Waiting on Kayleigh Heckel

[connboy77]

I might be in the minority, but I don't believe Heckel is coming to UCONN. She wants to start and that will not happen at UCONN. It is my belief that she is going to ND and that is just fine with me because I much rather have Kate Harping from the 2026 class.

 

[Lambeau]

Curiously, Kaitlyn only made 27% from 3 in first two years at Princeton and 35% last year. Can K9 improve from 28%?
Of course we wonder if KK will repeat an awful 21% or recapture a previously solid 33%.

 

[darrell]

I might be in the minority, but I don't believe Heckel is coming to UCONN. She wants to start and that will not happen at UCONN. It is my belief that she is going to ND and that is just fine with me because I much rather have Kate Harping from the 2026 class.

I'm starting to feel a little pessimistic myself, but I still have to ask. If starting is the goal, why leave USC? 4/5 of their starters have either exhausted eligibility or is out due to injury. She and Kennedy Smith would have been the leaders next year with Juju out.

 

[Rocket009]

UConn's not interested in Godot. Not vocal enough, doesn't communicate well on the court.

Also not timely on screens and defensive rotations

 

[Lambeau]

Jazzy Davidson and Kara Dunn as well as Kennedy Smit and return of JuJu for NCAA make a crowded backcourt.

 

[connboy77]

I'm starting to feel a little pessimistic myself, but I still have to ask. If starting is the goal, why leave USC? 4/5 of their starters have either exhausted eligibility or is out due to injury. She and Kennedy Smith would have been the leaders next year with Juju out.

Juju will be back after next year and Heckel will still have two years to play!

 

[stamfordhusky]

Prevailing considerations IMHO vis-a-vis Kayleigh Heckel prospective incoming transfer...

Pardon if any previously addressed. I have been perusing this forum periodically but have not seen, which has triggered this submission

1. Qadence Samuels roster/scholarship spot. To extent she has not declared her destination & presuming she can return-- which I believe is the right of every student athlete who enters the Portal. I recall seeing something about this herein but without elaboration;

That is not correct. Once the player enters the portal, they do not have any guarantee of having a scholarship if they decide they want to return. That would completely be the decision of the coach and the school.

 

[Geew1992]

Do we really need Kayleigh? It wasn't like she burned up the court in any category.

Idk if UConn needs her or not. I’ll leave that up to Geno. But as far as her numbers, she may not have crazy numbers and maybe that why she’s transferring. She’s looking for a coach/staff to help her get where she wants.

 

[Jim R]

I might be in the minority, but I don't believe Heckel is coming to UCONN. She wants to start and that will not happen at UCONN. It is my belief that she is going to ND and that is just fine with me because I much rather have Kate Harping from the 2026 class.

Good point about starting, and ND is a Blue Blood program….but, do you think, as Darrell mentioned, if that’s the case, why leave USC? Of course, there may have been other reasons, we’re unaware of. But, one has to wonder, do you think she may have considered the “why” of the numerous ND player departures? And, instead, like Williams mentioned upon visiting UCONN, she’s thinking, “The winning environment and atmosphere were everything I was looking for.””.

 

[Charliebball]

Good point about starting, and ND is a Blue Blood program….but, do you think, as Darrell mentioned, if that’s the case, why leave USC? Of course, there may have been other reasons, we’re unaware of. But, one has to wonder, do you think she may have considered the “why” of the numerous ND player departures? And, instead, like Williams mentioned upon visiting UCONN, she’s thinking, “The winning environment and atmosphere were everything I was looking for.””.

UConn is a blue blood program while ND is more of a green blood program......

 

[Lambeau]

KK was bad in preseason last October; I don't think the starter at point was predetermined.
I doubt it would be different next October. Only fair competition is promised.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Recruits and transfers can initiate contact with coaches/schools anytime they want.

The first week of May is a recruiting shutdown. As per NCAA rules, “A recruiting shutdown is a period of time when no form of recruiting (e.g., contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence or making or receiving telephone calls) is permissible.”

Among other things, there can be no contact of any kind between recruits and coaches. Coaches cannot have any correspondence with a recruit and cannot take a telephone call from a recruit.

I

 

[drweo]

Godot is not being recruited any more; he signed with a D2 school.

But is he going to show up???

 

[Bone Dog]

KK was bad in preseason last October; I don't think the starter at point was predetermined.
I doubt it would be different next October. Only fair competition is promised.

She did have a bad start last fall. Geno said as much in pressers. But she turned it around by January. My guess is she will approach the summer and fall a bit differently, if only to get ready for the W. And bringing in Kayleigh would add some extra motivation to that end.

 

[oldude]

The first week of May is a recruiting shutdown. As per NCAA rules, “A recruiting shutdown is a period of time when no form of recruiting (e.g., contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence or making or receiving telephone calls) is permissible.”

Among other things, there can be no contact of any kind between recruits and coaches. Coaches cannot have any correspondence with a recruit and cannot take a telephone call from a recruit.

I

This applies to HS recruits only. It’s open season on contracts with transfers.

 

[CTBballfan243]

I can see Geno moving Sarah Strong to the 3, maybe point forward. Similar to DT, I suspect she will be moved around the floor as needed. Where ever she plays, she won’t be coming off the floor much until the game has been decided.

 

[Bone Dog]

You can't tell from this video why Kayleigh left. She speaks very optimistically about USC as a team and a culture. As for herself, she thinks of herself as "a pure point guard" and that she favors an uptempo style. The NCAA released this one on March 27th, though it may have been filmed earlier than that. Whenever it was, it looks like something changed for her in the next couple of weeks.

Kayleigh Heckel talks team chemistry in her first season at USC

Kayleigh Heckel sits down with Autumn Johnson to talk about her first season with Southern California.

www.ncaa.com

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Not so newsy news in a blurb from a new article out today.


The Huskies are still waiting for USC guard transfer Kayleigh Heckel to announce her commitment decision after visiting Storrs, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt, among others, so far this offseason.

https://www.newstimes.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/roster-2025-26-transfer-portal-serah-williams-20302941.php

 

[Zarathustra]

You can't tell from this video why Kayleigh left. She speaks very optimistically about USC as a team and a culture. As for herself, she thinks of herself as "a pure point guard" and that she favors an uptempo style. The NCAA released this one on March 27th, though it may have been filmed earlier than that. Whenever it was, it looks like something changed for her in the next couple of weeks.

Kayleigh Heckel talks team chemistry in her first season at USC

Kayleigh Heckel sits down with Autumn Johnson to talk about her first season with Southern California.

www.ncaa.com

I just watched and listened to the Video posted at thread #242 (above) .. thanks
for the posting! One thing that I thought I heard the interviewer say as part of
a question towards the end of the four minute clip: "COMING INTO YOUR
FIRST YEAR" .... Could this have been PRE- SEASON? and the video highlights
were added as an attachment? Kayleigh did not look like she was in "end
of season" conditioning (but I do believe she was very fit even at the start of the season).
I really appreciated K9's comment about her New York mentality (something
like that). " Uptempo". It was a great video displaying her passing and
drives to the bucket. GO HUSKY "dog".

 

[cancontent]

Not so newsy news in a blurb from a new article out today.


The Huskies are still waiting for USC guard transfer Kayleigh Heckel to announce her commitment decision after visiting Storrs, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt, among others, so far this offseason.

https://www.newstimes.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/roster-2025-26-transfer-portal-serah-williams-20302941.php

She has a lot of options to consider. Totally respect the slow and steady decision process.

 

[Bald Husky]

You can't tell from this video why Kayleigh left. She speaks very optimistically about USC as a team and a culture. As for herself, she thinks of herself as "a pure point guard" and that she favors an uptempo style. The NCAA released this one on March 27th, though it may have been filmed earlier than that. Whenever it was, it looks like something changed for her in the next couple of weeks.

Kayleigh Heckel talks team chemistry in her first season at USC

Kayleigh Heckel sits down with Autumn Johnson to talk about her first season with Southern California.

www.ncaa.com

Well, if she wants to become a better player, play on a winning team, play with a team with tremendous culture and attitude, where else would you go besides UConn? Well, waiting......

 

[uconnever]

I see some people here saying that we may not need her, but I’ve watched her since the McDonald’s All American game because she stood out as one of the better players there. If she commits, by the time she is ready to leave, she will be one of the best point guards in the country, that I’m sure of. Can’t ask for more than that. I think her game fits us perfectly, she’s just a good player that will get a lot better under Geno. We need a back up point because Kelis may not be totally ready, and she is not taking KK’s spot. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but I did, KK was unbelievable during the tourney and if she gets her shot right, KK could turn into an All American player, she is on her way. But we definitely need another good point guard and Heckel would be a HUGE get.

 

[Bone Dog]

KK was unbelievable during the tourney and if she gets her shot right, KK could turn into an All American player, she is on her way.

Wouldn’t it be great if this was her baseline next fall?

 

[oldhusky]

Juju will be back after next year and Heckel will still have two years to play!

I don't know and most of us don't either the reasons Heckel entered the portal. It could be she wanted to start, it could be because Juju will miss next season, it could be that as a PG she doesn't want to play with such a ball dominant player as Juju, it could be the coach, wanting to be closer to home or several other things.

I don't know but certainly some of USC's departures are curious. Very little has come out as to why several of them left, or what they were looking for instead. We just have to wait and see.

 

[Bone Dog]

I don't know and most of us don't either the reasons Heckel entered the portal. It could be she wanted to start, it could be because Juju will miss next season, it could be that as a PG she doesn't want to play with such a ball dominant player as Juju, it could be the coach, wanting to be closer to home or several other things.

I don't know but certainly some of USC's departures are curious. Very little has come out as to why several of them left, or what they were looking for instead. We just have to wait and see.

I’m as puzzled as by when the coaches are blindsided by these departures, as both Lindsay and Cori seem to have been.