STORRS — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma did a double take when he opened his text messages a few days ago and saw a notification from Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers, who led the Huskies to a national championship in April, just completed her first WNBA season with the Dallas Wings less than three weeks ago and became the seventh UConn player all-time to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award. Auriemma said the superstar is now on vacation enjoying some well-deserved time off, but she was feeling nostalgic as the Huskies geared up to begin official practices for the 2025-26 season.
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“She texted me — I can show it to you — and it says ‘I miss you.’ I’m not sure it was meant for me,” Auriemma joked with a grin after practice Monday. “I’m going with it was an accidental text, it was a butt text. (But) it made me roll my eyes and go man, we kind of miss you more.”
Auriemma said it’s impossible to ignore the vacuum left behind by Bueckers, whose leadership was as important to UConn as her impact on the court during five years with the program. The team has five newcomers to integrate this season with three freshmen and two first-year transfers, and several of its more experienced players are limited as practices begin due to minor nagging injuries. Junior Ashlynn Shade, who has started more games than anyone on the roster besides redshirt senior Azzi Fudd, is rehabbing a hamstring issue, and last year’s starting center Jana El Alfy is working her way back from a calf injury. Sophomore Morgan Cheli also remains out after undergoing ankle surgery in February, and Auriemma said there is no timetable for her return.
“Not having Paige impacts every kid on our team, and you can see it out there,” Auriemma said. “It’s a big adjustment for me … There were more than a couple of events today on the court that happened where you go ‘hmm, I think we’re gonna see more of that,’ because last year it would’ve been something different. You have to wait for someone to fill that void, and no one’s going to fill it completely, but it’ll start to show itself … Any time you have someone that’s so dominant at their position, it takes some getting used to.”
The Huskies are still early in the process of figuring out whose voice will replace Bueckers’ as the one the team rallies around, and Auriemma said it’s possible that one clear leader won’t emerge at all. But he’s seen growth from several key pieces including Shade and classmate KK Arnold, who will shoulder a new kind of load this season as UConn’s most veteran point guard. Leadership also comes naturally to redshirt senior Caroline Ducharme after she spent the majority of the last two seasons sidelined by head and neck injuries.
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“There’s never a day that Ash comes to practice and doesn’t give you the best that she has in every area. She’s always locked in, always prepared, she’s become much more vocal. I would expect her to evolve into a team leader in some way,” Auriemma said. “Carol’s (a leader) because she spent a lot of time talking to them last year and has gotten to know them a little a little bit … No one has evolved as, ‘That’s our team leader,’ and maybe nobody wants to be. Maybe it’s just like, let’s just see how it evolves, and let’s see how it happens organically.”
Perhaps the most surprising voice emerging is sophomore forward Sarah Strong, who was quiet to a fault in her freshman campaign with the Huskies. But her introverted public persona belied a bona-fide superstar on the court, and Auriemma saw Strong return to campus this year with a new confidence.
Strong had one of the most dominant freshman seasons in UConn history last year and put together a remarkable run of performances during March Madness to break the record previously held by Tamika Catchings of Tennessee for most points by a freshman in the NCAA Tournament. Auriemma said Strong is working with both the guards and forwards in practice, positioning her to take a major leap in her sophomore year.
“The people that I think sometimes look to be the quietest have an impact,” Auriemma said. “The last couple years, we used Paige as our everywhere (player), guard big guys, guard guards, and I think this year Sarah could be that that person. She’ll be guarding the point guard, she’ll be guarding the center. She’ll be everywhere on the floor, and scoring a lot of the same ways that she did last year, and maybe even more.”
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It took time for Strong to get comfortable in the spotlight, but the star sophomore said she’s embracing the challenge of using her voice on and off the court.
“I want to step in to try and help lead,” Strong said. “Especially just trying to talk to the freshmen, I feel like I’m doing a good job of actually talking … I feel like (I’ve learned to) just be more vocal and being more confident, not going into games, I’m not gonna say scared, but just nervous. I’ve been there before, so I know what to expect and (how to) just be myself.”
