Paige Bueckers drops hint on future as UConn prepares for March Madness

UConn guard Paige Bueckers is widely expected to enter the 2025 WNBA draft in April, but there have been some lingering rumors that she might return for a sixth and final year. In February, Bueckers reaffirmed her plan to enter the draft, which she announced in June last year with the disclaimer, "You never know what could happen."

The Huskies guard could play one more year of college basketball due to the COVID-19 campaign and a redshirt season. Rumors of a potential UConn return picked up when the Dallas Wings were confirmed as the No. 1 pick in the draft. There was speculation that Bueckers might look to try and land on another team by returning to college for another year.

However, the 6-foot-0 guard seems to be sticking to her plan. An answer she gave in an interview with Yahoo Sports! on Wednesday hinted that could be the case. Isis "Ice" Young asked Paige Bueckers:

"Has anything seemed drastically different this year from any of the other years prior, other than maybe knowing it's your last?"

“Yeah, definitely knowing it’s my last," Bueckers responded. "I mean, I had a feeling last year that I wanted to come back. I had not made that decision until late but it was always a gut feeling of mine. So just knowing that there’s a lot more lasts that are coming up, like my last XL game, senior night this weekend."

Bueckers also noted that another major difference was the absence of Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl this season. The trio played together at UConn, but Edwards and Mühl declared for the 2024 WNBA draft, going to the Washington Mystics and Seattle Storm respectively.

“And I think not having Nika and Aaliyah was really weird at first. I’ve had them my entire career at UConn, so playing and adjusting, not being able to hang out was definitely different," Bueckers added.

What next for Paige Bueckers?

The immediate focus for Paige Bueckers is to help the Huskies to the NCAA championship, a feat she has yet to achieve in her college career. The Huskies are set to start their playoff run on Saturday, Mar. 8 against St. John’s or Butler.

UConn finished the regular season top of the Big East, finishing on a seven-game winning streak with a 28-3 overall record and 18-0 in the conference. The Huskies are expected to win the conference tournament championship this season, as they have done in every campaign going back to 2013.

Whether it be with glory or disappointment, after the season ends for UConn, Paige Bueckers is then expected to turn her attention to the WNBA draft. If that is what she elects to do, she is projected to go No. 1 overall and would be selected by the Dallas Wings, who hold the first pick.