r/NCAAW

For my team I like the roster Coach Yo has put together and they seem to all get along well so far. They recently had a fun pool party at (I wanna say) Coach Yo’s house last month which is good. The new transfers should be good. I’m intrigued to see what Talaysia Cooper, Jaida Civil, and Jada Richard do under her system as well as some of the other transfers like Emily Howard (the center we got from Boise State, and we have needed a true center for a while ever since Shakira Austin went off to the WNBA).

I think if we’re in the top half of the SEC and in the hosting discussion again that’s a win-win for me. Now maybe this time we can actually get that coveted 4-seed or better instead of being stuck at the 5-seed line like we were the past two seasons.

The last piece to Kenny Brooks‘ roster puzzle has arrived in the Bluegrass State.

Slovenian guard Ajsa Sivka (Eye-Shah SEEV-kah) finally made it to Kentucky’s campus on Wednesday. Of the 12 players on the 2026-27 women’s basketball roster, Sivka was the last to arrive. Most of the other 11 Wildcats moved into their new Lexington homes two weekends ago ahead of the start of practice, which began Monday, June 22.

While the 6-foot-4 Sivka came in a bit later than the rest of her teammates, she missed less than two weeks of summer practice. Getting her on campus sooner rather than later was always going to be important. She has a great chance to be an immediate impact player for Kentucky in 2026-27 on the wing.

“I am delighted to welcome Ajsša to our program,” Brooks said when Sivka signed with UK in early May. “Her combination of size and skill will fit into our system seamlessly. Ajša is a tremendous shooter, scorer, and playmaker from the wing position and she will add experience to our team. BBN let’s welcome Ajša to our family!”

Now all we’re waiting on is her grade classification. With the NCAA moving forward with the 5-in-5 rule, Sivka isn’t likely to be tabbed as a freshman despite being a new college player. On her Kentucky WBB player page, her class is listed as “TBD”.

Already 20 years old, Sivka was the 10th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky, although she did not join the franchise at the time, instead opting to remain in Europe to represent the Slovenian National Team at the 2025 FIBA Women’s European Basketball Championship. It still sounds crazy to say out loud that Kentucky has a real top-10 WNBA talent on the roster. She’s going to be a major piece to next season’s success.

STORRS — The UConn women's basketball team will make a rare summer appearance in downtown Hartford Thursday night.

While the majority of the Huskies in attendance will be in the stands as fans, a select few will be down on the court playing in the last-ever Connecticut Sun game in Hartford.

The Sun hosts former Husky stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd and the Dallas Wings at 8 p.m. at PeoplesBank Arena (broadcast on PRIME). Thursday's game will be the last chance for UConn fans to see Bueckers and Fudd play in Connecticut, as the franchise relocates to Houston in the offseason and won't host Dallas again this summer.

To support their former teammates, the current Huskies are not only planning to attend Thursday's game but will also have dinner with Bueckers and Fudd on Wednesday.

"It's really cool that we get the opportunity to see them playing Connecticut, especially with Connecticut moving to Houston. I think it's cool that we get like one more chance to see them play here," said current Husky junior Kayleigh Heckel.

"... I think it's really cool to be able to see them on the same team again. They play really well together (and) it shows every time they play. I think it's really cool for our team to go and watch them play. I feel like you can always take something from seeing players like that."

Coaching hire! Presumably to fill David Atkins’ spot after he went to the Dallas Wings

This will hurt some of the elite 2027 recruits plans, but going forward, the one-time only transfer w/o penalty is good because the 2nd transfer penalty of 12 months still allow s a possible 4yrs played, health permitting

Some notes

1. I consider starting the finals to mean that the player started game 1 of the finals. It's not starting in the finals, it's starting the finals.
2. The NBA record set this year was 5 with 5 Big East players starting for the Knicks and Spurs in Game 1 (Champagnie, Castle, Bridges, Hart, Brunson). Prior to this year, 4 was the max in either league. 4 has been done in the WNBA 5 times.
3. I considered a player's conference to be the one she spent her last year of college in.

Foo	Bar	text
2025	ACC	3
2024	AAC	3
2023	AAC/ACC/Pac-12	2
2022	ACC	3
2021	Big East	3
2020	ACC	4
2019	ACC	4
2018	ACC	4
2017	SEC	3
2016	Big East/SEC	3
2015	ACC/SEC	3
2014	Big East/CAA/SEC	2
2013	Big East	4
2012	Big East	3
2011	Big East	3
2010	Big East	3
2009	Big East/SEC	3
2008	SEC	3
2007	Big East/SEC	3
2006	Big East/SEC	2
2005	Big East	3
2004	Big East/Big Ten	2
2003	SEC	3
2002	CUSA/WAC	2
2001	ACC	3
2000	Pac-10/Sun Belt	2
1999	Pac-10	4
1998	Pac-10	3
1997	Pac-10	3

Here's the all time leaderboard for most starters by conference

Big East: 12

SEC: 8

ACC: 7

Pac-12/Pac-10: 5

AAC: 2

Big Ten: 1

CAA: 1

CUSA: 1

Sun Belt: 1

WAC: 1

It's been rumored for a few weeks that the Valley is overhauling its postseason tournament, including by holding men and women's tournaments on the same weekend in St. Louis. There's a press conference later today that's rumored to be the tournament announcement.