How Sarah Strong went from 'reluctant star' to leader of UConn women's basketball

UConn's Sarah Strong is announced at the start of a preseason exhibition game against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Monday, October 12, 2026. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) Sarah Strong desperately heaved the ball up in a last-second hook shot.The ball bounced off the rim just as the third-quarter buzzer sounded. It was Strong's 10th miss of the game, and the National Player of the Year couldn't hold it in anymore.She grabbed the collar of her jersey and ripped hard, splitting her uniform top down the middle. Strong momentarily looked down at what she had done as her No. 21 became a separate 2 and 1 on her chest. She then looked back up and continued pulling at the jersey, ultimately needing a new top for the remainder of the game.Strong, UConn women's basketball's nonchalant superstar, had never shown such emotion, such rage on the court. The Huskies were playing their worst game of the year against South Carolina in the Final Four, and Strong was overcome with frustration.That game changed Strong. It exposed a glaring hole in her game - leadership."Being a vocal, demonstrative kind of leader doesn't come natural to her, you know? She's more laid back and more quiet," Geno Auriemma said this summer. "But I sense that she's more intentional with what she says, who she says it to, and I do think she understands that there's being unselfish and then there's winning. And that game left a lasting impression on her."Strong begins the second half of her collegiate career when the Huskies open the 2026-27 season against Cornell on Nov. 2. Sarah Strong #21 of the UConn Huskies interacts with teammates during warmups before the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame women's college basketball exhibition game between the Syracuse Orange and the UConn Huskies at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on October 12, 2026. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images) As a freshman, she was the perfect puzzle piece to an already stacked roster. Her diverse talent complemented star Paige Bueckers and helped lead the Huskies to their first national championship in nine years.Last year, she stepped up and became the leading scorer in place of Bueckers. She worked alongside Azzi Fudd to create a dominant one-two punch and was named the consensus national player of the year - all while dealing with Achilles soreness all season long. But she failed to stand tall when her team needed her most.Now in her third in Storrs, Strong will take on her most challenging role yet.There's no Bueckers, no Fudd. Both graduated and moved on to the WNBA. Now, it's Strong's team to lead. She knows the Huskies can't win it all without her. And this season, there's no avoiding the spotlight."I believe that it's going to come out that whatever we've seen the last two years, which is pretty incredible, 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," Auriemma said. "… Her freshman year and last year, I thought she was like a reluctant star. It's like, ‘Yeah, I'll take the shot, but maybe Paige should take it,' or ‘I'll try this, but maybe I shouldn't.' There's no one to defer to this year. It's you're expected to be the No. 1 go-to, without question, every single possession."Finding a Strong voiceOne by one, the Naismith committee revealed its 2026 postseason awards. About a hundred-plus people crowded the room while even more stood in the back. The event was streamed nationally, with cameras lining the back wall, all pointed at the stage.Strong watched as Vanderbilt coach and former Husky Shea Ralph was named Coach of the Year. Ralph went up on stage, collected her trophy, posed for photos, and sat back down. Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo was named Defensive Player of the Year and went next and did the same. Neither gave remarks.Strong got excited. She looked back at UConn's staff sitting a few rows behind her and asked, "Do I still have to?"Up and down, nods came back at her. She slumped her shoulders. UConn players, left to right, Jana El Alfy, KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Sarah Strong wait to be announced before a preseason exhibition game against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Monday, October 12, 2026. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) Her name was called moments later as the National Player of the Year. Strong swallowed her discomfort and gave a 45-second speech. It was smooth, straight to the point, and professional. Strong, who didn't read off notes while giving her speech, had practiced for two days leading up to the ceremony."I couldn't, I didn't even eat today. I'm so nervous, but I'm glad it's over with," said Strong moments afterward. "I don't like speaking like, I don't like doing this (talking to media). If I'm gonna speak in front of a bunch of people, that's just very out of my comfort zone."That was six months ago.Since then, Strong has realized she has to become more comfortable in the spotlight. Gone are the days when she can lean behind Bueckers or Fudd or wait for someone else to speak up. She's UConn's best player and her teammates need her to lead on and off the court."Sarah's pretty smart," said Auriemma. "I think she knows a lot of our success depends on her. I think she knows that. She'd be crazy not to, you know, because you look at it and say, ‘Well, if I don't do it, where's it going to come from?' So, there's that need, and she's going to have to fill it almost to the point where, whether you like it or not, you're going to have to fill that role."Last summer, heading into the 2025-26 season, Strong took media training lessons with UConn's Director of Women's Basketball Communications, Anna LaBonte. She became more relaxed in postgame and post-practice press conferences and media scrums. Instead of responding with as few words as possible, as she had during her freshman year, she became thoughtful and honest in her answers.This summer, Strong practiced being vocal from the sideline, calling out what she saw in practices and offering advice to teammates. She learned to translate her thoughts into direction - both supportive and constructive. It helped that she physically couldn't get on the court and had no other option but to use her voice.Strong took the summer off from playing basketball to give her Achilles a needed rest. She'd been dealing with soreness since the summer of 2025 and missed the majority of practice in March because of pain. During UConn's summer session, she focused on weightlifting, Pilates and recovery - and her budding leadership.When UConn began preseason practices this fall, Strong returned not only healthier, but also louder and more confident. Auriemma saw her initiate more on-court huddles. The second she began speaking, everyone focused on her. She didn't shy away from telling a teammate they needed to be better or why a play didn't work. She was honest without being cold."I've gotten more confident and comfortable in being kind of the voice, one of the voices that team really needs," said Strong. "Just voicing what I think, and not really caring if I hurt people's feelings at the moment, because they know that I want the best for them and I expect (that of) them … I know that my team needs to hear what I have to say." UConn's Sarah Strong heads back on defense during a preseason exhibition game against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Monday, October 12, 2026. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) Her teammates welcomed this new, vocal version of Strong."She's more sure of herself," senior point guard KK Arnold said. "… That kind of leadership piece, it was always there, but now it's more evident."Added sophomore Blanca Quiñonez: "She's really working hard on being a vocal leader for us. She knows that all of us want to win for her. I feel like she's working hard and she's more present. … I feel like she's on everybody's ass. I love that for her. I love that for us."And redshirt junior Jana El Alfy said: "It's been really, really important for our team, and it's only gonna make us better. She realized how important it is to do that, even though she wasn't comfortable with it at first. I think the more she has done it, the more she's been stepping up, the more she realized the more of a difference it makes. I think it's changed her. It changed everybody. It's had an impact on not just her, but everybody else on the team."Strong's newfound leadership will take UConn even further this season. It's contagious and lifts everyone to a higher standard, both in practice and during games."She's becoming more of a leader, which is as important as how many points she's going to score, rebounds she's going to get," said Auriemma.What's nextThere's not much Strong can't do. She's led UConn in rebounds, steals and blocks in each of the last two seasons. Last year, she led with 18.4 points per game - two points more than her freshman average.During the Huskies' first preseason exhibition, she opened the game by grabbing a defensive rebound and dribbling all the way down to the Huskies' 3-point line. Without hesitating, Strong launched the pull-up triple over her defender's outstretched hand for UConn's first bucket of the game.The junior finished with 15 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Sure, she got into foul trouble early and had a team-high three turnovers, but Strong never once looked unsure of herself. She's learned, as the Huskies' No. 1 option now, to be comfortable taking over the offense. UConn's Sarah Strong tries to penetrate the Syracuse defense during a preseason exhibition game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Monday, October 12, 2026. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) This summer, Strong said she wanted to focus on her one-on-one and guard skills by improving her ball-handling and getting more comfortable playing the wing. Auriemma has used her as a point-forward often and will continue to do so because of her high court IQ.It's that versatility that makes Strong so dominant and so hard to guard.In UConn's exhibition against Texas, Strong looked like the Huskies' leader. She hunted for her shot and stepped up when UConn needed her most. In the third quarter, after the teams had tied the first 20 minutes, Strong scored eight points in a span of 57 seconds.Strong finished with a game-high 27 points along with three rebounds, three blocks, three assists and one steal. Strong also went out of her way to initiate more in-game huddles with her team. She looked and spoke directly at a player when they needed to shape up and visibly showed signs of frustration by shaking her head or clapping at her team to prove she needed more help."These last couple weeks, she's very, very. very, very, very assertive and very intentional in who she's talking to and what she's saying," Auriemma said after the game.Added senior guard Ashlynn Shade: "She calmed us. She got us through the ups and downs, and that's something that I think a lot of us look to." UConn's Sarah Strong smiles during practice before a preseason exhibition game against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Monday, October 12, 2026. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) UConn's regular season begins against Cornell. The Huskies play Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State and Louisville all within the first two weeks of the season.Then on Nov. 24, UConn will face South Carolina in a highly anticipated rematch of last year's Final Four. Strong lost herself in that game - her jersey took the brunt of it.This season's rematch will be the ultimate test for Strong. Will her new leadership take over and stabilize UConn when it needs her most? Can she channel her frustrations into productivity instead of letting them snowball?If she can do all the above and more, no matter how that game finishes, Strong will prove she's not only better than her sophomore national player of the year campaign, but the leader UConn needs."I think her ceiling is limitless. I don't think you can really set the bar for her," said Shade. "I mean, she can literally do anything and everything. … I think every year Sarah gets more comfortable in who she is here in this program and what she brings to all of us and to this team, and I think even more so after that (South Carolina) loss and the way it all happened, I think you can see that fire in her, and her want to be that leader for us."Sign up for the Connecticut Briefing from CT Insider. Get the biggest headlines of the day from our network of journalists around the state.This article originally published at How Sarah Strong went from 'reluctant star' to leader of UConn women's basketball.