5 Things UConn Fans Need to Know About UTSA

The UConn Huskies ended their 2025-26 season with 34-0 overall and a perfect 20-0 mark in Big East play. UConn then won its 24th conference title. Next, the Huskies head to the 2026 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Fort Worth region.

This is the 23rd time the Huskies have earned a top seed, and it's their first since 2021. The Huskies are also making their 37th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and chasing their 13th national title.

The Huskies begin their NCAA journey against No. 16 seed UTSA in Storrs. Here are 5 things to know about the roadrunners.

1. Roadrunners riding championship momentum after stunning top seed

UTSA may enter the tournament as a No. 16 seed, but the Roadrunners come with momentum. In the American Athletic Conference tournament, UTSA had four wins in four days to claim the championship.

UConn vs. UTSA this Saturday at 3 PM on ABC in Gampel Pavilion!

🎟️ https://t.co/n30keUY1yH pic.twitter.com/77WUhhvORb
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) March 16, 2026

The run ended with a 54-40 win over top-seeded Rice, a team that entered the game with a 28-5 record. They held Rice to just 27 percent shooting, the Owls’ lowest scoring output of the season, while controlling the paint 32-14.

2. UTSA enters NCAA Tournament for first time in over a decade

UTSA earned the automatic bid by winning the American Athletic Conference tournament, marking the program’s third NCAA Tournament appearance and its first since 2009. The last two times, the Roadrunners qualified for the tournament by winning the Southland Conference in both 2008 and 2009.

3. Karen Aston enters with experience and a rare coaching milestone by her side

Karen Aston has turned UTSA into one of the fastest-improving programs in its conference. With this NCAA Tournament entry, Aston became the 15th coach in women’s college basketball history to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament.

Before guiding UTSA to this year’s berth, she took Charlotte to the tournament in 2009 and led Texas to six straight appearances from 2014 to 2019. Across 17 seasons as a head coach, Aston owns a 349-208 career record and averages about 21 wins per season. She also led Texas to four Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight.

4. Cheyenne Rowe leads UTSA’s attack

Senior forward Cheyenne Rowe is a name the Huskies should have circled. Rowe has been the Roadrunners’ most consistent player this season, averaging 14.0 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting nearly 45 percent from the field. Rowe also delivered during the conference tournament run.

Cheyenne Rowe made sure the bank was open 🏦

📺| ESPN+#BuiltToRise x @UTSAWBB pic.twitter.com/Z7S6YJmXxl
— The American (@American_Conf) March 14, 2026

Rowe was named the American Championship’s Most Outstanding Player after recording double-digit points in three of the four games, including 25 points and 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal win over South Florida. In the title game against Rice, Rowe added 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while helping limit the Owls’ offense.

5. UTSA players “spoke” the UConn matchup into existence

Head coach Karen Aston admitted the draw caught her off guard when the bracket was revealed.

“I think we didn’t expect it to be right out of the gates, the first name that was called,” Aston said. “That was shocking.”

However, according to Aston, the players had already joked about the possibility.

“They’ve been saying we’ll probably play Connecticut..I think they were joking around, and they spoke it into existence.”

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