Serah Williams #22 of the Connecticut Huskies is introduced before the championship game of the Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament against the Villanova Wildcats at Mohegan Sun on March 09, 2026 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 03: Serah Williams #22 of the UConn Huskies jogs down the court during the third quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 03, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
NEW YORK — Serah Williams was in the elevator at The Shed in New York City when her life changed.
Standing in that small metal box, zooming between floors of the event space in Hudson Yards, overwhelming excitement and shock coursed through the former UConn women’s basketball forward when all of a sudden, her agent leaned over and said, ‘Scratch that. You got traded.’
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About 30 minutes beforehand, the Connecticut Sun drafted Williams No. 33 overall in Monday’s WNBA Draft. Her time with the Sun was short-lived, though, as the franchise dealt her in a draft-day trade to the Portland Fire in exchange for TCU guard Taylor Bigby and a third-round pick in the 2027 draft.
While the trade sends Williams across the country, it gives the former Husky her best chance at making an opening-day WNBA roster.
“I (feel) gratitude, excitement,” said Williams about joining one of the league’s two newest expansion teams. ” … I’ve never been to Portland, so to spend some time out there, being in a new environment and just experiencing the freshness that comes with being part of a new franchise — we’re all in it together. It’s all new for everyone.”
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Serah Williams at the 2026 WNBA Draft held at The Shed at Hudson Yards on April 13, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty Images)
Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty Images
Williams spent the past season in Storrs after playing her first three years of college ball at Wisconsin. With the Huskies, the 6-foot-4 post player learned how to play team basketball after being the Badgers’ do-it-all leader. Sure, her impact on the floor was inconsistent as she battled smaller forwards in the Big East, but off the court, she blended effortlessly with the team as they became her biggest supporters.
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Now with the Fire in the WNBA, Williams knows she has to bring “the best version” of herself to training camp (which starts Sunday), in order to prove she has what it takes to join the world’s most competitive professional women’s basketball league.
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“This one year definitely had its ups and downs, but it definitely taught me how to play team basketball, the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” said Williams after the draft. “My first three years was previously all simply just me, me, me. I wanted to and I learned how to play on a team, where it’s not just me, me, me. I accomplished what I wanted to.”
Jana El Alfy and KK Arnold knew last spring during Williams’ official visit to Storrs that she had what it takes to be a Husky. The Brooklyn native immediately jumped into the camaraderie and competitive nature of associate head coach Chris Dailey’s trivia games.
El Alfy hosted Williams on campus, and the two bigs quickly bonded. El Alfy remains proud that Williams is the first recruit she’s hosted who’s committed to UConn.
“From the jump, I knew she was coming here,” El Alfy told CT Insider during the NCAA Tournament, smiling. “ … I think she got comfortable pretty fast. The team, I think we do a really good job of including everybody, and making sure everybody is comfortable and getting everybody out of their comfort zone that they’re in. But she was an outgoing person. It wasn’t really hard for her to blend in. She made it easy.”
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Williams, who was born and raised in Brooklyn before spending her high school years in Toronto, said it was the Huskies’ warm, friendly bond that made her decision easy when committing to UConn out of the transfer portal.
“I think that’s rare to have a team where you enjoy being around every single one. That’s what I’m really cherishing,” Williams told CT Insider. “A big reason of me coming here was because how easy it was to get along with all the girls in like less than 48 hours here on campus. When I came here officially in the summer, it was just amazing. It felt like I was already part of the team.”
North Carolina forward Nyla Harris, center, competes for a rebound against UConn’s Ashlynn Shade (12), Serah Williams (22) and Sarah Strong (21) in the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
Once she got to Storrs, Williams became roommates with Arnold and Sarah Strong. While her adjustment on the court was challenging at times, Arnold always kept the mood at home light and fun.
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“She’s goofy. She adapted right away to me bothering her, coming in her room, yelling,” Arnold said. “She’s very fun. If I joke around with her, she’ll joke right back. … She was an open sponge when it came on the court, and off the court, she embraced everybody and just kind of jelled with everybody.”
Williams’ role at UConn was completely different from her role in Wisconsin. Strong and Azzi Fudd were the focal points of the Huskies’ offense and carried the brunt of the scoring responsibility. Williams knew going in that she’d have a lighter load, but learning to share the ball and looking for options instead of doing everything herself took time.
El Alfy and Williams often worked together in practice. El Alfy understands what it’s like to play with a tight leash and work through growing pains on the court.
“Having her here has been one of the greatest things that happened to me,” El Alfy said. “We just help each other every day to be better. I think we also challenge each other every day to be better. It’s been incredible having her and working with her. She’s a big sister to me, on and off the court.”
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Added Williams: “Jana is always the first to see how I’m doing. She comes up to me after a game. She’s been here before. … She handles everything so well. And being new, sometimes it can be overwhelming, but just to have her to look up to, she’s like, ‘It’s fine, you’ll be OK.’”
Williams found her groove in the second half of the Huskies’ season. Against St. John’s in the regular-season finale in front of her home state crowd at Madison Square Garden, she recorded 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Later, in the Huskies’ Big East Tournament opener against Georgetown, she put up a season-high 14 points with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
A couple weeks later, she had her best defensive performance in a UConn uniform and shut down Syracuse’s star 6-3 center Izoje Uche in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Because of Williams, Uche finished the first half with more turnovers than points.
UConn’s Serah Williams (22) during practice and media day leading up to the Final Four at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona Thursday, April 2, 2026.
Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media
“It’s hard coming to UConn at any point, but to come in your senior year when you already were established at a different program, knew their offense, knew how things went, to come in here just for one year, it’s really difficult,” said Fudd.
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“ … The way that she’s really embraced that challenge; it definitely hasn’t been easy for her, but the way that she’s embraced it and just stayed with it, she stayed a part of the team. It’s super easy to shut down and just be like, ‘Oh things aren’t going well, I’m going go wallow in myself.’ But she’s just given herself to the team, and I think it shows.”
Williams never had a winning season at Wisconsin. She never got to experience watching Selection Sunday with the excited anticipation for her team’s name to pop up nor play on the sport’s biggest stage. She transferred to UConn to become better, yes, but to also finally play in March Madness instead of watching it on TV.
She collected UConn’s Big East regular-season and tournament championship celebratory hats and T-shirts with pride, and danced in confetti when the Huskies defeated Notre Dame in Fort Worth to advance to the Final Four.
“Just to be able to do it with this team, I think it’s the best team I’ve played on, with the connection we have off the court,” said Williams after UConn’s win over the Irish.
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Williams wasn’t formerly invited to Monday’s draft. Various mock drafts projected her to go in the latter two rounds, while ESPN’s final mock draft had her going last at pick No. 45. Still, she attended the draft and sat with the Huskies in support of Fudd, who went No. 1 overall to Dallas.
The Huskies erupted in pure joy when Williams’ name was called, capturing the moment she walked up on stage. In their videos, Williams appears nervous as her teammates pull out their phones and begin filming her. She pretends to look busy on her phone, but the second her name is called she begins to blush.
“I didn’t really know how to react,” she said. “I’m super grateful for the opportunity.”
Had Williams stayed with the Sun, she would have had to compete for a roster spot among Connecticut’s already established and stacked young frontcourt featuring two former Huskies — Aaliyah Edwards is on a rookie contract while Olivia Nelson-Ododa just re-signed with the team on a multi-year deal. There’s also former LSU star Aneesah Morrow and newly acquired forwards Diamond Miller and fellow 2026 draftee Nell Angloma.
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Portland, on the other hand, is in the beginning stages of building its identity. Its frontcourt will be led by veteran Bridget Carleton, but after her it’s open game as to who impresses most during training camp.
“(She’s) another player we think has a lot of potential, and with our coaching staff and in our system,” Fire general manager Vanja Černivec said of Williams. “We think we can develop her into a really, really good player and pillar on our team. Defensively, we all know she’s a monster, can run the floor, but we’re very confident we can develop her offensive game. … I’m very excited to see Serah when she comes here. I think she has a great chance to make our roster.”