NEW YORK, NY — The road back to the top of women’s college basketball officially began Thursday afternoon in Manhattan, where UConn arrived at Big East Media Day carrying the same expectation that has followed the program for decades: compete for another national championship.
Inside the Marriott Marquis, head coach Geno Auriemma discussed the state of his Huskies, the development of his players and the expectations surrounding a team that believes it has the talent to make another deep NCAA Tournament run.
For UConn, the objective hasn’t changed.
Win a national championship.
The Huskies enter the season with a roster that combines proven experience, emerging talent and one of the most accomplished young players in the country.
At the center of it all is junior superstar Sarah Strong.
Strong returns after earning Naismith National Player of the Year honors and helping UConn capture a national championship in 2025. Around her, Auriemma has a roster that includes senior point guard KK Arnold, sophomore Blanca Quiñonez, 6-foot-5 center Jana El Alfy, junior guard Kayleigh Heckel and highly regarded freshman Olivia Vukosa.
Strong’s offseason was different from what she had envisioned. Achilles and calf soreness kept her from playing during the summer, making her return to the court even more meaningful.
“I feel super excited,” Strong said. “It was kind of weird not being able to play basketball throughout the summer, so just being able to come back was good.”
Now healthy and back on the court, Strong enters the season with enormous expectations.
Strong Ready for Another Level
It is difficult to imagine Strong becoming significantly better after the season she just produced, but Auriemma believes there is another level to her game.
UConn’s social media team recently shared a video in which Auriemma suggested that Strong could be “three times as good” as she was as a freshman.
When asked about the comment, Auriemma jokingly backed away from the prediction, saying he “must’ve been having gummies or something.”
But beneath the humor was a serious message.
Auriemma believes Strong can become an even more aggressive and complete player.
“She’s the national player of the year,” Auriemma said. “It’s pretty hard to get that much better, but it’s not that hard to get better at some things that she wants to get better at.”
Auriemma said what stands out to him during practice is the possibility that Strong has not yet shown everything she is capable of doing.
“I think what we’ll see is a much more aggressive Sarah,” he said. “I believe that it’s going to come out that whatever we’ve seen the last two years, which is pretty incredible, I think there is more that she has than we’re going to see this year as I see it in practice already.”
For a team with championship aspirations, that development could be critical.
Quiñonez Brings Another Dimension
While Strong will command much of the national attention, Auriemma believes Blanca Quiñonez could become one of the most important pieces of the Huskies’ roster.
The sophomore forward is coming off an impressive freshman season in which she averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while earning Big East Freshman of the Year and Sixth Woman of the Year honors.
Auriemma believes her ceiling could be considerably higher.
“If she was a first-team All-American this year, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit,” Auriemma said.
Quiñonez is working her way back from shoulder surgery she underwent earlier this summer, but she remains on track to return this season.
Her presence would give UConn another versatile option alongside Strong and El Alfy in the frontcourt.
With size, athleticism and offensive ability throughout the rotation, the Huskies could present opposing teams with difficult matchup problems.
Villanova Could Challenge UConn in the Big East
UConn enters the season as the unanimous choice of Big East coaches to win the conference.
Auriemma, however, could not vote for his own team.
Instead, he selected Villanova.
The Wildcats finished 25-8 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. They also demonstrated that they could challenge UConn, taking a three-point halftime lead against the Huskies in their second of three meetings last season.
Villanova returns guards Jasmine Bascoe and Kennedy Henry, giving the Wildcats an experienced backcourt capable of making another run at the NCAA Tournament.
Auriemma has tremendous respect for Bascoe and the impact she has on Villanova.
“I was scared to death that Bascoe was going to go someplace because somebody threw a crazy offer at her, but she’s so connected to Villanova and coach Denise (Dillon) that I was thrilled,” Auriemma said.
Auriemma also emphasized how important it is for the Big East to retain players of Bascoe’s caliber.
“Our league has to keep players like that,” he said. “I would say, not to demean any other guards, including ours, but there’s not a guard in our league that does more for their team than Bascoe does.”
He also expects continued growth from Henry.
“And Kennedy is Kennedy,” Auriemma said. “She’s only going to get better.”
Auriemma believes Villanova belongs in the NCAA Tournament conversation and expects the Huskies’ games against the Wildcats to become increasingly competitive.
“They’re an NCAA tournament team, and our games against them are going to be better now,” he said.
UConn Sweeps Big East Preseason Honors
The Huskies also made a statement when the conference announced its preseason awards.
Strong was selected as the unanimous Big East Preseason Player of the Year, reaffirming the expectations surrounding the reigning national player of the year.
Vukosa was selected as the conference’s Preseason Freshman of the Year, giving UConn another highly regarded young player to add to its talented roster.
Arnold earned a spot on the All-Big East First Team, while Ashlynn Shade received honorable mention recognition.
The preseason honors reflect the talent UConn brings into the new season, but Auriemma understands that awards and expectations don’t win championships.
The Huskies still have to prove themselves on the court.
After last season ended in disappointment at the Final Four, UConn enters this season with another opportunity to finish the job.
The pieces are in place.
Strong is back. The roster is deep. Young players are developing. Experienced players are expected to take on larger roles.
And the standard in Storrs remains unchanged.
For UConn, another championship chase has begun.
