NEW YORK – UConn junior forward Sarah Strong was voted BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, the league announced Thursday. Teammate Olivia Vukosa was selected BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year.

In addition to the major awards, a 10-member Preseason All-BIG EAST Team was named, along with three Honorable Mention selections. Preseason major awards and all-league honors are chosen by the BIG EAST’s 11 head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Preseason Player of the Year: Sarah Strong, UConn, Jr., F
Strong, the reigning BIG EAST Player and Defensive Player of the Year, enters her junior season as one of the nation’s premier players after another remarkable campaign in Storrs. The 2026 AP Player of the Year, Strong was the driving force behind the Huskies’ success last season, leading UConn in scoring (18.4 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg) and assists (3.8 apg) while earning consensus All-American recognition. She was remarkably consistent last year, scoring in double figures in all 38 games while recording 10 double-doubles.

Strong’s dominance was recognized throughout the postseason, as she earned All-BIG EAST first team honors for the second consecutive year and was named the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Her sophomore campaign also saw her collect some of the most prestigious individual honors in the sport, including the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Wade Trophy, USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Katrina McClain National Power Forward of the Year. She was also selected as an AP and USBWA First-Team All-American.

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Olivia Vukosa, UConn, Fr., C
Vukosa, a 6-5 freshman center from Whitestone, N.Y., enters her rookie season as the No. 2-ranked recruit in ESPNW’s Class of 2026. The 2025-26 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Vukosa averaged 17.8 points, 18.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.4 blocks per game, leading Christ the King to the Catholic High School Athletic Association state championship game last season. She was also named a 2026 McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American.

Vukosa has also excelled on the international stage with Croatia, earning All-Star Five honors at the 2026 FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket after leading the tournament in both scoring (24.9 ppg) and rebounding (14.3 rpg). She also made her senior national team debut during the 2027 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers, averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Vukosa is UConn’s seventh consecutive BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, following Strong (2024 and 2025), KK Arnold (2023), Ayanna Patterson (2022), Azzi Fudd (2021) and Paige Bueckers (2020).

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
UConn, Creighton, St. John’s and Villanova each placed two players on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Marquette and Seton Hall rounded out the team with one player apiece.
UConn had two players on the preseason team: senior guard KK Arnold and sophomore forward Blanca Quiñonez. Last season, Arnold averaged 4.6 assists per game and set UConn’s single-season record for assist-to-turnover ratio (4.05). Quiñonez averaged 10.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 31 appearances and was named BIG EAST Freshman and Sixth Woman of the Year.
Creighton sophomore guards Ava Zediker (13.3 ppg) and Neleigh Gessert (11.8 ppg) were named to the preseason team. The duo highlighted the Bluejays’ postseason honors in 2025-26, with both earning spots on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
Villanova guards Jasmine Bascoe and Kennedy Henry were the Wildcats’ representatives on the preseason team. Bascoe paced BIG EAST players in scoring (18.9 ppg) and assists (4.7 apg) as she earned unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight year. Henry earned spots on last year’s BIG EAST All-Freshman and All-Defensive Teams, averaging 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest in 28.9 minutes per game.
St. John’s junior forward Sa’Mya Wyatt averaged 10.9 points in 34 appearances and scored in double figures in 18 games last year. Teammate and senior guard Brooke Moore joined Wyatt on the team after logging 22 double-digit scoring efforts, five 20-point performances and four 10-rebound games in 2025-26.
Marquette senior guard Halle Vice averaged 13.7 points and 1.9 assists per game to go with a BIG EAST-leading 8.9 rebounds per game last year. Seton Hall senior guard Savannah Catalon averaged a team-best 13.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game. Both Vice and Catalon were named to the 2025-26 BIG EAST All-League First Team.

Preseason Honorable Mentions
Three players received Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention: UConn senior guard Ashlynn Shade, Providence junior guard Orlagh Gormley and Xavier junior guard Meri Kanerva.
Shade played in all 39 games for the Huskies last year, averaging 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds. Gormley averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-best 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game. She dished out 126 assists and became just the sixth player in the last 25 years to record 100 or more assists in a single season. Kanerva paced the Musketeers in scoring (11.2 ppg) and assists (3.4 apg), to go with 29 steals.

2026-27 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year – Sarah Strong, UConn, Jr., F
2026-27 BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year – Olivia Vukosa, UConn, Fr., C

2026-27 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
KK Arnold, UConn, Sr., G
Blanca Quiñonez, UConn, So., F
Neleigh Gessert, Creighton, So., G
Ava Zediker, Creighton, So., G
Halle Vice, Marquette, Sr., G
Brooke Moore, St. John’s, Sr., G
Sa’Mya Wyatt, St. John’s, Jr., F
Savannah Catalon, Seton Hall, Sr., G
Jasmine Bascoe, Villanova, Jr., G 
Kennedy Henry, Villanova, So., G

Honorable Mention
Ashlynn Shade, UConn, Sr., G
Orlagh Gormley, Providence, Jr., G
Meri Kanerva, Xavier, Jr., G