UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to media during Thursday’s Big East Media Day in New York. The Huskies were picked as the league’s preseason favorite for the seventh consecutive season.
Maggie Vanoni / Hearst Connecticut Media
The Big East hosted its annual Big East Media Day at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on Thursday, Oct. 1. UConn women’s basketball’s Sarah Strong and Olivia Vukosa were honored with the conference’s preseason individual awards.
Maggie Vanoni / Hearst Connecticut Media
The Big East hosted its annual Big East Media Day at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. UConn women’s basketball was represented by Geno Auriemma, Sarah Strong, KK Arnold and Blanca Quinonez.
Maggie Vanoni/Hearst Connecticut Media
UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to media during Thursday’s Big East Media Day in New York. The Huskies were picked as the league’s preseason favorite for the seventh consecutive season.
Maggie Vanoni / Hearst Connecticut Media
NEW YORK — UConn women’s basketball doesn’t begin Big East play until Nov. 20. Yet on Thursday, the Huskies, the league’s preseason favorite, once again stole the show — this time in Times Square.
Geno Auriemma, Sarah Strong, KK Arnold and Blanca Quiñonez represented the program at Thursday’s Big East Media Day at the Marriott Marquis — a new location as Harry Styles’ residency at Madison Square Garden prevented the conference from returning to its annual home. Strong earned unanimous preseason Player of the Year honors, while both Arnold and Quiñonez were unanimous selections to the All-Big East preseason team.
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When the clock struck 12:30 and the league flipped its attention from its men’s basketball programs to its women’s teams, Auriemma and the Huskies drew the largest crowd of the afternoon. After Auriemma addressed the room on the dais, a herd of reporters two or three rows deep surrounded a table to hear from Strong, Arnold and Quiñonez.
Strong fielded questions about stepping into a new leadership role. Arnold spoke about approaching her final year in Storrs, and Quiñonez talked about her health and making the freshman-to-sophomore jump.
Auriemma teased that Strong may be even better than her National Player of the Year campaign last season, and Quiñonez is walking with a new confidence.
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On Strong: “I think what we’ll see is a much more aggressive Sarah, much more intentional, much more understanding that, ‘I have to be more assertive every single day.’ … I think there is more that she has, and we’re going to see it this year because I’ve seen it in practice already.”
On Quiñonez: “She has a certain aura about her. You can tell when a player’s walking around, and they know they’re good, and that’s who she is right now. So, if she was a First-Team All-American this year, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit.”
The Huskies head coach also said a handful of his players are still recovering from preseason bumps and bruises (Allie Ziebell sat out UConn’s open practice on Sept. 20 due to an ankle injury). Quiñonez (shoulder) said she’s still doing individual workouts and has yet to join the team in practice. Asked when she expects to be cleared, the sophomore said, “We’ll see.”
Here are the biggest takeaways from UConn at Big East Media Day:
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Huskies return to the Prudential Center
UConn announced Thursday that it will face Seton Hall in the third annual Coretta Scott King Classic on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (2:30 p.m. on FOX). This year’s event, named in honor of Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., will also feature UCLA vs. Oklahoma at noon.
The Huskies last played at the Prudential Center on Dec. 11, 2021, when they faced UCLA in the Never Forget Tribute Classic. This is UConn’s first time playing in the Coretta Scott King Classic, which debuted in 2025, and its first time facing the Pirates at the Prudential Center since 2010.
“We’re grateful to participate in the Coretta Scott King Classic,” Auriemma said in a release. “This year’s classic brings two great games to fans while celebrating the legacy of Coretta Scott King and her family. I think it’ll be a great day of basketball and reflection, and it’s an honor to be able to compete in this event.”
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UConn … and then the rest of the Big East
The Huskies haven’t lost a Big East game (regular-season and postseason) since 2023. In fact, they’ve won both of the conference’s regular-season and tournament titles in each of the last six seasons. And when it comes to the conference’s individual awards, UConn has a tight grip on those, too, having swept the Big East preseason awards each of the last four seasons and the two major postseason awards (player and freshman of the year) for the last three years.
While he appreciates the competitive edge from his Big East counterparts, Auriemma understands the challenge that UConn’s dominance creates for the league’s opposing teams.
“How would you like to be some of the players in our league and think that the only players that can win Player of the Year are UConn players, the only players that can win Rookie of the Year are UConn players, the only players that can get Big East Tournament trophies are UConn players. After a while, you know, it’s like, ‘Who do you want to win the Big East? Anybody but UConn,'” Auriemma said.
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“And I don’t blame them for thinking that way because it makes it competitive as hell that they have a chip on their shoulder, as they should. … So, (us) getting all these votes and all (our) guys getting these individual preseason stuff, all that does is just throw more fuel in the fire for everybody else.”
Breanna Stewart wins at every level
Auriemma was asked about his most decorated star Thursday, just two days after the New York Liberty swept the Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. Stewart averaged 27.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks across New York’s first two postseason games. The Liberty take on Atlanta in Sunday’s Game 1 of the semifinals.
The former Husky is also fresh off helping Team USA win gold at the 2026 FIBA World Cup, where she was named the tournament’s MVP.
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“Obviously I’m biased, but when you do look at a career, you look back, and you realize there’s a regular-season Breanna Stewart and then there’s a postseason Breanna Stewart,” said Auriemma. “And Breanna Stewart probably plays in the playoffs as good as anybody I’ve ever seen, except maybe D (Diana Taurasi). In terms of winning when you have to win, winning in knockout games. …
“All her success has prepared her for what she’s doing now, and you saw it at the (World Cup) when they started questioning, ‘Well, maybe this is the year France is going to get them.’ And I thought to myself, you can’t question that kid during the playoffs. When there’s a medal, when there’s a trophy that goes to the winner, don’t bet on anybody other than her. It’s been like that since she was 15 years old when I first saw her play.”
While Auriemma wouldn’t answer which team he’s rooting for to win the WNBA title, he said he’d enjoy a Golden State-New York final since he could cheer on five of his former players at the same time.
In Auriemma’s NCAA …
The Huskies’ Hall of Fame head coach was asked Thursday what he would change about the state of college sports. As the NCAA appears to issue new rules and change old rules every other day, Auriemma emphasized that he wants to see more structure.
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“I think the two things that stand out are the transfer portal and the unlimited times that you can transfer, making you a free agent every year, which makes it almost impossible to keep any kind of continuity,” he said. “… I think the other one is professional basketball players coming back to college to play.
“You know, you play four years in college, you try to make it as a pro, and you find out you’re not as good as you think you are. So, now I’m going to go back to college because I got a chance to make some money at the expense of some 17-year-old kid that you’re trying to recruit, you know.”