UConn women’s basketball star Sarah Strong has proven herself one of the best players in the country this season, so its no surprise that the sophomore phenom is one of five finalists for the Katrina McClain Award.
The Katrina McClain Award is one of the five positional awards given by the Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top power forward. Strong is one of three sophomores named 2026 finalists alongside South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards and Duke’s Toby Fournier. NC State junior Khamil Pierre and Richmond senior Maggie Doogan round out the list of finalists.
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Strong, the Big East Player of the Year, has earned multiple first-team All-American honors from media outlets over the last week, and she was named player of the year by both ESPN and The Athletic. The star sophomore made the late-season team for the Naismith Trophy and was selected to the 15-player national ballot for the Wooden Award.
Strong is one of the most versatile players in college basketball this season, averaging 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks. She leads the undefeated No. 1 Huskies in every major statistic except assists, where she is second by 0.7 per game to starting point guard KK Arnold.
Strong is remarkably efficient, currently shooting 60.1% from the field, 42.7% from 3-point range and 87.3% at the free throw line. She also leads the country in defensive rating and defensive win shares, and she is tied for sixth nationally in steals.
Strong would be the second UConn player to win the Katrina McClain Award, joining Napheesa Collier in 2019. She would also be the youngest player to earn the honor since Oregon standout Ruthy Hebard won the inaugural award as a sophomore in 2018.
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Strong was a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, given to the top small forward, as a freshman in 2025. LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, who now plays for the Connecticut Sun, won the Katrina McClain last year.
