Women’s Basketball: Stewart’s 20-point double-double leads New York past title-favorite Aces, has Liberty in first place in the east with five games left in the regular season.
On Monday, Brianna Stewart, arguably the greatest ever UConn Husky, tallied 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the New York Liberty (28-7) past the Las Vegas Aces (30-6) in a clash between two first-place teams. Stewart is averaging a career-high 23 points per game, 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in her first season in New York, and finds herself in a neck-and-neck MVP race with A’ja Wilson of the Aces. Stewart is no stranger to winning; she won four national championships in as many years at UConn, and is looking for her third league championship in year seven in the pros.
NFL: Fatukasi, Peart, Jones and Van Demark are ready for the start of the 2023 season.
With the recent unofficial retirement by former Connecticut star Byron Jones, just four Huskies remain on NFL rosters going into the 2023 season. Jaguars defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones, Giants tackle Matt Peart and Bills tackle Ryan Van Demark will be representing UConn on the gridiron this season.
Folorunso Fatukasi (2013-2016)
The former UConn defensive tackle was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the New York Jets and recently inked a three-year deal worth $30 million by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fatukasi started 13 games this past season and recorded just 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Fatukasi is expected to start the year as the starting defensive tackle on Jacksonville’s depth chart.
Travis Jones (2018-2021)
Jones is the most recent Husky to be drafted into the NFL, with the Baltimore Ravens selecting him in the third round of last year’s draft. As a rookie, Jones played in 15 games this season and finished with 24 tackles and one sack. Jones is expected to begin the year as their second-string nose tackle on the depth chart.
Matt Peart (2015-2019)
Drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Peart has made just six starts in three years for the New York Giants. Peart played limited snaps this past season and didn’t make any starts. He is expected to be the second-string left tackle on the depth chart going into the season.
Ryan Van Demark (2018-2021)
Two years since his departure from Connecticut, tackle Van Demark made one of the final roster spots for the Buffalo Bills this offseason. Van Demark was one of the anchors of an offensive line that ran the ball effectively in his time at UConn and is now the most recent Husky to make a roster spot for the upcoming season. Van Demark is listed as the second-string left tackle for Buffalo this season, but he could get higher if he continues his recent surge.
