Huskies fans have a chance to get an early previewof the UConn women’sbasketball team Sept. 20 at an open practice on the campus of Sacred Heart inFairfield, Conn.
This is the second consecutive seasonthat UConn will host a practice at the Pitt Center at Sacred Heart. Ticketsare required, and an upgraded ticket will allow fans to attend a post-practicemeet-and-greet with the players.
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Sarah Strong, the reigning NationalPlayer of the Year, is expected to be on the court after recovering from alingering shoulder injury. First-year player Olivia Vukosa, ranked as the No. 1 centerand No. 4 overall player in the 2026 high school class by the 247Sportscomposite, will show off her skills
Sarah Strong led the Huskies in four statistical categories last season: points (18.4), rebounds (7.7), steals (3.4) and blocks (1.6) per game. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Vukosa, a New York native, recentlysuited up for Croatia at the women’s FIBA U18 EuroBasket championships, earningAll-Tournamenthonors after leading the tournament with 24.9 points and 14.3 rebounds per game. Shescored a tournament-record 46 points against Czechia on Aug. 9. Now, she struggledat times in this tournament with her efficiency, but she showed herability to score in bulk.
The UConn women’s roster is dominatedby the underclass, with just two seniors. Strong is expected to take the reins from Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, as the team leader.
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The seniors
KK Arnold, guard, 5-foot-9
Ashlynn Shade, guard, 5-10
The juniors
Jana El Alfy, center, 6-5
Kayleigh Heckel, guard, 5-9
Sarah Strong, forward, 6-2
Allie Ziebell, guard, 6-0
Allie Ziebell is expected to play a bigger role for the Huskies in the 2026-27 season. David Butler II-Imagn Images
The sophomores
Morgan Cheli, guard, 6-2
Kelis Fisher, guard, 5-9
Gandy Malou-Mamel, center, 6-5
Blanca Quinonez, forward, 6-2
The first-year players
Marine Dursus, guard, 5-10
Jovana Popovic, guard, 5-9
Olivia Vukosa, center, 6-5
The practice is set to start at 2 p.m.ET, with the doors scheduled to open an hour earlier.
The general public can purchase tickets beginning Aug. 20. Ticketscost $40 for general admission, and $90 for the practice and the player meet-and-greet.The price of a courtside seat and the additional event is $125.
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Members of the Husky Athletic Fund canbuy presale tickets beginning Aug. 18.
According to UConn, theevent sold out last year.
The schedule is filling up, with only one slot remaining for a nonconference game now that two have been added.
On Monday, UConn announced the Huskies will host old rival Tennessee on Dec. 12. That came after they announced they’d play LSU on Dec. 20.
And UNLV, of the Mountain West, put out its nonconference schedule, listing an East Coast road trip at UConn on Dec. 2 and Boston University on Dec. 5.
That makes nine nonconference games of the 10 to be scheduled. The Big East season will consist of a 20-game slate, yet to be announced.
