UConn hooper Kayleigh Heckel shares heartfelt message as Top 20 recruit commits to Kenny Brooks' Kentucky

UConn Huskies player Kayleigh Heckel was elated with her former Long Island Lutheran teammate Savvy Swords' commitment announcement.

The 5-foot-9 guard first shared Swords will announce her commitment on Friday on Instagram story.

"The baby is committing todayyyyy $20 and i'll tell you where she's going!! jk but i'm so excited for u savvy sav," Heckel captioned her first story.

Image via Instagram @heckel_kayleigh

She added another story after Swords had announced her commitment to the Kentucky Wildcats.

"AYYYY FINALLY I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH AND IM EXTREMELY PROUD OF YOU this girl is a special one, no one is ready," the second story was captioned.

UConn hooper Kayleigh Heckel shares heartfelt message as Top 20 recruit commits to Kenny Brooks' Kentucky (Image via Instagram @heckel_kayleigh)

Check out the original post by Swords.

"Big blue business🤍💙Let's workk," the post was captioned.

Kayleigh Heckel played her freshman season at USC and averaged 6.1 points on 45.9% shooting, including 28.3% from the free-throw line. She also grabbed 1.4 rebounds, dished out 1.9 assists, stole the ball 1.3 times and had 0.1 blocks in 16.9 minutes per game, while starting seven games.

She entered the transfer portal and will play for the Huskies next season.

Meanwhile, Savvy Sword, the Class of 2026 recruit, ranks 11th nationally, third in the combo guard position and second in New York. She represented Canada in the FIBA U17 World Cup in Mexico last year and led the team to the finals before they were defeated by Team USA.

She averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.1 steals and 0.4 blocks in 29.0 minutes per contest and shot 50.0%. One of her best games came against France in the group phase, scoring 25 points on 72.7% shooting and converting 3-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line.

Sword also recorded five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 29 minutes.

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Kayleigh Heckel set to represent Team USA at the U19 World Cup

Heckel was named among the 12-member roster that's set to play in the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup from July 12-20, in Brno, Czechia. The roster consists of four incoming college sophomores and three incoming freshman.

Top recruits from the Class of 2025, including USC Trojans signee Jazzy Davidson and UCLA Bruins signee Sienna Betts are included in the squad, too.

From the Class of 2026, Jerzy Robinson, Saniyah Hall, Addison Bjorn and more are also set to play in the tournament.