Paige Bueckers, a redshirt junior guard, announced at her senior night on Friday that she would be returning to the University of Connecticut for the 2024-2025 season.
Bueckers announced, “Unfortunately this will not be my last senior night here at UConn” to thunderous applause from the crowd at Gampel Pavilion.
The Minnesota native was projected to be a WNBA lottery pick this year had she chosen to enter.
Bueckers was the first freshman to win the Wooden, Naismith, Associated Press and USBWA Player of the Year awards. However, injuries have plagued her ever since that year. She only played in seventeen games in her sophomore campaign due to a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee. And then she tore her ACL in the same knee in August of 2022 causing her to miss the entirety of the 2022-2023 season.
The Huskies went to the Final Four her freshman year and the title game her sophomore year. But without Bueckers last year, they did not advance past the Sweet Sixteen. This marked the first time in 15 postseasons that UConn did not make the Final Four.
Bueckers is a key factor in UConn’s formula for success the past few years. Over her career she averages 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting an astonishing 53.1% from the field and 43.5% from 3-point range.
It is no surprise that Bueckers is returning to UConn, having been robbed of a true four-year playing experience. The pandemic affected her freshman season with limited spectator policies. Azzi Fudd, her best friend, is also out this season so it makes sense she would want to return to play with her.
This does shake things up in the WNBA as franchises need to adjust their draft decisions now. Organizations and fans alike will have to wait one more year to see Bueckers in a WNBA jersey.
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