Last season, UConn looked to be on its way to a second straight national championship and the program’s seventh undefeated season. The Huskies entered the Final Four with a 38-0 record, winning all but one of those games by double-digits.

Then it all came crumbling down in an ugly national semifinal loss to South Carolina. With a few months to reflect on that defeat, Geno Auriemma believes it provided an important reminder: Nothing is guaranteed in the NCAA Tournament.

“I don't think anybody's had more fairytale seasons than we've had where you win every game, finish the season undefeated and win the national championship,” he said at the UConn Coaches Road Show on Wednesday. “It feels like a story that somebody wrote for a book or TV. What happens is you start to think and expect that, with each game that you win, ‘We're going to go undefeated, we're going to win a national championship,’ like it’s preordained. You have to be reminded sometimes that this stuff is really, really hard to do.”

Being humbled by the Gamecocks in Phoenix provided UConn with that reality check. Now, as the team begins its preparations for the 2026-27 campaign with summer workouts underway, Auriemma believes that experience will benefit the Huskies moving forward.

“I think my team is going to be way better prepared this year,” he said. “It's okay every once in a while to come up short. It's no disgrace, it's no embarrassment. It's another opportunity to learn.”

Entering the new season, UConn has some major question marks. It lacks a like-for-like replacement for Azzi Fudd. The low-post options are unproven. It needs someone to emerge as a viable sidekick for Sarah Strong.

Despite all that, Auriemma believes the Huskies will once again be among the top teams in the country when November rolls around.