The 2025–26 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies were led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 41st season at UConn, and split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on their campus in Storrs, Connecticut, and the PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut. UConn is a member of the Big East Conference, which it rejoined in the 2020-21 season.
UConn returned this year as the reigning NCAA national champion. Three graduates were chosen in the 2025 WNBA draft, but the current roster returned All-American forward Sarah Strong and the national championship game's most outstanding player Azzi Fudd. Serah Williams and Kayleigh Heckel both chose to join this team via the transfer portal, and UConn had a strong recruiting year. For the first time since 2017, this year's Husky squad was ranked #1 in both preseason polls.
Previous season
The Huskies finished the 2024–25 season 37–3 and 18–0 in Big East play to finish in first place. As the first seed in the Big East tournament, they earned a bye to the quarterfinals where they dominated the tournament. They received an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament where they were the second seed in the East Region. In the first round, they faced Arkansas State. They won this matchup, 103–34, to move on to the round of 32, where they routed 10th seed South Dakota State. UConn then faced #3 seeded Oklahoma, whom they defeated 82–59, advancing to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season, and twenty-ninth overall under Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma. After defeating #1 seed USC, 78–64, the Huskies advanced to their NCAA record, twenty-fourth Final Four appearance. Carrying that momentum, they would dominate #1 UCLA, 85–51, advancing to their 13th national championship appearance, and their first since 2022. Riding with momentum, they would go on to get revenge against South Carolina, 82–59, to capture their 12th national championship, surpassing the UCLA men's basketball program for most Division I basketball championships.
Offseason Departures The Huskies graduated seniors Paige Bueckers, Kaitlyn Chen, and Aubrey Griffin from the 2024–25 roster. All were drafted into the Women's National Basketball Association. One undergraduate chose to enter the transfer portal after the NCAA tournament, sophomore Qadence Samuels. UConn Departures Paige Bueckers 5 G 6'0" Graduate Hopkins, MN Graduated; drafted by the WNBA's Dallas Wings. Round 1, No. 1 overall Qadence Samuels 10 G 6'0" Sophomore Forestville, MD Transferred to NC State Kaitlyn Chen 20 G 5'9" Graduate San Marino, CA Graduated; drafted by the WNBA's Golden State Valkyries. Round 3, No. 30 overall Aubrey Griffin 44 G 6'1" Graduate Ossining, NY Graduated; drafted by the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Round 3, No. 37 overall
Incoming transfers UConn incoming transfers Kayleigh Heckel 9 G 5'9" Sophomore Port Chester, NY USC Serah Williams 22 F 6'4" Senior Brooklyn, NY Wisconsin
Recruiting class 2025 recruiting class ESPN ranked UConn's 2025 class as the sixth-best in the country.Laflin, Shane. "2025 NCAA women's basketball recruiting: Top 25 class rankings". espn.com. March 25, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
2026 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
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Player statistics Player Games Played Minutes Field Goals Three Pointers Free Throws Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Points FuddAzzi Fudd 39 1114 257 117 42 101 122 18 98 673 ShadeAshlynn Shade 39 1050 118 47 14 139 110 3 69 297 StrongSarah Strong 37 1036 279 69 80 293 146 62 130 699 ArnoldKK Arnold 38 933 98 19 48 82 174 5 102 263 HeckelKaleigh Heckel 39 731 110 18 31 109 108 4 56 269 ZiebellAllie Ziebell 39 703 99 58 26 63 48 12 37 282 WilliamsSerah Williams 38 661 107 0 40 129 52 42 20 254 QuinonezBlanca Quinonez 31 631 133 34 33 97 66 15 63 333 El-AlfyJana El-Alfy 35 403 59 0 23 145 30 12 6 141 DucharmeCaroline Ducharme 25 188 13 4 6 44 21 5 7 36 FisherKelis Fisher 30 173 33 0 15 22 19 1 9 81 PattersonAyanna Patterson 30 150 17 0 18 42 3 4 2 52 BradyIce Brady 2 23 2 0 1 6 1 0 1 5 Malou-MamelGandy Malou-Mamel 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 TotalTotal 39 7800 1326 358 509 1465 905 192 607 3387 OpponentsOpponents 39 7800 707 239 313 1248 422 90 242 1966
Rankings
*AP did not release a week 8 poll.
See also 2025–26 UConn Huskies men's basketball team
Notes
References