Geno Auriemma goes back into the portal and adds solid addition to the 2025-26 backcourt

Former University of Southern California guard Kayleigh Heckel announced her commitment to the UConn womens basketball team on Tuesday, filling the Huskies final available scholarship spot for the 2025-26 season.Heckel, a 5-foot-9 guard from Port Chester, New York, chose UConn after she also reportedly took visits to Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.

She visited Storrs alongside Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams in late April, and Williams signed with the Huskies days later on May 2.

Heckels commitment marks the first time coach Geno Auriemma has signed multiple transfers in a single offseason since the portal was established in 2019.Heckel was the No.

13 prospect in the Class of 2025, but UConn wasnt a factor in her recruiting process out of high school.

She chose USC over a top four that included Alabama, Tennessee and Stanford, and the Trojans brought in the No.

1 recruiting class in the country featuring six top-100 players.

Heckel averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 17 minutes per game during her freshman season.

She was a McDonalds All-American in her senior high school season, where she played alongside UConns freshman phenom Sarah Strong on Team East.Southern California guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) drives the ball toward the basket as UConn guard KK Arnold (2) defends during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 31, 2025, in Spokane, Wash.

(AP Photo/Jenny Kane)Adding Heckel gives the Huskies additional depth in the backcourt in 2025-26 following the departure of superstar guard Paige Bueckers.

Rising juniors KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade are poised to step into starting roles after coming off the bench in 2024-25, and UConn also signed top-25 point guard Kelis Fisher to its incoming freshman class.Heckel is just the fifth player UConn has signed out of the portal since it was established, but the Huskies have a 100% hit rate on incoming transfers so far.

Dorka Juhasz came to UConn after three years at Ohio State and started 44 games over two years, averaging 14.2 points plus 9.9 rebounds in her final season.

Fairfield transfer Lou Lopez Senechal played nearly 32 minutes per game in her lone season with the Huskies, leading the team in 3-point percentage and averaging 15.5 points.

Kaitlyn Chen was the latest example in 2024-25, starting all 40 games and shooting a career-best 51.4% for UConn as a graduate transfer from Princeton.Only one UConn player, sophomore guard Qadence Samuels, entered the portal in 2025 after averaging less than six minutes last season..

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