“I said what? [Sarah Strong] is three times better than she was? I don’t know. That’s a huge exaggeration. I think I must have been having gummies or something that day.”
UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma took the Big East Media Day podium on Thursday with a bemused self-awareness, walking back a remark he made in a social media video shared days earlier. It was helpful that Auriemma could display a sense of humor, given the bitter way last season ended. Not only did the Huskies lose to South Carolina at the Final Four, but Auriemma made things worse with his unsporting behavior, which included getting into a shouting match with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley and remaining stubbornly unapologetic in the postgame press conference.
Auriemma was rightly criticized in the media, both professional and social, and though he issued a statement of apology, the damage was done. Now, it’s up to Auriemma and his Huskies to officially turn the page and write a new chapter in Storrs. With Strong back in the fold, they have a chance to write a much happier ending.
The Huskies were once again the obvious, unanimous choice as No. 1 when the 2026-2027 Big East Preseason Poll dropped on Thursday. Strong was unanimously tapped as the league’s preseason Player of the Year. Freshman Olivia Vukosa was named preseason Freshman of the Year, and KK Arnold and Blanca Quiñonez were both on the All-Big East team.
The Huskies are undeniable preseason favorites. So, has the smog from last season’s ignominious exit dissipated?
When asked at Media Day how he navigated the offseason, Auriemma shared a postseason reflection. “There’s times when you go to the Final Four and you’re like, ‘If we just play, we just play, we’re going to win,’ and that was not the case this year,” he said. “We knew that, so when it happened, I just kind of resigned myself to ‘It happened.”
He continued through pursed lips, “It didn’t happen the other 38 games, or maybe it did happen, but the other team couldn’t take advantage of it. Whatever.”
The roster in Storrs looks different. Azzi Fudd went No. 1 overall to the Dallas Wings, joining Paige Bueckers. Serah Williams was drafted in the third round and subsequently traded to the Portland Fire. Ayanna Patterson and Ice Brady transferred, and Caroline Ducharme graduated. UConn is now joined by ESPN’s No. 3 recruit, 6-foot-5 freshman center Olivia Vukosa, plus two guards with pro experience overseas, Serbia’s Jovana Popovic and France’s Marine Dursus.
And still, all eyes are on Strong, the reigning National Player of the Year who is returning from a summer shutdown for Achilles and calf soreness rehab, The Huskies are scheduled for some challenging non-conference matchups, including Iowa, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Tennessee and LSU. “I mean, she was National Player of the Year, you know, and it’s pretty hard to get that much better,” Auriemma said. “But I think what we’ll see is a much more aggressive Sarah, much more intentional, much more understanding that I have to be more assertive every single day.”
Strong shared she’s settling into her role as an upperclassman tone-setter, focusing on “voicing what I think and not really caring if I hurt people’s feelings. They know I want the best for them and they want the best for themselves.”
The question for the Huskies is how they’ll use the tools they’ve been equipped with to reclaim their standing. “My team’s not very smart today, but they’ll get very smart soon,” Auriemma said. “We’re not very healthy today, we have a couple kids still finishing their rehab. But we’ll be healthy pretty soon and when the games begin I think we’ll be okay.”
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