UConn lands USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel

UConn’s 2025-26 roster is complete. On Tuesday, the Huskies landed USC transfer guard Kayleigh Heckel to fill the 15th and final available scholarship on the roster.

This is the second straight year that UConn has dipped into the backcourt to shore up its ball-handling depth. After bringing in Kaitlyn Chen from Princeton last offseason, the Huskies reeled in the Port Chester, New York native. She’ll be a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining.

The No. 13 player in the class of 2024, Heckel spent her freshman season with the USC Trojans, averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 16.9 minutes per game.

She’ll slot in as UConn’s backup point guard behind KK Arnold and will provide some much-needed ball-handling. Without Heckel, the Huskies would’ve needed to rely on Azzi Fudd, Morgan Cheli and Kelis Fisher — none of whom are true floor generals — to spell Arnold, which would’ve left them vulnerable if anything happened to the rising junior.

Out of high school, UConn wasn’t a major player for Heckel. Instead, her finalists were Alabama, Stanford, Tennessee and USC. Despite that, she’ll now return to the East Coast to join the Huskies.

Prior to this offseason, UConn’s last four transfers had all been graduates: Chen, Lopez Sénéchal, Juhász and Evelyn Adebayo. Now, the Huskies have landed a pair of undergrads in Heckel and rising senior Serah Williams out of Wisconsin.