UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong is set to be the face of her storied program when she enters her junior year this season. After two years of sharing the spotlight with current Dallas Wings guards Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, Strong is set to be the clear-cut best player on Geno Auriemma’s team.
This offseason, Strong has gone to great lengths to prepare herself for a bigger role. Among those preparations has been looking back at her team’s biggest heartbreak and learning from it. In a report by UConn insider Jake McCreven on X/Twitter on Wednesday, Strong said that she has rewatched the Huskies’ 2026 NCAA Final Four game again. The report reposted Auriemma saying that the impact the game had on Strong.
“I have. I don’t know about them,” Strong shared.
– Sarah Strong, June 17, 2026
Strong and the rest of coach Auriemma’s Huskies were eliminated from the 2026 NCAA Tournament by Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gamecocks’ defense and physicality outmatched UConn’s in a 62-48 romp. The Huskies were defending their 2025 national championship at that point.
Auriemma also recently talked about how Strong is ramping up for the 2026-27 campaign, knowing that she is expected to step up as a leader. According to the tenured tactician, Strong is not too vocal as a leader and is more laid back. Nevertheless, Auriemma acknowledges that there is time in the offseason for her to improve physically and mentally.
Geno Auriemma previously asserted that the 2026 NCAA Final Four loss has stuck with Sarah Strong
In early June, Geno Auriemma already asserted that the 2026 NCAA Final Four loss had stuck with Sarah Strong. In a report by fellow UConn Huskies insider Daniel Connolly on X/Twitter, Auriemma detailed how the loss will be Strong’s biggest motivation heading into next year. Despite Strong winning the National Player of the Year award last season, Auriemma shared that Strong is not focused on it but rather on an NCAA title.
“I mean, she’s really good. Sarah came here at the right time; she had the skills on the right team and not enough players ahead of her. … What sticks with her is we lost. I think that’s probably what’s going to drive her this coming year, more so than, ‘I was National Player of the Year. I have to prove that again.’ No. ‘We lost, and I have to prove that I can win,'” Auriemma was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
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