NEW YORK – UConn women’s basketball‘s dominance in the Big East is set to continue in 2026-27.
At Thursday’s Big East Media Day in New York, the Huskies were not only selected as the conference’s preseason favorite for the seventh consecutive year but also swept the preseason individual awards for the fourth straight season.
Junior Sarah Strong was named the unanimous preseason Player of the Year and Olivia Vukosa was named the unanimous preseason Freshman of the Year. This is UConn’s sixth season since rejoining the Big East ahead of the 2020-21 season in which it has had both the preseason Player and Freshman of the Year. Strong was also the preseason Player of the Year last season.
In the past seven seasons, the only time the Huskies didn’t sweep the two awards was ahead of the 2022-23 season, when Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist was named the preseason Player of the Year (Paige Bueckers was out with an ACL injury).
Strong and Vukosa weren’t the only Huskies to pick up preseason Big East honors.
Senior point guard KK Arnold and sophomore forward Blanca Quiñonez were both unanimous selections to the preseason All-Big East Team, and senior guard Ashlynn Shade was named to the team’s honorable mention list.
Strong, the 2026 Big East Player and Defensive Player of the Year, begins her upperclassman campaign as the reigning National Player of the Year. The forward led UConn with 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game last season – all while managing nagging Achilles soreness. UConn shut Strong down this summer and kept the star out of basketball to help rehab her Achilles. Now that the Huskies have started practice and Strong is back on the court, Geno Auriemma said, “She’s working way harder than she’s ever worked. You can see the difference in practice now.”
Vukosa comes to Storrs with high expectations as the No. 2-ranked recruit in the Class of 2026. The 6-foot-4 center was the national Gatorade Player of the Year and led Croatia in this summer’s FIBA Under-18 EuroBasket. Vukosa is expected to immediately boost the Huskies’ frontcourt, especially with her 3-point shot.
Arnold begins her final season in Storrs after taking over as the Huskies’ lead floor general last season. Not only has her leadership grown, but so has her defense. Arnold led UConn with 4.6 assists per game and was second, behind Strong, with 2.7 steals per contest. She also finished second in the nation with a 4.05 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Quiñonez was named the Big East Freshman of the Year and the Big East Sixth Woman of the Year last season. The forward impressed in her debut season with her athleticism, fearlessness and deep skill set. This year, she’s expected to slide into an even bigger role as the Huskies’ No. 2 offensive threat, especially since she’ll be healthy. In May, Quiñonez underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum after it had sidelined her throughout last season.
Shade also begins her final year with the Huskies. While the guard’s scoring production has dropped over the last two seasons, her defense and her rebounding have increased. Shade is UConn’s best rebounding guard (3.5 per game last season) and one of its most effective defenders.
The Big East coaches again voted UConn as the conference’s preseason favorite this year. Auriemma voted for Villanova (coaches cannot vote for their own program), which finished second in the league last season behind UConn with a 16-4 conference record.
Since rejoining the Big East, the Huskies have lost just three conference games: Villanova in 2022 and Marquette and St. John’s in 2023. Heading into this season, UConn has won a program-record 70 straight Big East games – a streak dating back to Feb. 21, 2023.
The Huskies won their sixth straight Big East regular-season and tournament titles last season. Including its previous stint in the conference, UConn has won a total of 25 Big East regular-season titles and 24 Big East Tournament titles. The last time the Huskies lost a conference tournament game was in 2013, when it fell to Notre Dame in the championship game.
UConn begins the 2026-27 season on Nov. 2, hosting Cornell in Hartford. The Huskies’ first Big East game this year is on Nov. 20 against Seton Hall, also in Hartford.
2026-27 Big East preseason coaches poll
- UConn
- Villanova
- Creighton
- St. John’s
- Seton Hall
- Marquette
- Providence
- Georgetown
- Xavier
- Butler
- DePaul
2026-27 Big East preseason All-Big East Team
KK Arnold – UConn
Blanca Quiñonez – UConn
Neleigh Gessert – Creighton
Ava Zediker – Creighton
Halle Vice – Marquette
Brooke Moore – St. John’s
Sa’Mya Wyatt – St. John’s
Savannah Catalon – Seton Hall
Jasmine Bascoe – Villanova
Kennedy Henery – Villanova
Honorable mention
Ashlynn Shade – UConn
Orlagh Gormley – Providence
Meri Kanerva – Xavier
This article originally published at UConn women’s basketball tops Big East preseason poll, Sarah Strong is Player of the Year.