The UConn women’s basketball team dipped into the transfer portal and landed a major addition to its 2025-26 roster on Wednesday when former Wisconsin star Serah Williams announced her commitment.

Williams, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, was one of the best transfers available this offseason and chose the Huskies after also taking a visit to LSU. Williams started all three years at Wisconsin playing under former UConn assistant coach Marisa Moseley, and entered the portal after Moseley resigned as the Badgers head coach in March. Moseley was part of five national championships on coach Geno Auriemma’s staff from 2009-18.

At Wisconsin, Williams was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. Though the team never finished above .500, Williams averaged 17.4 points and 10.7 rebounds plus 2.8 blocks in her sophomore season, then ramped up her offensive production even more as a junior logging 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds plus 2.3 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. She is a 51.5% career shooter from the field and recorded 14 double-doubles for the Badgers in 2025.

Williams provides an instant boost to UConn’s frontcourt alongside freshman phenom Sarah Strong with more playing experience than any of the team’s returners. Auriemma never seemed fully comfortable relying on redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy or redshirt sophomore Ice Brady in 2024-25, preferring to run a small lineup with Strong as the lone forward on the floor. The team has two freshman forwards in its 2025 recruiting class and expects to return redshirt sophomore Ayanna Patterson after a shoulder injury sidelined her for all of last year, but Williams gives the younger players more space to develop with her veteran presence and ability to contribute immediately.

Williams is just the fourth player UConn has signed out of the portal since it was established in 2019, but the Huskies have a 100% hit rate on incoming transfers so far. Dorka Juhasz came to UConn after three years at Ohio State and started 44 games over two years, averaging 14.2 points plus 9.9 rebounds in her final season. Fairfield transfer Lou Lopez Senechal played nearly 32 minutes per game in her lone season with the Huskies, leading the team in 3-point percentage and averaging 15.5 points. Kaitlyn Chen was the latest example in 2024-25, starting all 40 games and shooting a career-best 51.4% for UConn as a graduate transfer from Princeton.

Although the Huskies have one more scholarship spot available, and former USC guard Kayleigh Heckel reportedly visited campus with Williams on Tuesday, Auriemma has never signed more than one transfer in an offseason. Only one UConn player, sophomore guard Qadence Samuels, entered the portal after averaging less than six minutes per game in 2024-25.

Originally Published: April 30, 2025 at 1:46 PM EDT