UConn commit Olivia Vukosa with father Damir (left) and mother Jenny (right) at Christ the King High in Queens, N.Y. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Vukosa begins her summer session at UConn on Monday, June 1, 2026.
Maggie Vanoni/Hearst Connecticut Media
Olivia Vukosa’s UConn women’s basketball career unofficially begins Friday.
Her parents’ car will soon be packed and overflowing with not only Vukosa’s collection of Husky gear but all the necessities for college life – bedspreads, room decorations and bathroom accessories included. Once the boxes are stuffed and taped tight and the goodbyes are said, the Vukosa family will make the two-hour drive north from Queens, N.Y. to drop Vukosa off at her new home.
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Once in Storrs, Damir and Jenny, Vukosa’s parents, will help her unload and unpack. They’ll meet her new coaches, teammates and team staff before heading back home, knowing all they’ve sacrificed – the long days in the gym, the trainer and camp expenses, the travel and chaotic lifestyle of one of the nation’s top high school players – has all led up to this point.
“All the hard work that she’s done, all the sleepless nights and the early mornings and tough practices, and everything else; I think that all paid off,” Damir told CT Insider in a phone interview on Tuesday. “This is what she worked for, and this is what she’s done. She worked hard to get to this position, and now she’s going to be a UConn Husky, officially.”
Vukosa begins the first steps of her Husky career next week when UConn begins its annual off-season summer workout session. Players report to campus this week and will remain in Storrs for about a month participating in academic courses, team bonding activities and offseason workouts.
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Vukosa was the No. 2-ranked high school recruit in the Class of 2026. The former Christ the King High School star concluded her high school career this spring by earning Gatorade National Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American honors. She spent the past month traveling across the country to various elite camps and All-Star-like games, learning how to be independent and bring her game to the next level.
McDonalds High School All American center Olivia Vukosa (25) poses for a photo on portrait day for the 2026 McDonalds High School All American Games on March 27, 2026, at Renaissance Hotel at Glendale, Arizona.
Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
And now in Storrs, she’ll lean on all that she’s learned as she begins this next chapter of her career.
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“I’m just excited,” Vukosa said in April after the McDonald’s All-American Game in Phoenix. “… Honestly, I can’t wait. May 31 can’t come any sooner, honestly.”
Vukosa finished her high school academics in mid-May. However, she spent her last month of high school traveling across the country to attend elite high school basketball camps.
During the first week of April, she flew with Damir to Phoenix to play in the McDonald’s All-American game. She then traveled alone to Portland, Oregon, to participate in the Nike Hoop Summit the following week. Despite nursing a quad injury in Oregon, Vukosa (six points, five rebounds, one steal, one block in 13 minutes) played alongside fellow incoming Husky Jovana Popovic on Team World.
She continued her West Coast trip the following week at the Jordan Brand Classic in Torrance, California.
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After returning home, she got a couple of weeks of rest before traveling with her mom to Chicago to participate in the Chris Brickley Invitational in early May. Brickley has long trained former Husky star Azzi Fudd and hosted the camp alongside Fudd’s mom, Katie.
Olivia Vukosa poses with the 2026 Gatorade National Player of the Year trophy. She becomes the 12th UConn women’s basketball player to earn the honor.
Photo courtesy of Gatorade Player of the Year Program
The time spent traveling alone on the opposite side of the country gave Vukosa a glimpse into the independent responsibilities of college life, says Damir.
“I think it’s prepared her for the level of when she goes to college; she’s gonna have to know how to live on her own and have a roommate all the time when her parents aren’t around,” said Damir. “I think doing all this traveling has helped her 110%. She’s been able to really understand what it means to be an adult – (Damir said laughing) I think.”
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Since returning from Chicago, basketball and life has slowed down for Vukosa. She’s spent time with family and friends and began preparing for her life in Storrs. Her room at home is slowly being packed into boxes, which grow each day thanks to last-minute online shopping.
“Every day something new comes to my house,” joked Damir. “My wife went with her shopping. We don’t know what to get, so we’re just getting her like the bare stuff that she needs right away, and then she’ll be coming back and forth a few times during the summer, so we’ll get whatever she needs then.”
While Damir expects it to feel different not having Vukosa at home, he knows she’ll only be a car ride away. In fact, he’s already planning on driving back up to Connecticut next Friday to pick her up and drive her back down to Queens for her high school graduation. Damir says the family is planning on attending as many UConn games as they can next season between his and Jenny’s full-time work commitments.
UConn recruit Olivia Vukosa, of Croatia, watches an NCAA college basketball game against Florida State, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Jessica Hill/Associated Press
“It would be nice to have her for the summer, but you know, we know what it takes, and that’s what we signed up for last past six years ago,” said Damir. “This is what it takes, and this is what she has to do, and the time was going to come eventually. As long as she’s happy.”
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After UConn’s summer session concludes in early July, the Vukosa family will get “one last hurrah” together for a family vacation in Aruba before Vukosa’s life becomes even crazier.
In mid-July, she’ll attend the 2026 ESPYs as a guest of Gatorade before spending the first week of August playing for the Under-18 Croatian National Team in the 2026 U18 EuroBasket in Stockholm, Sweden.
She’ll get a small window to rest after her time abroad. But will report back to Storrs in mid-to-late August for the start of the fall academic term (Aug. 31) and UConn’s preseason workouts.
No matter what comes her way, Damir knows his daughter is ready for this next adventure.
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“I was talking to my wife two days ago, and I was like, ‘Our daughter’s going to college, where does the time go?’ Right? Where does the time go?’” he said. “Like one day you’re in the gym and she’s missing layups to packing her room and sending her off to college so she can play for the best college in the country. It’s surreal. It really is.
“I think every parent wants their kid to be that player, that kid that’s always recruited, and she’s so good, yada, yada, play for the best team. But I think having one now, it’s really special.”