Women’s basketball at UConn reveals new jersey numbers for two returning players and newcomers.

Women’s basketball at UConn reveals new jersey numbers for two returning players and newcomers.

We’re just a couple weeks away from UConn women’s basketball’s newcomers moving onto campus and beginning their first summer workout session.

On Monday, the team announced the new jersey numbers for its four newcomers along with two new jersey numbers for two returners.

UConn will welcome in a class of three incoming freshmen this summer in Sarah Strong, Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli.

Strong, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the Class of 2024, will wear No. 21. Recent sophomore transfer Inês Bettencourt was the most recent Husky to wear the number during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Strong becomes the sixth player at UConn to chose the number, including Jennifer Rizzotti from 1992-1996. Strong wore No. 21 during her high school career.

Ziebell will wear No. 11 when she debuts for UConn next fall. She becomes the 10th Husky all-time to wear the number following Lou Lopez Sénéchal (2022-2023), Mir McLean (2020-2021), Kia Nurse (2014-2018) and Kelly Schumacher (1997-01), among others. Ziebell wore No. 1 in high school, but that number is not allowed at UConn.

Cheli chose No. 23 – the number worn the most in program history. The freshman becomes the 14th player to wear No. 23 most recently following Azura Stevens (2016-18), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2011-15) and Maya Moore (2007-11). UConn great Swin Cash also wore the number during her freshman year in Storrs but switched to No. 32 afterward (the program retired No. 32 in honor of Cash in 2022). While Moore is eligible to enter the Naismith Hall of Fame, the program will likely wait until she is officially inducted into the Hall and/or after Cheli graduates to retire No. 23 in honor of the former Husky. Cheli wore No. 33 in high school, however that number is currently taken by Caroline Ducharme.

Graduate transfer Kaitlyn Chen will wear No. 20 for her lone year in Storrs this season. She wore the same number during her four years at Princeton. The point guard becomes the ninth Husky to wear the number. Former UConn and current Connecticut Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa last wore No. 20 from 2018 to 2022. It was also worn by Renee Montgomery (2005-2009) and current assistant coach Morgan Valley (2000-04).

Also debuting new jersey numbers next season is Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels.

 

El Alfy switched from No. 24 to No. 8, becoming the first Husky ever to wear No. 8. The Egyptian will make her long awaited collegiate debut this fall after sitting out all last season recovering from a July 2023 Achilles injury. El Alfy enrolled a semester early at UConn in January 2023 and is expected to become the team’s next leading center. She wears No. 8 when playing for the Egyptian senior national team

Samuels switched from No. 4 to 10. The sophomore said earlier this year that No. 10 was the original number she wanted when she first arrived at UConn, however; it was already in use by Nika Mühl. Now that Mühl has graduated, the number is once again available. It’s expected UConn will soon retire the number in honor of Sue Bird, who wore No. 10 from 1999-2002. Samuels becomes the sixth Husky to wear No. 10.