UConn signs 2025 recruits Kelis Fisher and Gandy Malou-Mamel

On Thursday, UConn women’s basketball announced the signing of two players in its 2025 recruiting class: Guard Kelis Fisher and center Gandy Malou-Mamel.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good mix of athletes coming in,” Geno Auriemma said in a release. “It was a pleasure recruiting them because they want to come to here. That means the world, that they want to come to UConn. We’re excited about them joining the program.”

The Huskies have a third 2025 commit: Blanca Quiñonez, a wing from Ecuador who is currently playing in Italy. She chose UConn last month but has not signed a letter of intent yet.

Fisher is a 5-9 guard out of Baltimore, Maryland who currently plays at IMG Academy in Florida. Rated by ESPN as the No. 27 player in the class, she was named to the Naismith Trophy’s Girls’ High School Player of the Year watchlist on Wednesday. Fisher committed to UConn as a sophomore in January 2023.

Since then, she participated in USA Basketball’s junior national team minicamp this past April and also got an invite to Overtime Select — an event for the nation’s top recruits — in September, where she put up 31 points and 11 rebounds in the semis to help her team to the championship game.

“Kelis is an athletic guard that can have an impact on the game at both ends of the court,” Auriemma said. “I think she can be a tremendous defender. Kelis plays at IMG, which has allowed her to play against some great competition. She’s improved every year that she’s been there.”

As for Malou-Mamel, she’s listed at 6-6 out of Limerick, Ireland, though she currently plays at Gill St. Bernard’s in New Jersey. She first started with basketball at age 12 and came to live in the United States with a host family during high school. While she wasn’t ranked when committed to UConn in the summer of 2023, she has since moved up to No. 73.

In her first season at Gill St. Bernard’s, Malou-Mamel averaged 7.5 points and 6.9 rebounds. This past year, those numbers increased to 16.6 points and 9.6 rebounds. Given the late start to her career and progress she’s made in a short time, the Huskies are banking on her upside.

“Gandy is in some ways raw, but she has a couple characteristics that are really valuable,” Auriemma said. “She runs the floor great, and she wants to play defense and rebound the ball. We certainly could use another big post presence, and she’ll be a great compliment to the bigs we have on the roster now.”

Malou-Mamel will be the first Irish player in UConn’s history.

Looking ahead to next season, the Huskies are set to have 14 players on the roster, leaving one scholarship open. After Lara Somfai picked Stanford over UConn, Auriemma and his staff have one remaining target for 2025: Agot Makeer, the No. 4 player in the class.