At Big East Media Day on Tuesday, UConn women’s basketball dominated the league’s preseason honors. The Huskies topped the coaches’ poll, swept the preseason player and freshman of the year awards, then
landed four players on the all-preseason team.
UConn, which has won every regular season and tournament title since it re-joined the league ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, received all 10 first-place votes in the preseason poll. The Huskies have gone back-to-back seasons without losing a game in Big East play and have dropped just three conference matchups total over the last five years.
Sarah Strong brought home the preseason player of the year honors while Kelis Fisher received preseason freshman of the year. Azzi Fudd, Serah Williams, KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade were named to the Preseason All-Big East Team, with Fudd and Williams earning unanimous selections.
Strong earned the 2025 Big East Freshman of the Year award after one of the best inaugural campaigns in program history. She averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks while being named to the WBCA All-American team and Final Four All-Tournament Team. With Paige Bueckers off in the WNBA, Strong is expected to be UConn’s new go-to player.
“We probably saw most of what Sarah has to offer last year in the NCAA Tournament,” Geno Auriemma said during the preseason. “I think the impact is going to be pretty significant, even more so than last year.”
Meanwhile, Fisher is UConn’s top-ranked freshman, coming in at No. 25 in ESPN’s rankings. A graduate of IMG Academy in Florida, she projects to be the Huskies’ third-string point guard behind Arnold and Kayleigh Heckel with the potential to make an impact by pushing the pace offensively and being a disruptor on defense.
As for the all-preseason team picks, Fudd is coming off All-Big East First Team and Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors last year. Without Bueckers, UConn will count on Fudd to be the top backcourt option this season. Williams transferred in from Wisconsin over the offseason, where she was a three-time All-Big Ten First Team selection and 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. She impressed with 15 points on 5-7 shooting and five rebounds in just 17 minutes of action in an exhibition against Boston College on Oct. 13.
“Ever since we started practice two weeks ago, she’s gotten better and better every day,” Auriemma said about Williams postgame. “The more she plays with us — it’s not the easiest thing in the world to play one way for three years and then come in and be thrown into a scenario like ours — but I think she’s going to be a huge help to us. I don’t know how many minutes she played — 17 minutes. She’s probably gonna play a lot more in the future.”
Arnold and Shade are both established pieces for the Huskies as they enter their junior seasons. Shade won 2024 Big East Freshman of the Year and 2025 Big East Sixth Woman of the Year, averaging 9.3 points while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent from three to this point in her career. Arnold landed on the 2024 All-Big East Freshman Team and is in line to take over as UConn’s starting point guard this season.
Marquette finished second in the preseason poll while Seton Hall came in third and picked up Auriemma’s first-place vote (coaches can’t vote for their own team).
The Huskies open the regular season on Nov. 4 against Louisville while Big East play starts on Nov. 30 at Xavier. After using an 18-game conference schedule over the last few seasons, the league will return to a 20-game, double round robin slate this year.
