No. 1 Recruit Sarah Strong Officially Signs With UConn

STORRS, Conn. – Sarah Strong, the nation's No. 1 women's basketball recruit, has officially signed with the University of Connecticut.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma announced the signing Tuesday.

"We’ve been very close with Sarah for a long time, and we've seen her grow and develop into as good a player out of high school as we’ve seen in quite some time," Auriemma said. "The skill set that she has is both brand new and fits today's game perfectly, and it's also a throwback to an age when it didn’t matter what size players were, they played the entire game. They passed, they shot, they handled the ball, they rebounded. I think we’re getting a pretty special player and a special person."

A 6-foot-2 forward from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., Strong joins No. 7-ranked Allie Ziebell and No. 11-ranked Morgan Cheli in UConn's freshman class. UConn has ESPN's No. 2 overall class coming to Storrs this fall.

"I think we filled a lot of the needs with this class," Auriemma said. "The players we have can play multiple positions. Allie, Morgan and Sarah are all versatile. They can all put the ball in the basket and that's a big priority for any program. To have three players coming in that can immediately have an impact on your team is pretty unique. I'm thrilled and I can't wait to get started with them in June."

The 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year, Strong was selected as a McDonald's, Naismith, SLAM and Jordan Brand All-American. She also earned 2023 and 2024 North Carolina Miss Basketball and Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year honors. Strong was an MVP for the McDonald's All-America game.

In three seasons at Grace Christian School, Strong averaged 23.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. As a senior, she averaged 21.0 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Strong led Grace Christian to three straight NCISAA state titles and finished her high school career with 41 straight wins. She totaled 2,302 points and 1,628 rebounds in high school.

Strong helped USA Basketball to gold at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup and 2022 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup. She was selected to participate in the U18 National Team trials beginning May 15.