The UConn women’s basketball team is slowly but surely making progress towards getting its roster healthy, but the No. 2 Huskies will still start the 2024-25 season shorthanded.
Five UConn veterans return this year after missing some or all of 2023-24 with season-ending injuries, and only redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy is currently practicing at full capacity. The team will tip off its season against Boston University at the XL Center on Thursday (7 p.m., SNY) with a maximum 10 of 14 players available.
But if the Huskies can get to full strength in the near future, they are poised to be top contenders for a long-awaited NCAA championship. Superstar Paige Bueckers is back for a fifth season of eligibility, and UConn fans have waited years to see her play alongside fellow star guard Azzi Fudd amid injury-riddled careers. Coach Geno Auriemma, entering his 40th season at the helm of the program, also brought in the No. 2 freshman class in the country and his first transfer addition since 2022 in Princeton graduate Kaitlyn Chen.
“When Paige wasn’t around, Azzi was unbelievably dominant. So when she got hurt, then Paige has been dominant without Azzi,” Auriemma said at Big East Media Day. “I want to see if they can do that together, which I think they will, but then it’s a comfort level … We had to play Paige almost 40 minutes every night, and I don’t know that you can sustain that. We won’t have to do that this year, I hope. If we do, we’ve got some issues.”
Here’s a look at the 2024-25 Huskies:
2 KK Arnold
5-9, G, So., Germantown, Wis.
Arnold started 33 games for the Huskies as a freshman, averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals. She was a six-time Big East Freshman of the week, earning her a place on the Big East All-Freshman team and the preseason all-conference roster.
5 Paige Bueckers
6-0, G, R-Sr, Hopkins, Minn.
Bueckers is one of the biggest stars in college basketball and the runaway favorite to win National Player of the Year after she was a finalist for the award in 2023-24. The longtime point guard played most of last year out of position as a forward, averaging 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks.
Inside Paige Bueckers’ offseason ‘work tour’: What UConn superstar focused on improving this summer
8 Jana El Alfy
6-5, C, R-Fr., Cairo, Egypt
El Alfy has been on campus since she enrolled early in the spring of 2023, but she has yet to play an official game as a Husky. El Alfy ruptured her Achilles tendon while representing Egypt at the FIBA U18 World Cup last June, and the injury kept her sidelined for the entire 2023-24 season.
10 Qadence Samuels
6-0, G, So., Forestville, Md.
Samuels saw limited playing time in her first season averaging five points and two boards in 12.3 minutes per game. Auriemma said Samuels is working in practice to play her way into a bigger role, and she started strong with 12 points off the bench in the exhibition game.
11 Allie Ziebell
6-0, G, Fr. Neenah, Wis.
Ziebell was the No. 7 recruit in the Class of 2024 and came to UConn with a reputation as a sharpshooter that was bolstered when she won the First Night 3-point contest. Ziebell also won the 3-point contest at the McDonald’s All-American game after averaging 27.5 points per game in her final high school season.
12 Ashlynn Shade
5-10, G, So., Noblesville, Ind.
Shade, like Arnold, started 33 games in her first college season and beat out her teammate to win Big East Freshman of the Year. Shade averaged 11 points, 3.5 rebounds and a steal and was the Huskies’ most efficient guard behind Bueckers shooting 48% from the field.
20 Kaitlyn Chen
5-9, G, Gr., San Marino, Calif.
Chen spent four seasons playing for UConn alum Carla Berube at Princeton before joining the Huskies as a graduate transfer. She is the program’s first signee out of the portal since 2022 and will take on an immediate leadership role as one of the most veteran players on the roster.
21 Sarah Strong
6-2, F, Fr., Fuquay-Varina, N.C.
Strong was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2024, and Auriemma is touting her as a program-altering talent. The versatile rookie has basketball in her DNA as the daughter of former WNBA All-Star Allison Feaster, and she is a three-time U18 gold medalist with Team USA.
Dom Amore: In Sarah Strong, Geno Auriemma envisions latest game-changer for UConn women
23 Morgan Cheli
6-2, G, Fr., San Jose, Calif.
Cheli has been sidelined intermittently throughout summer and preseason practices with lingering hamstring and quad issues from her final high school season. The freshman was the No. 11 recruit in the 2024 class and a unanimous All-American in her senior year.
25 Ice Brady
6-3, F, R-So., San Diego, Calif.
Brady had a breakout performance at the 2024 Big East Tournament, and the Huskies need her to take another step after averaging 17.4 minutes per game last year. Brady is the most experienced post player on the roster despite having played just one college season.
33 Caroline Ducharme
6-2, G, R-Jr., Milton, Mass.
Ducharme’s college career has been marred by a series of head and neck injuries, and she missed all but four games in 2023-24 to manage neck spasms. The former top-10 recruit is considered week-to-week, but the Huskies are hopeful she’ll see the court this year.
34 Ayanna Patterson
6-2, F, R-So., Fort Wayne, Ind.
Patterson did not play during the 2023-24 season, undergoing surgery for patellar tendonitis in December. She is poised to play a significant role in the Huskies’ frontcourt rotation but is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury that will keep her out for a while longer.
35 Azzi Fudd
5-11, G, Gr., Arlington, Va.
Fudd, the former No. 1 recruit in the class of 2021, has played just 42 games over three seasons in Storrs. Fudd plans to return soon after tearing her ACL last November with hopes of reestablishing herself as one of the nation’s best shooting guards.
Dom Amore: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, have one last ride to fulfill destiny at UConn
44 Aubrey Griffin
6-1, G/F, R-Sr., Ossining, N.Y.
Griffin is back for a sixth year of eligibility after tearing her ACL last January. The veteran guard averaged 9.5 points and six rebounds shooting 54.7% in the first half of the 2023-24 season, and Auriemma is optimistic that she will be back on the court by the end of December.
