Overview
- Sarah Strong and KK Arnold were placed on the 25-player midseason watchlist released Tuesday for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
- UConn is one of just two programs with multiple honorees on the list, alongside South Carolina and Texas.
- Strong leads UConn across major categories with 18.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 3.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, and she tops national leaderboards in advanced defensive metrics.
- Arnold anchors the full-court press with 2.7 steals per game and ranks top 10 nationally in defensive rating and defensive box plus/minus.
- No UConn player has won the Naismith defensive award since its 2018 inception, and Geno Auriemma noted program history while saying Paige Bueckers “should have won it three years in a row.”