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How former UConn players and coaches fared this past season

There were seven players and head coaches with ties to the Huskies in Division I women's basketball this past year.

Author

Daniel Connolly
May 16, 2024

Dayton coach Tamika Williams-Jeter shares a huge with Geno Auriemma | Photo: Ian Bethune

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How former UConn players and coaches fared this past season

As UConn went through its third straight injury-plagued season and ultimately reached the Final Four, there were seven other teams with ties to the programs. Three players that once suited up for the Huskies were still in Division I while four programs were helmed by someone who previously played or coached in Storrs.

Players

Saylor Poffenbarger — Arkansas

In her second season with Arkansas, Poffenbarger averaged a double-double with 10.2 points and 11.2 rebounds. She started all 30 games she appeared in and set the program record with 225 defensive rebounds. While Poffenbarger only had 20+ points twice all season, she had a pair of 20+ rebound games and recorded 14 or more boards on eight occasions.

Once the season ended, Poffenbarger put her name in the transfer portal for the second time and committed to Maryland — just an hour up the road from her hometown of Frederick, Maryland. Poffenbarger still has two years of eligibility left.

Mir McLean — Virginia

McLean did not play this past season while still recovering from a major knee injury she suffered in Jan. 2023. She entered the transfer portal and ended up at Maryland alongside Poffenbarger and Amari DeBerry. Like Poffenbarger, McLean grew up in the state as a native of Baltimore.

She has two years of eligibility remaining.

Piath Gabriel — Portland

Gabriel also didn’t play this season due to a now-defunct rule that only allowed players to transfer once without penalty after leaving UMass for Portland. She ended up leaving the school midway through the campaign to sign with the Inner West Bulls in Australia’s NBL1, a semi-pro league.

Coaches

Shea Ralph — Vanderbilt

The Commodores took a major step forward in Ralph’s third season, reaching the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 2014 and winning their first March Madness game since 2013. Vanderbilt started 17-1 — during which it handed Fairfield its lone loss of regular season and only dropped a tight 70-62 decision to NC State, who ultimately made the Final Four.

That proved to be enough to get the Commodores in the field of 68 despite a 9-7 record in SEC pla. As a 12-seed, Vanderbilt beat Columbia in a first four matchup before falling to 5-seed Baylor in the first round.

Aga Makurat, sister of former UConn guard Anna Makurat, played in 33 games (including three starts).

Next season, the Commodores will add their top recruit under Ralph: Mikayla Blakes, a McDonald’s All-American guard out of New Jersey ranked as the No. 8 player in the class of 2024 by ESPN.

Carla Berube — Princeton

For the third time in as many years at Princeton, Berube guided the Tigers to the Ivy League regular season and tournament championship as well as an NCAA Tournament appearance. They went 25-5 overall and dropped just a single game in conference play.

Princeton earned a 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament but fell to 8-seed West Virginia in the first round.

Tamika Williams-Jeter — Dayton

Dayton opened the season against UConn, where it fell 102-58. While the Flyers finished just 12-18 on the year, that still represented a five-win improvement from Williams-Jeter’s first campaign. In December, they traveled to Vanderbilt for a battle between two former Huskies, which Ralph won 70-63.

After finishing the regular season on a 2-6 skid, Dayton recovered to earn a victory in the A10 Tournament before falling to URI in the second round.

Marisa Moseley — Wisconsin

While the rebuild has been slow for Moseley at Wisconsin, the program took important steps forward in her third season. The Badgers won four more games than the year prior and made the WNIT — the program’s first postseason appearance since 2011. They beat Southern Indiana and Illinois State in the first two rounds before falling to Saint Louis in the Great Eight.

Overall, Wisconsin finished with a 15-17 record — a major improvement from the 8-21 mark in Moseley’s first campaign at the helm. The Badgers haven’t ended a season over .500 since 2010-11. That could change soon if they continue on their upward trajectory.

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