Welcome to a new season of UConn women’s basketball and with it, another year of the UConn WBB Weekly. This is the publication’s seventh year and my 12th covering the team.

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Daniel Connolly, the publisher of the UConn WBB Weekly. Most of the bylines you’ll see here are mine. I began covering the Huskies in 2016 during Breanna Stewart’s senior season. Since then, I’ve covered plenty of lows (the back-to-back buzzer-beaters, the injury years), some fun highs (the 2025 national championship run) and everything in between (remember when Paige Bueckers slapped Geno’s ass?).

Covering UConn women’s basketball is my full-time job. I always tell people that I have no idea what I’d do for work if it wasn’t this. Seriously, not a clue. I don’t aspire to become a national reporter or move up to a “bigger” beat. I plan to be around UConn for as long as you’ll have me.

So I wanted to send a note to explain why this season will be the Weekly’s best yet.

When the Weekly launched back in 2020, my goal was to provide coverage of the Huskies that you couldn’t find anywhere else with unique stories, insights and analysis. I’ve always liked this quote from Jon Bois: “We’ve got to start thinking of the internet as something more than a glow-in-the-dark newspaper.”

Those have been guiding lights throughout my time as a beat writer. But admittedly, I got away from that last season. I felt myself going through the motions and writing largely boilerplate stories that you absolutely could have found elsewhere. Some of it was a product of (partially self-induced) writer’s block, which made putting even two words together feel impossible at times.

But I also came to realize that I had grown incredibly bored with my own coverage. Why would I want to write something if I’m not even interested in the topic myself?

So I set to out change that over the offseason. I spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted this platform to be and believe I answered that question. As a result, I could not be more excited for the season ahead.

So what should you expect from the Weekly this year? Actual stories you can’t find anywhere else — not just in theory, but in practice. Unique insights, perspectives, analysis and other coverage that won’t be in the newspapers.

To be clear, these won’t be hot takes or clickbait pieces. That’ll never be the case at the Weekly so long as I’m around. Anything opinion-driven will be backed up with clear arguments, statistics and relevant quotes. Some examples so far:

No two stories will be the same. Of course, there will still be plenty of reporting — why UConn believes this season will be Sarah Strong’s best one year — news, previews and all the other foundational coverage that’s important for keeping up with the Huskies over the course of the season. They just won’t be the only thing things.

I want the Weekly to make you think differently about UConn, see a different perspective or just have a better understanding of the team. This season, you won’t just read about what happened, but how and why it did.

If that sounds good, consider becoming a premium subscriber. The UConn WBB Weekly is entirely reader-supported. Every dollar spent is reinvested into our coverage. We’re not owned by a hedge fund or media conglomerate. Instead, we’re a local, independent business.

Even if you’re on the fence, get your first month of premium free to see if you like it. I’m confident you’ll want to stick around. But if you’re ready to make the plunge now, you can ensure you’ll get the best coverage of the Huskies for the next year for just $70.

Either way, thank you for being here. I can’t wait for it all to get started tonight.