The Huskies’ 2024-25 campaign ended on a high note. They beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 82–59. As they returned to the pinnacle of women’s basketball, it only set the bar so much higher for Geno Auriemma’s next campaign. It also meant facing a fresh set of challenges that weren’t on the table last year. Why? The Huskies’ roster looks starkly different between last season and this season. Thus, keeping that in mind, the head coach handed his college team a subtle reality check, despite their jaw-dropping 105–39 win in an exhibition game against Southern Connecticut.

“It’s gonna be a lot of learning, with five new players. There’s a lot of exciting things that are ahead of us, and I want to try to enjoy them.” UCTV Sports’ Avery Becker posted on X, quoting Geno Auriemma.

Well, one of the most significant changes for the Huskies heading into the new season is a roster makeover. UConn bid goodbye to Paige Bueckers, Aubrey Griffin, and Kaitlyn Chen, all of whom moved on to the WNBA, while sophomore guard Qadence Samuels entered the transfer portal.

Even with those departures, the Huskies are still shaping up to be a powerhouse after their 2025 national championship run, thanks to their talented new group. Among the key newcomers, Geno Auriemma will surely be counting on Serah Williams, Blanca Quinonez, Gandy Malou-Mamel, Kellis Fisher, and Kayleigh Heckel.

Fisher and Malou-Mamel can play significant minutes right away, and with Williams coming through (after a 19.2-point season at Wisconsin), expect UConn to showcase similar dominance in the conference again, the invincible kind. Heckel, who averaged 6.1 points in just under 17 minutes per game for a USC team that went 31-4, is also capable enough to lend a helping hand to the Huskies.

So yes, despite missing a few big names, Geno Auriemma and Co. seemed to have stacked up enough talent to keep them going. Plus, a starting five of Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd, KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, and Jana El Alfy is good enough to put on a show if you ask me. However, there’s another challenge, a fresh one, that the UConn side is currently working through…

Geno Auriemma will have expectations from Azzi Fudd’s leadership

The new faces undeniably bring a lot of promise to this UConn team, but even so, replacing someone like Paige Bueckers won’t be easy. Losing her production of 19.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game is a massive blow. Although the Huskies have their next big star ready to take the reins, stepping onto the court and leading a pack of players is anything but easy!

“I gotta tell you, I’ve never seen Azzi this aggressive, this engaged in wanting to do a lot, and that’s probably stood out more than anything else,” Auriemma said of Fudd back in June. “Her personality is such that she likes being in the background to somebody else, whoever that may be. She likes when there’s a lot of other good players on the team… but what happened in the Final Four I think may have changed her.”

Fudd, who earned Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, finally enjoyed a healthy season. She played a career-high 34 games, missing only a handful because of a minor knee sprain… She came alive during UConn’s title run, averaging 17.5 points in the NCAA Tournament!

The youngster has echoed nothing but positivity since the Big East Media Day, when she said she felt “the healthiest I’ve been since I’ve been at UConn.” She now needs to channel her energy in the right direction and not lose the fun of playing the game under the pressure of winning another NCAA title.

After two comprehensive wins over Boston College and Southern Connecticut, in which Fudd scored 20 and 21 points, respectively, the UConn side shows nothing but confidence ahead of its season opener against #20 Louisville on Tuesday at 5:30 pm.