Checking in on programs with UConn ties

Five Division I teams around the country were helmed by former Huskies this past season.

Author

Daniel Connolly
May 15, 2025

In partnership with

Photo: Ian Bethune

Welcome to the UConn WBB Weekly, a recap of everything that happened in the world of UConn women’s basketball over the past week.

Sign up to get the Weekly in your inbox every Thursday or subscribe to get our premium newsletter which includes game coverage, analysis, recruiting updates, and more!

Headlines

News

Analysis

Last week’s Weekly

Checking in on programs with UConn ties

Over the course of Geno Auriemma’s 40 years at UConn, he’s developed quite a coaching tree. This past season, there were five over Division I programs around the country with a head coach that either played for the Huskies, worked on Auriemma’s staff or both.

Shea Ralph — Vanderbilt

Now in her fourth season at Vandy, Ralph enjoyed the best season of her head coaching career. Behind a one-two punch of USBWA National Freshman of the Year Mikayla Blakes (23.3 points) and Khamil Pierre (20.4 points), the Commodores went 22-11 (8-8 SEC) and earned a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt swept in-state rival Tennessee in two games — the first time in program history the ‘Dores beat the Vols twice in a single season — with a last-second victory in January followed by win in the conference tournament.

Blakes burst onto the scene as one of the top scorers in the nation from day one, finishing with eighth-most points per game in the country. She put up 53 points at Florida in late January then followed it up with 55 points at Auburn a couple weeks later.

The sophomore Pierre was no slouch, either. She dropped 42 points on Evansville and reached double-figures in all but one contest. Elsewhere on the roster, Aga Makurat — youngster sister of former UConn guard Anna Makurat — played in 14 games, averaging 3.4 points and 10.2 minutes.

Vanderbilt’s season ended with an overtime loss to 10-seed Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores trailed by as many as 19 in the third quarter but rallied force the extra period. They couldn’t pull off the comeback and ultimately fell by four, though.

Last week, Ralph hired former UConn forward Kaili McLaren to her staff. She’ll be the second alumni assistant, joining former manager and practice player Kevin DeMille.

Carla Berube — Princeton

For the first time during Berube’s tenure, Princeton failed to win an Ivy League title this season. The Tigers finished in second place during the regular season but fell in the semifinals of the conference tournament to eventual champions Harvard.

Despite that, Princeton earned a spot in March Madness as one of the last four teams in thanks to a three-bid Ivy League. The Tigers didn’t go very far, falling to 11-seed Iowa State in the First Four.

Beyond her season with the Tigers, Berube had plenty of fun watching her alma mater. With her former star Kaitlyn Chen running the point, the coach showed up to a few regular season contests then traveled to Tampa to see the Huskies win their 12th national championship.

Tamika Williams-Jeter — Dayton

After picking up just 16 victories through her first two years, Williams-Jeter surpassed that total with her first winning season at Dayton, going 18-13. The Flyers finished a respectable fifth in a tough A10 conference thanks to a four-game win streak at the end of the regular season which included a victory over St. Joseph’s, which just missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

Dayton’s roster featured a mix of veteran transfers — four of five seniors and five of eight upperclassmen started their careers elsewhere — and younger players recruited by Williams-Jeter and her staff.

Now, the Flyers have the difficult task of replacing those five seniors, who were the team’s top five players in minutes played.

Marisa Moseley — Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s 2024-25 campaign got off to a promising start with a 9-2 mark through late December before quickly going off the rails. When Big Ten play began in earnest, the Badgers lost eight straight games and eventually closed the year on a 3-15 skid.

Things only got worse off-the-court. In January, former player Tessa Towers went on TikTok to accuse Moseley of misconduct — coercing her to grant access to therapy sessions and forcing her to get tested for autism were among the allegations. The school announced that it would be “looking into the matter” but never revealed any findings.

Moseley resigned on March 9, citing “personal reasons”. Despite finishing with a sub-.500 record in four straight seasons, she didn’t do so to get ahead of a firing. Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh told Badger Extra that he expected Moseley to return for at least another season.

Kristin Caruso (Lamb) — CCSU (interim)

When the 2024-25 season began, Kristin Caruso (Lamb) was working in human resources at CCSU with no ties to the school’s women’s basketball program. But when former head coach Way Vanney left the program in mid-January, the school asked Caruso to take over as interim and she accepted.

With the former Marist and Longwood coach at the helm, the Blue Devils turned around from an 0-13 start and finished 10-6 the rest of the way. Behind Belle Lampher, the first NEC Player of the Year in program history, CCSU finished third in the league before falling to Chicago State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

After the season, the Blue Devils removed the interim tag and promoted Caruso to full-time head coach.

Best of social media

Paige and KK out and about:

UConn home games will have a new PA announcer next season:

Another highlight-reel play from UConn’s incoming freshman:

Receive Honest News Today

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Reply

or to participate.