For a collegiate basketball team, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a star-studded player on your roster. However, for head coach Geno Auriemma and his UConn women’s basketball program, this seems to happen habitually, almost every season.
From Maya Moore to Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird to Paige Bueckers, the Connecticut Huskies are known across the world for generating legends in women’s college basketball, the WNBA and beyond.
After notching their 12th championship this past spring, the Huskies lost Bueckers to the Dallas Wings of the WNBA, although the squad still has Sarah Strong on its roster.
As a freshman, Strong earned Big East Freshman of the Week 10 times and earned Big East Player of the Week three times. All while starting in every single game and leading the team in blocks, steals and rebounds.
With a stat line like that, Strong has been compared to UConn legend Moore.
Now, as she enters her sophomore campaign, she’s expected to make even bigger waves and enter a new leadership position. As of Oct. 21, Strong was named an AP preseason All-American, as well as the preseason Big East Player of the Year.
“We’ve only had a few sophomores be preseason All-American and close to like preseason National Player of the Year, so that puts her in a whole ‘nother level,” Auriemma said to the media at Big East Media Day on Tuesday, “I would say they’re not a lot of people that have been, but how good a player like that is really gonna have to depend on how good the rest of the team plays.”
With the exit of Bueckers, many wondered who would fill the void of a player with such magnitude. Some would assume Strong, but to the 6-foot-2 forward, it’s not just about her; it’s about the entire team.
“I want to say, I feel like it’s more of a team thing. I feel very confident in the abilities of what my team can do,” Strong said at Big East Media Day.
Now, entering the 2025-26 season, Strong looks like she has completely evolved into a different player.
“I feel like I’m obviously more comfortable with my teammates in my role on the team,” the North Carolina native said, “Also, I can give emphasis on trying to be a leader in any way that I can do.”
From her leadership skills, her press conference skills and her skills on the hardwood, Strong has been looking to improve them all.
“Pretty much every huddle she’s in, she’s doing the talking,” Auriemma noticed after the program’s recent exhibition win over Boston College.
With a new season brings new teammates and after this exhibition game, Strong and her teammate Serah Williams, who transferred to UConn from Wisconsin, have proven they might be the new dynamic duo.
“Playing with Serah is really fun, she’s a great player,” Strong said after the exhibition game.
Now, even the new season does not take away from the kind of player Strong is.
“She’s incredible,” Alex Karaban, a member of the UConn men’s basketball program, said, “I mean to do what she did as a freshman last year, and the game that she has, she’s really a matchup nightmare for anybody.”
With games against Notre Dame and Tennessee circled on the program’s calendar as the look to notch National Championship No. 13, players like Strong will be relied upon heavily throughout this season.
“I mean, there’s so many things about her that are impression, but one is just how poised she is. I mean, even from her freshman year, she was even every game.” Azzi Fudd said when asked about Strong at Big East Media Day, “She handles things tremendously well.”
If Husky fans want to see Strong in action again in the Basketball Capital of the World, the Huskies will return to the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Sunday, Oct. 26 with a tip-off time scheduled for 1 p.m.
“Just have fun while we’re doing it,” Strong said on what the program’s goal as they make the trek to March Madness, “And just have fun doing it together.”