UConn women’s basketball newcomers get their uniform numbers

After what might be considered a ‘down’ year– and also quite literally a banner season for any other program– the UConn women’s basketball team figures to be back with a vengeance next season, and will be on anyone’s short list of favorites for the national title.

The Huskies return Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin, KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade among others, and are bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in the country. ESPN.com ranks UConn’s class as the second-best in the nation behind USC.

The new Huskies will be household names for college hoops fans soon, and on Monday, UConn announced which uniform numbers its newcomers will wear next season.

5-9 senior guard Kaitlyn Chen, a transfer from Princeton, will wear No. 20, the same number she wore with the Tigers last season. 5-10 guard Allie Ziebell, a five-star recruit from Neenah, Wisc., will wear No. 11. 6-2 guard Morgan Cheli, a five-star recruit from San Jose, Calif., will wear No. 23, and Sarah Strong, the No. 1 recruit in the country and a 6-2 forward from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., will wear No. 21.

Numbers for the newcomers! pic.twitter.com/3lBr9qyiTd

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) May 20, 2024

Strong committed to UConn in April, just after the McDonald’s All-American Game and the morning after the Huskies had fallen to Iowa in the Final Four.

Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels will have new numbers this season! pic.twitter.com/Vlkn0vWonW

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) May 20, 2024

The program also announced on social media that Qadence Samuels and Jana El Alfy will have new numbers next season. Samuels, a rising sophomore guard, will switch from No. 4 to No. 10. El Alfy, who will be a redshirt freshman next season after missing all of last year with an Achilles injury, will pull a reverse Kobe Bryant move, and switch from No. 24 to No. 8.