The University of Connecticut women's basketball program got some good news on Tuesday, as Class of 2027 top recruit Kaleena Smith reduced her recruiting list by one school.
On3 reported that Smith, who is the No. 1 overall recruit, will no longer consider Miami.
Smith has already visited Washington, but will visit Baylor as well on Aug. 28. Beyond that, she is set to visit Georgia (Sept. 11), Tennessee (Sept. 25), Arizona State (Oct. 9), USC (Oct. 23), UCLA (Oct. 30), UConn (Nov. 6) and Texas A&M (Nov. 13).
There are still plenty of schools in the mix for the California native, so there's plenty of competition, but anything that eases the opportunity for the Huskies is ultimately a good thing for Geno Auriemma and his staff.
Biggest selling point for the Huskies?
Simply put, there is no school in the country that can put together the sales pitch that UConn can. The Huskies are the most decorated program in the sport's history, with head coach Geno Auriemma the winningest coach in the sport's history (1288 wins).
He's also won 12 national championships, including a title most recently in 2024-25. Last year's Huskies got to the Final Four after putting together an unbeaten regular season and conference tournament run. They were beaten by South Carolina in the Final Four, but return National Player of the Year Sarah Strong this season and should be able to contend once again.
If that doesn't impress Smith enough? UConn has had seven No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA Draft (Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd), including the last two (Bueckers and Fudd).
No other school can come close to that kind of impact in college or in the pro ranks.
What's holding UConn back?
Nothing is holding UConn back, but it should be noted that Smith is a California native and UConn is the furthest school away from California on her list. If playing in front of her home fans is important to her, UConn can't match some of the other schools here.
Furthermore, UCLA just won the national title, so while they don't have the history that UConn does, they do have recent success on their side.
Also in UConn WBB recruiting
Speaking of 2027 recruits, the Huskies are in the mix for Washington native Finley Parcher. She has narrowed her list down to a final seven, with UConn being the only school on the East Coast.