University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Picked to Win BIG EAST; Huskies Earn Preseason League Honors
10/1/2026 8:31:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK – Junior Sarah Strong was unanimously named the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, and the Huskies were selected as the preseason favorites to headline the team's 2026-27 preseason conference honors. The BIG EAST Preseason Poll and preseason individual honors were announced Thursday ahead of BIG EAST Media Day in New York City.
Senior KK Arnold and sophomore Blanca Quiñonez were unanimously selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team while Olivia Vukosa was unanimously named the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. Senior Ashlynn Shade was named Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
The Huskies picked up 10 first-place votes in the preseason poll. UConn won both the regular season and tournament titles in 2025-26, going 20-0 in BIG EAST play en route to the program's record 25th NCAA Final Four appearance. The Huskies have won 25 BIG EAST regular season titles and 24 BIG EAST Tournament titles and have won both championships in each season since rejoining the league in 2020.
Strong is coming off an incredible sophomore season, when she was named the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Wade Trophy AP Player of the Year and USBWA Player of the Year winner. A consensus All-American, Strong was the BIG EAST's 2025-26 Player and Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the BIG EAS T Tournament Most Outstanding Player, All-BIG EAST First Team and All-Defensive Team. She led the team in points, rebounds, blocks and steals as a sophomore.
Arnold led the Huskies with 4.6 assists per game while averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 steals per game last season. She earned All-BIG EAST First Team, BIG EAST All-Defensive Team and BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honors as a junior. Arnold set the single-season program record with a 4.05 assist-turnover ratio.
Quiñonez had a breakout freshman season with the Huskies as she was named the BIG EAST Freshman and Sixth Woman of the Year. She averaged 10.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game last season. Quiñonez also earned All-BIG EAST Second Team and NCAA Fort Worth All-Region Team honors.
Vukosa is ESPN's No. 2-ranked recruit in the 2026 freshman class. She was named the 2025-26 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year and a McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-American. Vukosa averaged 17.8 points, 18.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.4 blocks per game as a senior at Christ the King. She also represented Croatia at the 2026 FIBA U18 EuroBasket after making her Senior National Team debut in March.
Shade was named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention last season after averaging 7.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. She was the league's 2025 Sixth Woman of the Year.
The Huskies return to the court against Syracuse in a preseason game on Monday, Oct. 12, in the Hall of Fame Series Exhibition at 6:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun.
