{"id":441263,"date":"2026-01-29T17:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441263\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T17:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:27:08","slug":"aaliyah-edwards-returns-to-uconn-to-enter-huskies-of-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441263\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaliyah Edwards returns to UConn to enter Huskies of Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORRS \u2014 Aaliyah Edwards<\/a> boarded a plane in Miami and flew right into the aftermath of a winter storm in Connecticut. \u201cThe snowstorm was not my friend,\u201d she told the crowd at Gampel Pavilion.<\/a> \u201cNot my friend at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards was surrounded by thousands of friends and much of her basketball family on Wednesday night, when she was inducted into the Huskies of Honor,<\/a> joining the best of the best to play for UConn women\u2019s basketball, as a elite a group as one can join in the sport. But who among us doesn\u2019t occasionally wish to spend a day back at school, away from the far more complicated business of our chosen profession?<\/p>\n

And Aaliyah Edwards graduated from UConn and jumped into the women\u2019s basketball business at an exciting, interesting and complicated moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just school and basketball, it\u2019s \u2018adulting,’\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI\u2019m really happy with my situation. I\u2019m part of the union as a player-rep and part of the JEDI program<\/a> (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) as well to represent the young athletes of The W, sharing my voice, making sure every voice is heard, especially from my generation. It\u2019s super important, to step into those rooms where you don\u2019t think a lot of people can hear you, but every voice matters. It may not be for now, but for five years in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allie Ziebell ties program record to lead shorthanded UConn women\u2019s basketball in rout of Xavier<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edwards, 23, who came to UConn in 2020 from Kingston, Ontario<\/a>, in a freshman class that included Paige Bueckers and Nika Muhl, navigated a difficult four years, by UConn standards. The Huskies did not win a championship during her time, but reached the Final Four three out of four years, the championship game in 2022, her career ending with a moving pick call at the end of an excruciating loss to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the semifinals\u00a0 in \u201924.<\/p>\n

When it was all said and done, she was a WBCA All-American, which is a criteria for inclusion in the Huskies of Honor, and one of only six in UConn history<\/a> with more than 1,800 points (1,861) and 1,000 rebounds (1,020), and had 35 double-doubles.<\/p>\n

Taken by Washington with the No. 6 pick i<\/a>n\u00a0 the 2024 WNBA Draft, Edwards, 6-3, began to gravitate toward a leadership role, like many former Huskies in the league, joining Unrivaled, the off-season venture launched by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Last season, Edwards was traded to the Connecticut Sun, joining her predecessor and mentor as a UConn center, Tina Charles.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer UConn player and WNBA player Aaliyah Edwards, left, smiles as UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, right during a pregame ceremony adding Edwards to the Huskies of Honor before an NCAA college basketball game against Xavier, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo\/Jessica Hill)<\/p>\n

So Connecticut has become a second home for Edwards, who could be part of the last season the franchise plays at Mohegan Sun Arena. With talks for a new collective bargaining agreement stalled, it is looking more and more likely that there will be a work-stoppage at the start of next season. There are times when it seems a desire to move the Sun to a bigger market, such as Houston or Boston,<\/a> is one of the few areas of agreement between the league and the union.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a question I\u2019m torn,\u201d she said. \u201cOne, I really only spent a month with the Connecticut Sun this past season, but it really is a second home to me, so a lot of memories, a lot of history here in this state. And women\u2019s basketball is at the forefront of it, so I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t know what the future holds. The possibility of us moving, yeah, that would be sad, but I hope we still have some diehards who will make the trip wherever we land. It\u2019d be nice to stay here and continue that future with the Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collier and Stewart, teammates on UConn\u2019s 2016 champions who were honored earlier this season, have risen to leadership<\/a> positions in the WNBA players association.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing into this new CBA, we\u2019re not just trying to make changes for next\u00a0 year, but also for the six years down the road,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cVery impressed (with Stewart and Collier), especially now that \u2018Phee is my teammate in Unrivaled, spending time with her, learning not just basketball things, but life lessons and how she navigates the corporate world, it\u2019s nice to have her as a mentor. What they\u2019re doing, her and Stewie, not only for Unrivaled but for women\u2019s basketball, it\u2019s amazing to see and it encourages me to make that same kind of impact in my own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards was at the Huskies shoot-around Wednesday morning. Before UConn\u2019s 97-39 victory over Xavier, Edwards was introduced, her No. 3 placard unveiled among the program\u2019s all-time stars, and she addressed the crowd<\/a> for about five minutes. \u201cI never set out to be recognized for individual accomplishment,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it truly feels so good to see my name up there in the rafters, not only recognition for me, but for my family. It truly means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer UConn player and WNBA player Aaliyah Edwards, right, embraces associate head coach Chris Dailey, left, during a pregame ceremony adding Edwards to the Huskies of Honor before an NCAA college basketball game against Xavier, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo\/Jessica Hill)<\/p>\n

The team she left behind, with the addition of impact freshmen, notably Sarah Strong, claimed that 12th national championship that eluded UConn during Edwards\u2019 years. This year\u2019s Huskies are 21-0,<\/a> with No. 13 in their crosshairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still trying to get the whole alum thing going on, but I will be back when we make it to the Final Four this year,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s weird being away from the team for so much, but the love is still there, I still support them and it\u2019s great to be back in this building because a lot of memories were had here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaliyah Edwards, who has helped grow the sport in Canada, left a mark at UConn in her more reserved way, and her future remains rich with possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always want to be a mentor for the next generation, that\u2019s something I\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cI think I\u2019m just super proud of how far I\u2019ve come, coming from a little town, Kingston in Canada. I feel like my story is a testament that it can be done, if you put in the work, just trust in yourself, believe in yourself and believing there is no impossible. I hope my story impacts somebody the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STORRS \u2014 Aaliyah Edwards boarded a plane in Miami and flew right into the aftermath of a winter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[9001,23867,4657,49,735,48,182659,4785,4784,182658,156669,57165,884,180660,729,4658,82,8611,4664,182657,630],"class_list":["post-441263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aaliyah-edwards","tag-adam-silver","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-ca","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-canada","tag-cathy-englebert","tag-connecticut","tag-ct-news","tag-ct-sun","tag-geno-auriemma","tag-hartford-courant","tag-local-news","tag-max-image-preview","tag-napheesa-collier","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-sports","tag-tina-charles","tag-uconn","tag-uconn-womens-basketball","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}