STORRS — As the UConn women’s basketball team unveiled its 2025 NCAA Championship banner in the rafters of Gampel Pavilion ahead of Sunday’s game against Florida State, five-star 2026 recruit Olivia Vukosa sat in the stands behind her future team’s bench watching with starry eyes.
Three days later, the 6-foot-4 forward officially signed her letter of intent with the Huskies. At this time next year, she’ll be the one the court hoping to bring a banner of her own back to the “Basketball Capital of the World.”
Advertisement
“This is an important one for us,” coach Geno Auriemma said Wednesday after Vukosa’s signing. “We put a lot of time and effort into Olivia … and I’m glad it paid off. I think they’re happy, her and her family. I’m thrilled. Her dad brings up great bread and great mozzarella from New York. He enjoys bringing it, and I enjoy eating it.”
Vukosa, who is from Queens, New York, became a regular at UConn home games after the team began to show interest in her during her freshman year of high school, often making the short trip to Storrs with her family to get a taste of what life as a Husky could look like. But as the No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2026, just about every powerhouse program in the country was vying for Vukosa.
Vukosa’s decision came down to a top five that included UConn, LSU and South Carolina — who have won last four straight NCAA championships between them — as well as perennial contender Texas and Ohio State, but she solidified her commitment to the Huskies during her official visit in October. Auriemma compared Vukosa’s skillset to two-time All-American Stefanie Dolson, who just completed her 12th WNBA season with the Washington Mystics.
Five-star Olivia Vukosa aims to join high school’s rich legacy of UConn women’s basketball greats
Advertisement
“She’s been on campus a lot over the years, and she’s gotten better and better every time that I’ve seen her,” Auriemma said. “She a competitive kid and really skilled, probably the most skilled kid coming out of high school at her size. She’s in the mold of kids that we’ve had in the past, a Stef Dolson kind of kid that can dribble, can pass, can shoot it, wants to play defense, gets up and down the floor quickly. And she’s a great kid with a great family.”
The early signing period closes Nov. 19, and Vukosa is currently UConn’s only commitment for 2026. But in the modern era of recruiting, Auriemma isn’t surprised or concerned by the team’s meager class at this point. Just two years ago in the Class of 2024, No. 1 prospect Sarah Strong made the Huskies wait on her decision until the regular signing period in April.
UConn is still in the mix both uncommitted five-stars left in the Class of 2026, No. 5 recruit Jerzy Robinson and No. 10 Addison Bjorn. Robinson, a 6-foot guard from Phoenix, has also taken visits to South Carolina and LSU. Bjorn, a 6-foot-1 guard from Riverside, Missouri, is deciding from a top 7 of UConn, Duke, Iowa, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas and Kansas. The Huskies are also reportedly top contenders to land Sara Okeke, a 6-foot-4 forward from Spain who currently plays at DME Academy in Florida. The 2026 regular signing period opens April 15.
“We don’t have a lot of incoming players as of this point, but that’s just the world today,” Auriemma said. “You either get what you want in November, and if you do great, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to get more in April. If you don’t get what you want in November, there’s certainly going to be players available in April.”
Advertisement
With a full 15-player roster in 2025-26, UConn doesn’t necessarily need a big incoming class. The team is set to graduate three seniors, and there’s always a possibility of outgoing transfers, but the Huskies have also gotten more active in the transfer portal in recent years. Auriemma brought in multiple transfers this season for the first time since the portal was established in 2019, adding former Wisconsin center Serah Williams and USC guard Kayleigh Heckel.
But relative to the rest of the country, Auriemma said he still places high priority on high school recruiting over relying on transfers in the spring.
“It certainly has changed. All this transfer portal stuff, all this kids being able to stay five years, all this extra eligibility for everybody and taking kids out of the G League, all it’s doing is really hurting the high school kids,” Auriemma said. “The signing period back in the day was make or break for your program … Don’t get me wrong, it’s still important. We really value getting that kid that we really want to develop that doesn’t come to us already with habits that either work or don’t work for us. For us, the high school kids are crucial.”
