UConn's Sarah Strong embraces leadership role, mentored by Bueckers and Fudd

Sarah Strong has been a centerpiece of UConn women's basketball since her freshman year, but the spotlight will be brighter during her junior season because now, she is the veteran player her teammates will look up to. Though Strong is naturally soft-spoken, she has seen first hand what good leadership looks like and is ready to grow into that role.

"I would say Paige and Azzi. Both of them," Strong told CBS Sports when asked what players have provided veteran guidance to her over the years.

"My freshman year, they were pretty much the leaders of the team. Everybody looked up to them. The way they held everything together just really impacted me and made me be better on the court, made me want to do more for the team and just give my all every time I was on the court."

> I asked UConn’s Sarah Strong about mentors and players she looks up to. Her answer? Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd: “The way they held everything together just really impacted me and made me be better on the court and made me want to do more for the team” pic.twitter.com/9AKf3bPj8u — Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) June 24, 2026

The three won a national championship together in 2025, Bueckers' last college basketball season and Strong's freshman year.  That title run served as Strong's breakout on the national stage -- she dropped 24 points and 15 rebounds in the title game against South Carolina while setting an NCAA freshman record with a total of 114 points throughout the tournament.

Last season, Fudd and Strong led the Huskies to an almost perfect season before falling to the Gamecocks in the Final Four. Although UConn couldn't repeat, it was still a phenomenal year for Strong personally -- she swept all major national Player of the Year honors, including the Naismith award . More impressively, she recently told reporters that she played the 2025-26 season with an injured Achilles, which she tweaked last summer while playing 3x3 basketball with Team USA in Mongolia.

"That's when it really started to kind of affect me, but it kind of just carried on throughout the season... Closer to the end (of the season) it probably got worse," Strong revealed last week.

"I felt it walking to class or when I was sleeping, it would just be there. I kind of felt it in my everyday life."

Strong has been rehabbing and doing individual workouts, but she is not participating in team workouts in order to focus on recovery. She is still expected to play next season and will once again be considered one of the top players to watch in college basketball. Her game speaks for itself, but the stakes are higher with both Bueckers and Fudd gone to the WNBA.

"I think there is more weight on my shoulders leadership-wise this year," Strong said. "There is no one I can really hide behind and I think I need to kind-of step into that role and embrace it. I know it's going to be uncomfortable for me because I'm not the most outgoing person or loud, whatever. It's going to take time and just confidence, believing in myself."

> Sarah Strong on embracing a bigger leadership role at UConn: “I think there is more weight on my shoulders leadership-wise this year. There is no one I can really hide behind and I think I need to kind of step into that role and embrace it.” pic.twitter.com/vahuzQUtEz — Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) June 24, 2026

Strong is known as a soft-spoken player who would often try to defer questions to her teammates during press conferences. However, she is learning to embrace leadership and decided to get involved with Overtime Select this summer, putting her in a mentorship role for top high school players. She has already started making progress in this area, and people -- including Kaleena Smith, an Overtime Select star and the top recruit in the class of 2027 -- have taken notice.

"She is really stepping into that leadership role and coming into next year I think it's very important," Smith said in a conversation with CBS Sports  at the Final Four. "And just per personality. I feel like it's coming out and showing out more. So I feel like on and off the court Sarah Strong has definitely caught my eye."

Although she only has two college basketball seasons under her belt, Strong has already learned some valuable lessons she wants to pass on to younger players, especially incoming UConn freshman Olivia Vukosa, the 2026 Gatorade Player of the Year.

"I'll keep reminding her to take her time. It's not supposed to be easy. If it was easy I feel like everybody would be able to do it. She is here for a reason and just stay confident in herself." Strong said.

> UConn commit Olivia Vukosa will share the court with Sarah Strong next season… Diana Taurasi: “That’s crazy.” What does Vukosa like about her future teammate’s game? “Uh everything.” pic.twitter.com/VuEsV7Za5Q — Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) March 19, 2026

That was the same advice Strong received when she first arrived in Storrs as a high profile freshman.

"Take it one day at a time," Strong recalls hearing. "It can't be easy coming in as a freshman, especially to UConn where there is a lot of rich history and stuff like that but just one day at a time. You are not gonna get it at first but with time, with practice and with repetition it's going to come a lot easier."

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/womens-college-basketball/news/sarah-strong-uconn-embraces-uncomfortable-leadership-role/)._