University of Connecticut Athletics
Paige Bueckers Named NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 Finalist
10/22/2025 3:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
INDIANPOLIS – UConn women's basketball alumna Paige Bueckers was selected as one of 30 finalists for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year award, as announced by the Woman of the Year Selection Committee Wednesday.
Graduating with a degree in Human Development and Family Sciences with a cumulative 3.49 GPA, Bueckers has made an impact both on and off the court as a Husky. During her time at UConn, she volunteered at the Connecticut Children's Hospital where she spent time with patients in-person and virtually while participating in the hospital's social media based fundraising campaigns.
Bueckers also provided funding and support for free grocery stores at Hopkins West Junior High School and UConn's Storrs Campus from 2022-25 and had a downtown Minneapolis pop-up during '22 NCAA Final Four Weekend. She was an active member of UConn's head coach Geno Auriemma's charity events – Geno's for the Kids Charity Dinner and Golf Tournament. Bueckers was the 2024 BIG EAST Scholar Athlete of the Year and a 2024 CSC First Team Academic All-American.
On the court, Bueckers, part of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Champion Team, was nothing shy of incredible for UConn. In 2025, she was the Wade Trophy recipient, Honda Sport Award winner, Nancy Lieberman National Point Guard of the Year. She was also a 2025 WBCA, AP, USBWA and Wooden Award First Team All-American. She is the first ever three-time BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the fourth player in league history to be named Player of the Year three times.Â
Bueckers was selected No. 1 in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings and went on to win the league's Rookie of the Year, WNBA All-Star and All-WNBA Second Team honors.
Established in 1991, the award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.Â
Selected from a record-breaking 631 nominees submitted by member schools — a group that was then narrowed to 167 nominees at the conference level — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees competed in a total of 14 NCAA championship sports and two NCAA Emerging Sports for Women.Â
The selection committee will determine three honorees from each NCAA division, for a total of nine finalists. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year.
At the NCAA Convention in January, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named, and the Top 30 will be celebrated.
