve been in it.”
After all the injuries UConn has dealt with in the past few years, senior guard Nika Mühl said Friday that she doesn’t “know any different.”
“I feel like that’s the only cards we’ve been dealt since I’ve been here,” Mühl said. “So overcoming adversity is not something unfamiliar to us.”
UConn basketball has had no shortage of injuries over the last three seasons.
Azzi Fudd’s season-ending knee injury represents just the latest blow to the Huskies’ lineup. The junior guard tore the ACL and meniscus in her right knee during practice on Nov. 14. And she’s not the only one sidelined for UConn, with Jana El Alfy having torn her Achilles tendon in July and Ayanna Patterson still out after an offseason knee surgery.
WNBA star Diamond DeShields asked on social media after Fudd’s injury: “Who the strength coach there …? Cuz WTF.” But Fudd’s father came to the defense of the program, noting that the injuries have “nothing to do with the strength coach” and are instead “the flukiest things I’ve ever seen.”
Just Women’s Sports lays out a timeline of the most significant injuries to UConn women’s basketball over the last three seasons.
2021-22 season:
Aubrey Griffin missed the entire season with a back injury, for which she underwent surgery in January 2022.
On Dec. 1, Fudd suffered a foot injury forced her out of the lineup for 11 games. It was the first major injury of Fudd’s career at UConn, though she had torn the ACL and MCL in her right knee in high school. And just four days later, UConn star Paige Bueckers suffered a tibial plateau fracture that kept her out of 19 games for the Huskies.
While the team remained relatively healthy through January and February. But come the postseason, Dorka Juhász fractured her wrist in the Elite Eight, which kept her out of the Final Four. UConn made the national championship game but lost to South Carolina.
2022-23 season:
UConn’s injury problems during the 2022-23 season can be summed up with one incident: The Huskies had to postpone their game against DePaul in early January due to a lack of healthy players.
It all started in August, when Bueckers tore her ACL, which caused her to miss the entirety of the season. Then, in October, freshman Ice Brady dislocated her patella tendon, which ended her season before it started.
Mere months after fracturing her wrist, Juhász suffered a broken thumb on Nov. 19, which kept her out of seven games. Then, on Dec. 4, Fudd suffered a knee injury that initially kept her out of nine games. She made her return in January, only to reinjure the same knee on Jan. 15 and miss an additional 13 games.
Meanwhile, Caroline Ducharme missed 14 games due to a concussion suffered on Jan. 3. Given that the team struggled with injuries all season, UConn never could find a groove and bowed out of the NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16 – the Huskies’ first time not making the Elite Eight since 2005.
2023-24 season:
To start the new season, UConn is still without Patterson, who had surgery on her knee in the offseason. And both El Alfy and Fudd are out for year. Plus Caroline Ducharme has missed the team’s last two games with neck and back spasms, with no timeline for her return as of Dec. 1.
The No. 11 Huskies are 4-2 to start the season, with a top-25 battle against No. 10 Texas up next at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC.