UConn’s Sarah Strong is the top freshman for women’s hoops—and a soon-to-be star

Before Sarah Strong had played a game for the UConn Huskies, coach Geno Auriemma raved over the summer, comparing Strong to the school’s first All-American, Kerry Bascom, as a positionless star. He raised eyebrows when he described Strong as a player who would change the trajectory of the UConn program and was “probably as impressive as any freshman we’ve had in a long, long time.”

Through the first six weeks of the season, Strong has lived up to the hype. Not only has she emerged as the comfortable front-runner in the freshman-of-the-year conversation, she’s quickly establishing herself as one of the best players in the country. She is averaging 17.3 points, fourth for the Huskies behind Paige Bueckers, along with a team-best 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.5 blocks. She does all that while shooting 56% from the field (including 76.9% at the rim) and sinking 36.5% of her 3-pointers. Her 23 triples are tied for most on the team.

JUMP TO: Ranking this season’s top five rookies

“I don’t know if you can put it into words,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly, who watched Strong score 29 points against his team Tuesday, including as many points as his entire roster in the third quarter (17). “She was so good. There are certain people, and Geno has had them over the years, I think the game looks really easy and it just makes you mad,” he said with a laugh.

After his college debut, Auriemma said Strong needed to play like an All-American for the Huskies to win their first national championship since 2016. Those expectations seemed lofty at the time, but within the realm of possibility now. Eleven games into her career, she is already drawing comparisons to program greats Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore.

“If we’re going to go anywhere with this team this year, (Strong) has to be a big, big part of it,” Auriemma said, “and she’s OK with that.”

Strong has been so steady and consistent, so rarely unfazed, that a reporter asked her after the Iowa State game if playing at the college level has been challenging at all for her (she assured the reporter that it has). When Bueckers was asked if anything scares Strong, he joked about something unrelated to basketball — playing Fortnite.

“I think I’ve adjusted pretty well,” Strong said. “In the first game I was really nervous and a bit excited to get it all going, but now I feel like I’m more confident in myself and my abilities.”

Greatness is found in Strong’s family history. Her mother, Allison Feaster, was a three-time Ivy League women’s basketball player of the year at Harvard. Feaster was the nation’s leading scorer when the then-16-seeded Crimson Tide scored a legendary upset of No. 1-seeded Stanford in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. As no. 5 draft pick that year, Feaster played 10 seasons in the WNBA and until 2016 internationally. She currently works for the Boston Celtics as the Vice President of Team Operations and Organizational Growth.

With both of her parents playing basketball overseas — her father, Danny Strong, also played at NC State — Strong was born in Spain and didn’t move to the United States until she was 10, settling in North Carolina. The Huskies were on Strong early in the recruiting process.

“The way she saw the floor, the way she finished around the basket,” Auriemma said of how Strong stood out. “Her fast-paced, laid-back approach to the game where all the big players have the ability to slow the game down a little bit.”

Strong took her time making her college decision — Duke and North Carolina were also in her top three — before announcing her commitment to the Huskies in April of her senior year.

It was an important addition for the Huskies ahead of Bueckers’ expected final season in Storrs, both toward their efforts to win now and to build for the future. UConn’s best teams, Auriemma has said, have had a three-pronged combination of a great guard, a great wing and a great interior presence. The 2024-25 edition has the contours of it with Bueckers, Azzi Fudd (who has sat out this season with knee issues) and Strong.

“She just wants to come in and contribute to winning, and you can see that in her game,” Bueckers said. “In games where she doesn’t score, she still has an impact to win, still makes plays, whether it’s rebounding, defense, she can pass extremely well. And then there are games where she has breakout scoring. She’s humble, she is hungry, she’s driven and she wants to be a great player.”

Bueckers has said Strong’s passing, shooting and ability to play on the perimeter make her more of a guard than other post players she has played with in Storrs. Bueckers has compared Strong’s quick hands to the “go go gadget arms” from “Inspector Gadget.”

“There aren’t many things that Sarah can’t do,” Bueckers said.

Over the last few weeks, Auriemma has seen an increasing comfort level in Strong wanting the ball more often and trying to make something happen with it. She will get her next chance to add to her growing profile Saturday when UConn hosts No. 7 USC and JuJu Watkins.

They’ve “barely, barely, barely” scratched the surface of where Strong is going, Auriemma said Sunday. And with each game, Strong shows she’s eager to take on that challenge.

“I think sometimes (the tradition and expectations at UConn) scares some kids,” Auriemma said Thursday. “They start to question whether they can, and yet at the same time it motivates some kids to actually say, ‘Yes, this is why I came here, because I can do this and I want to be one of the the people people talk about, that was a great player at UConn.’

“You’re never quite sure what you’re getting, but I thought we knew what we were getting when we got Sarah.”

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Ranking of the country’s best beginners

1. Sarah Strong, UConn, 6-2, forward

Strong is one of two freshmen ranked in the top 10 in scoring, rebounds and field goal percentage. She also stands out on the defensive end as the only freshman ranked in the top 10 in blocks and steals.

2. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt, 5-8, guard

In Shea Ralph’s revival of the Commodores, Blakes – the recruit’s no. 8 in the class – be the difference that helps them return to SEC and national relevance. Blakes’ 20.4 points per game ranks top 20 nationally and ranks first among freshmen, helping the Commodores to an 11-1 start. She has already earned at least a share of SEC freshman of the week honors three times.

3. Syla Swords, Michigan, 6-0, guard

The crown jewel of the Wolverines’ strong freshman class and the highest-ranked recruit in program history, Swords announced her arrival on the college scene in her debut when she posted 27 points and 12 rebounds against reigning national champion South Carolina. That’s still the most points scored by a rookie against a ranked team this season. The 2024 Canadian Olympian boasts three other 20-point games this season.

4. Kiyomi McMiller, Rutgers, 5-8, guard

The Scarlet Knights have been an afterthought in the Big Ten in recent years, but McMiller is a player people around the country will know sooner rather than later. Her team-high 20.0 points per game is tied for first place among freshmen with Blakes, but McMiller’s ball handling impresses early. A recent highlight when she pulled off an Allen Iverson-esque crossover spin move vs. Wagner, leading off a jumper, went the rounds online this past week.

5. Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State, 5-7, guard

Cambridge, no. 2 in the class, has made an immediate impact on the undefeated Buckeyes, scoring 31 points on 14 shots in his first game against Cleveland State. She fits perfectly in Ohio State’s press defense, averaging 2.6 steals, second most among freshmen, and is the Buckeyes’ top facilitator (4.4 APG). Ohio State has had an underwhelming non-conference slate, so all eyes will be on Cambridge as she faces tougher competition in the Big Ten.