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UConn's 2025 year in review: National champions, a number one pick and an undefeated start
The last calendar year treated the Huskies well.
Daniel Connolly
January 01, 2026
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Photo: Ian Bethune
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Last week’s Weekly
UConn's 2025 year in review: National champions, a number one pick and an undefeated start
2025 treated UConn well. The Huskies won their first national championship since 2016, Paige Bueckers went first overall in the WNBA Draft then won rookie of the year, and the current squad is 14 games into an undefeated campaign.
While a single calendar year features the second half of one season and the first half of another, New Year’s is still a good time to look back and reflect on all that’s happened in the last 12 months.
Top story
After nine years of heartbreak, injuries and questions about whether its dynasty was dead, UConn returned to the mountain top in emphatic fashion, winning its 12th national championship with one of the most dominant runs in the history of the sport.
At this time last year, the Huskies were still trying to put all their pieces together. They dropped their first two tests against No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 7 USC before faltering in similar fashion at No. 19 Tennessee. They didn’t look like real contenders.
Then came South Carolina. On Feb. 4, UConn traveled to Columbia and blasted the defending national champions with an 87-58 win.
“This is in them,” Geno Auriemma said about his team afterwards. “Can it come out every day? I don't know. But now we know it's in them.”
After that, the Huskies became world-beaters. They closed out the regular season without trouble, flew through the Big East Tournament and scorched their way to banner No. 12. They dispatched Arkansas State and South Dakota State in the first two rounds at Gampel Pavilion, battled past Oklahoma and USC in the Spokane Regionals then destroyed both UCLA and South Carolina in the Final Four.
Along the way, UConn became the first team ever to beat three No. 1 seeds, traveled further during the NCAA Tournament than any previous national champion and still recorded the second-highest margin of victory in Final Four history. The Huskies didn’t just snap their title drought — they reminded everyone they still run the sport.
Best moment
With 1:32 left in the national championship game, Paige Bueckers exited the floor for the final time in her UConn career and Geno Auriemma greeted her in front of the bench with his arms stretched wide. Bueckers buried her head into his shoulder and let the emotions pour out as Auriemma told her he loved her.
It was the perfect ending to Bueckers’ career and became the defining image of the Huskies’ championship.
Best play
Is this even a question? It’s the elevator screen leading to an Azzi Fudd 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter after USC cut the lead down to five in the Elite Eight.
Best assist
If not for the elevator screen, this pass by Sarah Strong might well have taken play of the year.
Best game
While UConn’s two Final Four games didn’t feature much in the way of drama, that wasn’t the case during the regionals — particularly the Sweet Sixteen.
The Huskies trailed 8-0 early and then went into halftime down by four. In the locker room, Bueckers told her team they weren’t losing and out-scored the Sooners 29-26 in the second half en route to a 40-point — the most by a player in UConn’s NCAA Tournament history.
“That was ridiculous,” Caroline Ducharme said about Bueckers.
“Unreal,” Kaitlyn Chen said.
“She was on fire,” Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said.
“That was as good a game as I've seen her play the whole time she's been here — at the most important time,” Auriemma added.
UConn came out on top, 82-59.
Best loss
In the history of women’s college basketball, 10 teams have gone undefeated. UConn is responsible for six of those, representing half its national championships. The Huskies are always chasing perfection.
But sometimes, a loss can be good — just ask last year’s team. If UConn didn’t fall to Tennessee in early February, it wouldn’t have won the national championship two months later.
For much of the 2024-25 season, the Huskies were a team in flux. While they brought Bueckers back from the previous campaign, everyone else was either new to the program, coming off a season-ending injury or in a new role.
That all came to a head on Feb. 6 when UConn traveled to Tennessee. The Huskies went 5-20 from three, 19-35 on layups and melted in the biggest moments in an 80-76 defeat. They erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the game with 2:07 remaining, only to get out-scored 6-2 the rest of the way.
The loss proved to be the wake-up call that UConn needed. After that, a switch flipped in the team and they haven’t lost since.
Forgotten headline
“I thought [Bueckers] had a horrible game. I don’t care about how many assists she had. There was a lack of aggressiveness in hunting down shots and taking the shots that were available,” Auriemma said. “I’m used to my best players hunting down shots in big games and wanting to touch the ball every possession and wanting to attack every possession.”
Best team performance
UConn entered the Final Four as the favorite to win it all, though first it had to go through No. 1 overall seed UCLA. The Bruins were in the midst of their best season in program history and arrived in Tampa with just two losses — both of which came at the hands of cross-town rival USC. They featured a matchup nightmare in 6-7 Lauren Betts along with a strong surrounding cast of veterans.
None of it mattered. The Huskies curb-stomped UCLA 85-51 — the largest margin of victory in Final Four history. They led by 10 points after the first quarter and were up 20 by the half. Azzi Fudd put up more points than the Bruins in the second period.
It was a nearly flawless performance.
“I don't think we made a mistake the entire evening,” Geno Auriemma said afterwards.
Favorite story
Five predictions for the new year
Sarah Strong records the sixth triple-double in program history
For all UConn’s success over the last 40 years, only six players have recorded triple-doubles in the history of the program: Laura Lishness (3/5/89 vs. Providence), Stef Dolson (11/20/13 vs. Oregon), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (3/25/14 vs. St. Joseph’s), Kiah Stokes (1/28/15 vs. East Carolina) and Gabby Williams (1/24/17 vs. East Carolina).
Sarah Strong is well-equipped to change that. She stuffs the stat sheet on a nightly basis and has come close on a few occasions already — 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists vs. Louisville; 29 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists vs. Ohio State; 16 points, 20 rebounds, six assists vs. Michigan; 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds vs. Xavier; 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds vs. Butler.
Strong typically doesn’t play enough minutes against bad teams to pile up the necessary stats but at some point, that’s bound to change.
Caroline Ducharme has one last clutch moment
While she’s currently out with a shoulder injury and hasn’t looked great when healthy anyways, Ducharme still has one big moment left in her. Throughout her UConn career, she’s had a knack for coming up in the clutch, whether it be with a game-winner at DePaul as a freshman or a 10-point fourth quarter to help erase an 11-point deficit to Creighton at home.
The Huskies have no shortage of options but at some point, Auriemma will turn to Ducharme in a crucial moment — and she’ll deliver.
“That doesn't mean I would hesitate to put her in any situation,” Auriemma said on his radio show last month.
UConn goes back-to-back and captures its 13th national championship
Is this a prediction or just playing the odds? The Huskies are far and wide the best team in the nation, featuring a roster with both high-end talent in Strong and Fudd along with a glut of quality depth. They have yet to trail after the second quarter and only one team has kept within single-digits.
The only way this season ends without a national title is if UConn beats itself — just as it did in 2017 and 2018.
Azzi Fudd gets taken with the second pick in the WNBA Draft
While Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings own the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, they’ll take a big — either Awa Fam or Lauren Betts — leaving Fudd for the Minnesota Lynx. While the decision will cause a meltdown on social media, Fudd will benefit from playing under Cheryl Reeve and will form a 1-2 punch with fellow former Husky Napheesa Collier.
UConn doesn’t make an addition in the transfer portal
While the current season isn’t even halfway done, let’s look ahead to the offseason quickly. UConn will lose Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Sarah Strong to graduation, then will add Olivia Vukosa and Jovana Popovic as freshman. The Huskies currently have one spot open on the roster next year.
Even though they could use a post player and another scoring guard, UConn won’t find anything it likes in the portal and will pass on making another addition.
High praise:
Is this good?
Geno was feeling himself on the way to Butler:
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