With their 78-64 victory over USC in the Elite Eight Monday night, the UConn Huskies officially entered the NCAA’s Final Four—and are now tantalizingly close to clinching their 12th overall national title (and first since 2016). If they manage to pull it off, it would be not only a huge honor, but also a poetic end to the college career of star guard Paige Bueckers.
“We’re just so grateful, but we know, like, the journey isn’t done,” Bueckers said, as reported by ESPN. “We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have business to finish.” Next up: UCLA, the No. 1 overall tournament seed.
Regardless of what happens during the face-off Friday evening, though, Bueckers, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, will be just fine—in fact, way more than fine. After five years with the Huskies, she is now ready to make the transition to the pro sphere, though the shift is bittersweet. “I’ve had an amazing time here at UConn, an amazing journey. It’s grown me so much as a person, as a player. I’ve enjoyed the relationships, experiences, the bonds,” she previously told SELF. “But at some point, the journey has to come to an end, and the next chapter awaits.”
We’ll toast to that, but in the meantime, we’ll be white-knuckling it during that UConn-UCLA showdown. Before you tune in on Friday evening for what could be Bueckers’s final game in a Huskies jersey, check out these facts about the star guard.
1. She racked up some impressive awards as only a freshman.
People were already talking about Bueckers in high school—ESPN ranked her as the top recruit of her year—but things were looking even brighter by the time she started playing for the Huskies. In 2021, she became the first freshman to win the Naismith Player of the Year Award, a prize largely considered the top honor for NCAA basketball. It was a repeat of sorts for Bueckers: She was awarded the high school equivalent the previous year.
She racked up more hardware during her first college year too. Bueckers also won the 2021 John R. Wooden Award, which goes to a college player considered “outstanding” for their on-court performance and character. And just to put a tidy bow on her freshman awards season, Bueckers became the first freshman to win the Associated Press Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Award—an honor which, as a video of the announcement shows, brought her to tears.
2. Injuries kept her off the court for a chunk of her college career.
Bueckers suffered a knee injury and had ankle surgery in 2021, which sidelined her for half of her sophomore season. She also missed her entire junior season due to an ACL injury.
“The last couple years have been really challenging on my mental [health],” Bueckers said in a press conference after her team beat USC for a spot in 2024’s Final Four. “I feel like I’ve had adversity thrown my way, but at the same time, I’m super blessed to be in the position [I’m in.]” In particular, she credits her recovery in part to the support of her team, coaches, and school, and the medical care and rehab it provided. “It could be easy for me to sulk and be upset and be sad about what life has thrown me the last couple years, or I can attack it with the mentality of being a leader.”
This attitude was obvious earlier in the 2025 tournament, when USC star JuJu Watkins tore her ACL, ending her season. Bueckers, who is all too familiar with the “devastation” that comes from that experience, made sure to connect with her. “I reached out to her offering my support and prayers and letting her know that we’ve exchanged numbers now, so we’re locked in,” Bueckers said, per USA Today. “Whatever she needs mentally physically, to vent, ask questions.”
3. She was once teammates with Caitlin Clark.
Two of the biggest names in women’s basketball—and they weren’t always rivals: While many folks may remember the showdown between the two powerhouses during 2024’s Final Four, Bueckers and Caitlin Clark were actually teammates for a brief time a few years ago. They both played for Team USA in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup—and won gold. In fact, Bueckers was even named MVP of the tournament, in part due to her role helping her team win in the overtime final.
“Since I’ve known her, since she was in middle school, she’s always worked that same way, she’s always had that fire, she’s always been a great leader, and I really honestly couldn’t be happier for her and the year she’s had,” Clark told SNY going into 2024’s Final Four.
4. Bueckers uses her platform for advocacy.
After winning the ESPY for Best Women’s College Athlete in 2021, Bueckers used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to advocate for Black athletes. “As a white woman who leads a Black-led sport,” she said on stage, “I want to shed a light on Black women. They don’t get the media coverage they deserve. They’ve given so much to this sport, the community, and society as a whole, and their value is undeniable.”
Bueckers also uses her social media platforms to draw attention to racism, police brutality, and social injustice. It’s personal for Bueckers, whose younger brother Drew is Black. She captioned a carousel of photos of Drew promising, “I’m going to work for change, little brother. I want you to grow up in a world that accepts you for who you are.”
5. She applied to trademark the nickname “Paige Buckets.”
Bueckers must have seen an opportunity when the NCAA began allowing student-athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in 2021. According to Sports Illustrated, she applied to trademark the term “Paige Buckets” to sell merch tagged with her apt nickname (namely “shirts, pants, jackets, footwear, hats and caps, athletic uniforms,” according to the trademark application). It looks like the trademark has since been abandoned, but now that UConn is back in the Final Four for a record 24th time, it may be time to revive the plan so Bueckers’s fans can get some serious swag.
6. And she already has some pretty sweet sponsors and partnerships.
Bueckers has 5.7 million followers across Instagram and TikTok combined, and she is may be among the highest-paid college athletes. In fact, she was ranked as the top-earning female college athlete of 2024 by NIL Store. She’s partnered with several noteworthy brands, including Bose, Uber, Google Chrome, Chegg, Intuit, Dunkin’, CeraVe, and even the new women’s basketball league Unrivaled. She’s also sponsored by Gatorade and Nike.
7. But her off-the-court routine is pretty chill.
Despite her fame, Bueckers takes a laid-back, down-to-earth approach to caring for her hair and skin, keeping her regimen short and sweet and opting for drugstore staples rather than super-luxe products. Her nighttime routine starts with a shower since all that exercise drains her hair—to say nothing of the dye (yep, that blond hue isn’t natural, as reported by Allure!) and her typical on-court hairstyle (face-framing French braids paired with a ponytail). “Between the braids, the coloring, the sweat, I just want to make sure it’s as healthy as possible,” she previously told SELF.
As for her skin care routine? Since Bueckers’s skin tends to be dry, moisturizer is a major component of her regimen. After showering, she swears by Cerave Daily Moisturizing Lotion andCeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion.
8. She’s super close with her teammates.
Bueckers is all about her teammates, on and off the court. In a post-game press conference with media in March of 2024, when asked about teammate Nika Mühl’s hope to break the school assist record (which she’s since done), Bueckers said she was “mad” about missing an opportunity to help Muhl reach her 500th in a recent game. Bueckers then became emotional thinking about ending their time playing together: “This is my sister. My twin,” she said.
She’s also especially close with Huskies guard Azzi Fudd, and the two make quite the combo on the court. As Auriemma told reporters at the Big East Conference media day in 2023, “It’s uncanny how they just feed off each other” in games.
Off the court, Bueckers’ social media photos and videos are rarely without a teammate or two (sometimes fellow Huskies even show up in ads), whether they’re shuffling to a popular TikTok sound, belting it out a capella, horsing around in what appears to be a hotel lobby, or sharing some roomie love.
9. One way or another, 2025 will be a college wrap for Bueckers.
Close to this time last year, Bueckers was widely expected to forego her second-to-last season of NCAA eligibility to join the WNBA, so it came as a huge surprise when she decided she wasn’t ready to move on yet. “I just feel like I’m not done yet here…I’m just blessed to be a part of this program, and I never want it to end,” she said when asked about the choice, as reported by ESPN.
But now the time feels right. As much as she’ll miss her UConn community, Bueckers is eager to see what the future holds as she ventures beyond her alma mater. “As a little kid, I went to Minnesota Lynx games, dreaming to be in their shoes, dreaming to be in the WNBA. I’m definitely not there yet, but God willing, that’s where I want to be,” she previously told SELF. “Having that opportunity to play in a league that I dreamt of being in, [along] with players that I look up to, it makes you really excited for the future.”
Related:
- Everything to Know About Unrivaled, the New Women’s Basketball League
- Why the NY Liberty’s Historic WNBA Title Means So Much to These Fans
- A Day Out With the Dads and Daughters Who Love Women’s Basketball
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