KK Arnold, Serah Williams, Talia Von Oelhoffen, and more can't contain their excitement as Geno Auriemma's UConn lands major transfer portal target

USC Trojans guard Kayleigh Heckel has confirmed that she's transferring to Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies for her sophomore season of collegiate hoops.

The news comes after the Port Chester, New York, native had announced entering the transfer portal, posting a hearfelt farewell to the program and USC faithful last month.

"K9 by name, husky by nature. see you in storrs! go huskiesss💙🤍 #committed #backhome #blessed," Heckel wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.

Members of the 2025-26 UConn roster, both current and incoming, reacted to Heckel's transfer.

"I'M TALM 'BOUT INNITTTTTTTT," incoming junior KK Arnold exclaimed.

IG comments (image credits: @heckel_kayleigh on Instagram)

"Yeaaaa," transferee Serah Williams wrote with a couple of fire emojis.

"My superstar!!!!," incoming freshman Talia Von Oelhoffen asserted with heart-eye emojis.

"YEAHHHHHHHHH," incoming sophomore Morgan Cheli posted.

Heckel's former teammates and an incoming Trojans player also reacted.

"Yes baby heck!!," now Washington Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen said with emojis.

"So happy for you K9," incoming freshman Jazzy Davidson commented with red heart emojis.

"Yesss congrats!!! Love you always," Brooklyn Jazz wrote.

(image credits: @heckel_kayleigh on Instagram)

In her lone stint with the Trojans, Heckel averaged 6.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 in around 16.9 minutes per game.

Kayleigh Heckel and the USC Trojans were eliminated by the UConn Huskies in the 2025 March Madness

Kayleigh Heckel is set to join the UConn Huskies who had eliminated her and the USC Trojans from the 2025 NCAA national tournament en route winning it all. On March 31, coach Geno Auriemma's Huskies beat Lindsay Gottlieb's USC 78-64 in the Elite Eight.

In what turned out to be her final game for the Trojans, Heckel ended the night with five points on 2-for-7 overall shooting and a rebound in 18 minutes off the bench. USC fnished the campaign with an overall 31-4 record, 17-1 in Big Ten conference play.

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 Bhargav