Former SC Star Crowns UConn's Sarah Strong NCAA's Best

Recently, on the Post Moves with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston podcast, the former South Carolina Gamecocks star was asked who she believed was the best player heading into the 2025–26 season. Aliyah Boston, almost instantaneously named a UConn Huskies forward.

“Ooh, you know I ride for my Gamecocks,” Boston said. “But if I’m keeping it real, I think Sarah Strong, seriously, her ability to do anything on the floor, make the right pass, she’s been stretching the floor since she was in high school. She showed that last year. Her ability to just post up, get to her spot, I really think she is like top dog.”

That is no small praise coming from a player like Boston, who was one of the reasons the Huskies, for the first time, fell to the Gamecocks in 2020. In UConn’s season-opening 79–66 win over No. 20 Louisville, Strong scored 21 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Sarah Strong tonight 🔥

• 21 points
• 9 rebounds
• 5 assists
• 2 blocks
• 2 steals
• 9/17 FGpic.twitter.com/ioWY59rdOB
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) November 5, 2025

It was the same fluid mix of power and precision that carried her through a record-breaking freshman year, where she set the UConn record for rebounds by a rookie at 356 and became only the second Husky ever to score 600+ points as a freshman behind Huskies legend Maya Moore.

And now, just one year after taking down South Carolina for 24 points and 15 rebounds in the national title game, Strong is being crowned “top dog” by one of the Gamecocks’ greatest. And the timing couldn’t be better.

The stage is set once again for college basketball’s fiercest rivalry. UConn and South Carolina will have a rematch during the 13th annual Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on November 24, 2026, at Mohegan Sun Arena.

While Boston puts Strong at the very top, her co-host, Candace Parker, one of the greatest names to ever play in the WNBA and a University of Tennessee alum, added another Huskie to the list.

Candace Parker Adds Azzi Fudd to the Mix, Warns UConn Stars Could ‘X Each Other Out’

Boston’s praise didn’t stop the conversation there. Candace Parker chimed in to add another name, Texas forward Madison Booker, before shifting focus back to UConn’s other star, Azzi Fudd.

“You also have to give respect to Azzi Fudd, who was the most outstanding player last year,” Parker said. “Sometimes when you have two powerhouses on one team, they kind of X each other out.”

That problem is one Geno Auriemma wouldn’t mind having. In the post-Paige Bueckers era, the question for UConn wasn’t about talent or scoring. Instead, it was about leadership. Who would fill the huddle with voice, energy, and direction?

Early in the offseason, Auriemma surprised many by naming Strong the team’s most vocal leader.

“Every huddle she’s in, she’s the one doing the talking,” he said after an exhibition win. “That would have never happened last year.” However, something shifted as the season approached.

Fudd, once quiet, began to find her voice as well. Strong admitted she didn’t see it coming.

"She just came out looking really assertive,” she said. “Just seeing her talking more was really shocking.” That shared leadership has translated beautifully on the floor.

In the season opener, the duo combined for 41 points, playing in perfect sync. Off the court, the chemistry runs even deeper. Fudd and Strong had a private talk after practice about what leadership means in this new era.

Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd were IN THEIR BAG 🛍️

The defending champs kept it rolling to start the season 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/D5lWBWCJDh
— espnW (@espnW) November 5, 2025

“We both agreed that people are probably going to look up to us,” Strong said. “And how we probably need to do a better job leading on the court and just getting the reps at it in practice so we can do it naturally in games.”

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