UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers, as relayed by head coach Geno Auriemma, had made it clear entering the 2024-25 women's college basketball season that it was national championship or bust. She's been a star and the face of the program for years now, but, unlike Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and the many greats before her, she was missing a title to her credit.
She's not missing it any more.
On Sunday, Bueckers and UConn didn't just beat South Carolina to win their first national championship since 2016 — they dominated from start to finish, ultimately consistently pulling away for one of the biggest blowouts in the history of the women's title game. It's an exclamation point on Bueckers' career but now she and several others are heading somewhere other than the Huskies next season.
One player who will be returning, perhaps surprisingly, is star guard Azzi Fudd. Fudd already announced that, after injuries have plagued her career in Storrs, that she plans to return for the 2025-26 season to really hone her craft before making the leap to the WNBA. That will be huge for Geno Auriemma and Co., especially with a core of Fudd and Sarah Strong to lean on.
These players, however, won't be joining UConn in that fight next season.
3. G Kaitlyn Chen
Kaitlyn Chen spent the first three years of her college career as a star at Princeton, including averaging an impressive 15.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game as a junior for the Tigers in the 2023-24 season. However, she then looked to increase her exposure and chances as a title, using her final year of eligibility to enter the transfer portal and make her way to the Huskies.
With the talent on the floor at UConn, Chen obviously didn't have to play as sizable of a role in her senior campaign but she was a consistent force in the Huskies backcourt, playing 23.5 minutes per game in all 39 contests for Auriemma's team. She also produced well in that action, averaging 7.1 points, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 rebounds on 52.7/36.7/84.2 percent shooting splits.
Fudd returning along with Ashlynn Shade, KK Arnold and even someone like Morgan Cheli should serve UConn's backcourt well moving forward, but it's hard to argue with the notion that Chen's presence and added depth in the backcourt this season helped propel the Huskies to such a storybook end to the Princeton transfer's career.
2. G/F Aubrey Griffin
Unfortunately, so much of Aubrey Griffin's time in Storrs was marred by injuries since she arrived in 2019. That was the case last year as well as the wing suffered a torn ACL that ended the 2023-24 campaign for the veteran, but did allow her to eventually return for the 2024-25 season as she made her debut in January. Though injuries cropped up again, specifically in the Big East Tournament where she was held out of action, she ultimately returned, albeit to a smaller role.
All told, in her final season, Griffin appeared in 15 games but played only 11.8 minutes per game. However, she was productive in that limited time on the floor, still putting up 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Given that Griffin's availability was in question and her role was ultimately diminished, the on-court loss of her talents going into the 2025-26 season won't be hugely detrimental for UConn. At the same time, it's always notable whenever a veteran presence like that leaves the locker room, which is certainly the case in this instance.
1. G Paige Bueckers
Paige Bueckers, of course, is the biggest loss that the UConn Huskies are going to have to endure coming of of this national championship run. While her career was also marred by injuries, she was determined not to leave Storrs as an outlier among the program's many all-time greats in not having won a title. Mission accomplished and a storied career now complete.
Though she certainly had help throughout the tournament, including a monster game from Fudd in the finale, Bueckers was the leader of the Huskies throughout the season, topping UConn in scoring and assists, averaging 20 and 4.7, respectively, while also adding 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals and posting insanely efficient 53.9/42.4/88.2 percent shooting splits.
Given that Bueckers is likely going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, replacing her isn't going to be easy. Fudd and Strong should be the new go-to duo, of course, and Fudd specifically has the leadership to take the torch from Bueckers there. But it's just fitting to see someone of Bueckers' talent and accomplishments put a cherry on top of her career.