UConn's Kayleigh Heckel shares 4-word reaction as former USC teammate Avery Howell sweats it out in offseason workouts

Former USC Trojans guard Avery Howell stepped into the breach when standout star JuJu Watkins got injured in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Howell, who was a sixth woman for most of the season, announced her entry into the transfer portal after the Trojans' season was ended by the UConn Huskies at the Elite Eight stage of the Big Dance.

Howell committed to the Washington Huskies last month and has been showing her 18,000 Instagram fans how she has been settling in at her new program. On Wednesday, she shared pictures of an intense offseason workout at the gym.

"Everyday," Avery Howell wrote.

Howell's former USC Trojans teammate, Kayleigh Heckel, who joined the UConn Huskies, hyped her up in the comments section of her Instagram post.

"They gon see soon," Heckel wrote.

Kayleigh Heckel's IG comment under Avery Howell's post

Despite being praised by USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb after the Trojans were beaten in the NCAA Tournament by the UConn Huskies, both Heckel and Avery Howell entered the transfer portal.

“I think Avery and Kennedy (Smith), and Kayleigh Heckel and our other freshmen, like, they are high, high-level players. They’re competitors, they’re winners, they’re ready for any stage,” Gottlieb said. “I know they’re going to keep getting better, which is unbelievable.”

---

Avery Howell revealed why she left USC

Avery Howell averaged 7.5 points on 43.1% shooting from the field and 39.9% shooting from beyond the arc, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season.

She was a consistent sixth woman off the bench for USC last season and would likely have garnered more minutes after the Trojans lost JuJu Watkins to a long-term injury, Talia Von Oelhoffen ran out of eligibility and Rayah Marshall and Kiki Iriafen departed for the WNBA.

In her farewell post on Instagram last month, Howell revealed why she was leaving USC.

“I want to start by expressing my deepest gratitude to the University of Southern California, my coaches, teammates, and the entire Trojan family for their unwavering support and the incredible experiences I’ve had during my time here,” Howell wrote.

“USC has shaped me not only as an athlete but also as a person, and I will forever cherish the relationships and memories I’ve made. I have decided to enter the transfer portal in search of the best fit for my future.”

Howell reunited with former META Hoops teammate Brynn McGaughy in Washington and was one of coach Tina Langley's recruits from the transfer portal alongside former Michigan Wolverines center Yulia Grabovskaia.