NEW YORK – Standout UConn redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers was voted BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year for the second-straight year, the league announced Wednesday. Fellow Husky Sarah Strong was selected BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year.
In addition to the major awards, a 10-member Preseason All-BIG EAST Team was named, along with three Honorable Mention selections. Preseason major awards and all-league honors are chosen by the BIG EAST’s head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their players.
Bueckers enters her senior year as one of the top players in the country with a decorated career so far at UConn. Last season, Bueckers was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She received a spot on the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four All-Tournament team and was selected as the Portland 3 Region’s Most Outstanding Player. The guard also earned 2024 WBCA, AP, USBWA, and Wooden Award First Team All-American laurels. Bueckers led the Huskies with 21.9 points per game and finished second in rebounds (5.2 rpg). Bueckers was one of the most efficient guards in the nation – with a .530/.416/.834 shooting split. She scored double figures in 38 games with 27 being 20+ point performances. Bueckers scored her 1,000th-career point in her 55th career game to tie alumna Maya Moore as the fastest Husky to reach the milestone. Her 1,593 points rank second all-time in the BIG EAST record book, behind Villanova alum Maddy Siegrist (1,693).
Strong, a 6-2 freshman forward from North Carolina, enters her rookie season as the No. 1 ranked recruit in ESPNW’s Class of 2024. Strong, the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year, led Grace Christian to three NCISAA state titles. She was named a 2024 McDonald’s, Naismith, SLAM, and Jordan Brand All-American. She also earned 2023 and ’24 North Carolina Miss Basketball and Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year honors. Strong collected her third consecutive gold medal at the 2024 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup as she was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Strong is UConn’s fifth straight BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year following KK Arnold (2023), Ayanna Patterson (2022), Azzi Fudd (2021), and Bueckers (2020).
The Huskies led the conference with three Preseason All-BIG EAST Team selections – sophomore KK Arnold, redshirt junior Azzi Fudd, and sophomore Ashlynn Shade. Arnold, a 2023-24 BIG EAST All-Freshman team honoree, played in all 39 games averaging 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.3 steals. She was a six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week as she led the team in steals (90) and scored double digits in 19 games. Fudd returns to UConn after suffering an ACL injury last season. She averaged 11.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two games. Shade, the reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, averaged 11.0 points over 38 games last season. The sophomore earned freshman of the week five times as she reached double figures in 21 games.
Creighton placed two players on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team in seniors Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly. Jensen and Maly each earned an All-BIG EAST First Team nod in 2023-24 and 2022-23. Jensen led the team with a 17.4 scoring average, to go with 98 assists and 27 steals. Maly posted a team-leading 209 rebounds and ranked third with 486 points. Providence also had two players on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team with senior Olivia Olsen and graduate student Grace Efosa earning preseason recognition. Olsen recorded double digits in scoring a team-leading 27 times, including 15 of 18 conference games. The senior led the Friars in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), blocked shots (1.7 bpg), and field-goal percentage (.526). Efosa missed 11 games last season due to an injury but returned in January. She ended last season ranked second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) and added 1.4 steals and 1.4 assists per game. Efosa averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals during BIG EAST regular season play.
Butler, Georgetown, and St. John’s each had one designee on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Graduate student guard Caroline Strande is the top returning scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 15.1 points, good for 10th in the BIG EAST in 2023-24. Strande ranked second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.447) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.818). Graduate student guard Kelsey Ransom was named the 2023-24 BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year as she also led the Hoyas in scoring (14.1 ppg). She finished the year with 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 35 appearances. Ransom earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors and a spot on the league’s All-Tournament team. St. John’s graduate student guard Ber’Nyah Mayo became the first player since the program’s all-time leading scorer Aliyyah Handford (2015-16) to record at least 300 points, 100 assists, 100 rebounds, and 50 steals in a single season in 2023-24. Mayo finished in the conference’s top 10 last year in assists per game (3.5) and steals per game (1.7).
Three players received Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mentions– UConn graduate student Kaitlyn Chen, DePaul graduate student Jorie Allen and Seton Hall sophomore Savannah Catalon. Chen joins the Huskies after four years at Princeton where she compiled 1,276 points, 313 rebounds and 359 assists. Allen finished last year with a career-best 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game – good for second on the team. Catalon made 31 appearances in her rookie season and finished third in the BIG EAST with a .866 free-throw percentage.
BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year – Paige Bueckers, UConn, R-Sr., G
BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year – Sarah Strong, UConn, Fr., F
BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Caroline Strande, Butler, Gr., G
KK Arnold, UConn, So., G
Azzi Fudd, UConn, R-Jr., G
Ashlynn Shade, UConn, So., G
Lauren Jensen, Creighton, Sr., G
Morgan Maly, Creighton, Sr., G/F
Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown, Gr., G
Olivia Olsen, Providence, Sr., F
Grace Efosa, Providence, Gr., G
Ber’Nyah Mayo, St. John’s, Gr., G
Honorable Mention
Kaitlyn Chen, UConn, Gr., G
Jorie Allen, DePaul, Gr., F
Savannah Catalon, Seton Hall, So., G