The Associated Press released its preseason All-American team on Tuesday, and UConn women’s basketball sophomore Sarah Strong was the youngest player named to the five-person team.
Strong was a second-team AP All-American in her freshman year, averaging 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks last season to help lead the Huskies to their first NCAA championship since 2016. En route to the title, Strong broke the NCAA Tournament record for most points scored by a freshman that was previously held by Tennessee legend Tamika Catchings.
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The star forward was also a WBCA All-American, a USBWA third-team All-American and the WBCA Freshman of the Year in 2024-25. She set UConn’s program record for rebounds by a freshman and became the first freshman since Hall of Famer Maya Moore to score 600-plus points.
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Strong was joined on the preseason All-America team by UCLA senior center Lauren Betts, Texas junior forward Madison Booker, Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo and South Carolina senior guard Ta’Niya Latson. Betts, Booker and Hidalgo were all first-team All-Americans in 2024-25, and Latson made the second team alongside Strong. Latson led the nation in scoring last year and transferred this offseason from Florida State to the Gamecocks.
Redshirt senior guard Azzi Fudd received the most votes among players who did not make the team with 11. Other vote recipients included TCU’s Olivia Miles, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, USC’s Jazzy Davidson and Baylor’s Darianna Littlepage-Buggs.
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UConn has been represented on the AP All-America first team in 10 of the last 12 years. Former Huskies star Paige Bueckers made the first team in 2025, and she and Strong became the first pair of UConn players to earn AP All-America honors in the same season since Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson in 2019.
The preseason recognitions continue to roll in for Strong, who was also named the preseason Big East Player of the Year on Tuesday. She was the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2025 and was named to the Big East All-Tournament team after helping the Huskies to a fifth consecutive conference championship.
UConn women’s basketball sweeps Big East preseason awards, lands four players on all-conference team
