After one week, Kayleigh Heckel has been UConn's biggest surprise

When Kayleigh Heckel was in high school, Geno Auriemma wasn’t sold on her as a prospect. Although a local recruit from Port Chester, New York — the first town outside Connecticut along the coast — and the No. 13 player in her class, Heckel was somewhat of a wild card.

“When she was in high school, she was what you see out there now, except a little more raw, a little wilder. Just flying up and down the floor and not a whole lot of thought about whether it was going to end up good or bad,” Auriemma explained. “Just a race car driver who would just like to drive fast. I'm sure if she was a race car driver, whoever she raced cars for would have to have a ton of cars in their garage because that’s how she used to play.”

UConn showed some interest in Heckel, though it never seriously pursued her. That bore out in her list of finalists, which featured Alabama, Stanford, Tennessee and USC.

“It would fluctuate. ‘She's really, really good. I really want her on the team.’ ‘My god, she's out of control. We'll never get her under control,’” Auriemma said. “So it just kept going back and forth.”

Heckel eventually picked the Trojans, which ultimately worked out in the Huskies’ favor. The two schools faced off during the regular season then met again in the Elite Eight, giving Auriemma two up-close looks at Heckel against top-end competition. When she hit the transfer portal in April, the head coach no longer needed to be convinced.

“Watching her play, playing against her, I just thought the things that she's really good at can help us. The other stuff, I think we can work with,” Auriemma said. “I don't think she's changed that much but the changes she has made are for the better.”

Now, UConn is reaping the benefits.

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