So far, it's Paige Bueckers, Kaitlyn Chen, then everyone else

Through UConn’s first few weeks of official practice, a hierarchy has begun to form among the team’s healthy players. There’s Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen, then everybody else.

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Bueckers leads the way. Not only is she the Huskies’ best player, she’ll be one of the top contenders for the national player of the year awards. Bueckers also had a healthy offseason for the first time in her career, which she used for the “work tour” as she called it. The results are already showing.

“She is better, she is more aggressive, more assertive,” Geno Auriemma said. “She is looking to do way more, to be more involved. I think she knows that we don't have Nika (Mühl) that provided a lot of that stuff, and she wants to fill that role as much as she can. So that's been good to see.”

Chen has started to find her footing after transferring from Princeton this offseason. The fifth-year guard has an impressive resume — 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year, two-time All-Ivy First Team selection, 2024 WBCA Honorable Mention All-American — but basketball is only part of the equation when adjusting to life at UConn.

“It's not an easy thing to walk in here not ever having played for us, but you played four years in basketball, and now you're not quite sure like, ‘How do I handle that? Do I act like a veteran, or am I a rookie?’” Auriemma said.

That transition took time. Chen used the summer and fall workouts to settle into her new surroundings and lead by example. Once she got comfortable, she started to speak up as well.

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