In Pic: UConn's Kayleigh Heckel shares "little treasures" from freshman season with JuJu Watkins' USC

New UConn Huskies guard Kayleigh Heckel is still grateful for her time with the USC Trojans in the 2024-25 season. On May 20, Heckel announced through her Instagram account that she is transferring from her freshman year with the Trojans to play for UConn in the 2025-26 campaign for her sophomore stint.

Still, on Wednesday, the Port Chester, New York native uploaded a photo on her Instagram story that shows some of what she called "little treasures" that she received in her one year with the Trojans, where she teamed up with the likes of JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen.

"Just some of the little treasures from this season that mean the absolute world to meeeee, grateful for the love and creativity from the best fans everrrrr," Heckel captioned her post.

In Heckel's Instagram story, some of the trinkets that she got from her first stint in college basketball were bracelets, her own trading card, a graphic design of her and a personalized drawing. The now second-year standout also showed a shirt that said the words perseverance, hardwork and dedication on it.

For her first year of collegiate hoops, Heckel averaged 6.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in around 16.9 minutes per contest for the Trojans that finished with an overall record of 31-4, 17-1 during Big Ten conference play this year.

UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma is excited to have Kayleigh Heckel in 2025-26 roster

As Kayleigh Heckel formally signed with the UConn Huskies for her sophomore season of collegiate hoops in the 2025-26 campaign on May 25, legendary coach and new mentor Geno Auriemma couldn't be more excited for her arrival. In a report by the Huskies' official website, Auriemma let out a statement to share his feelings towards his new player in Heckel:

"Kayleigh has a passion for the game. She plays at a quick pace and can impact both ends of the court. She's a great teammate and someone who wants to grow on and off the court. We're excited to have her at Connecticut."

Auriemma and the rest of the 2024-25 Huskies finished with an overall record of 37-3, and an undefeated 18-0 during Big East conference play earlier this year in which they won both the regular season title and the conference tournament championship.

UConn then reached the 2025 NCAA national title game on April 6, in which they won over the South Carolina Gamecocks by 23 points, 82-59.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Veer Badani