Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen commits to UConn women’s basketball after three years with Carla Berube
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma rarely takes players out of the transfer portal, but Princeton guard Kaitlyn Chen made perfect sense for his team after she spent the last three seasons led by former Husky and Tigers coach Carla Berube.
Chen was one of the top guards in the transfer portal after back-to-back first-team All-Ivy League selections and three consecutive Most Outstanding Player awards at the conference tournament. She was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2023 and earned the first major national recognition of her career in 2024 receiving an honorable mention All-American nod from the WBCA.
The 5-9 guard from San Mario, California averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and a career-high 4.9 assists per game in 2023-24, also shooting a career-best 48.8% from the field and 32.8% from 3-point range. She led the Tigers to an upset of Columbia in the Ivy League tournament to earn the team its third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Princeton ended its season with a 63-53 loss to 8-seed West Virginia in the first round.
Chen is UConn’s first commitment out of the transfer portal since adding Lou Lopez-Senechal from Fairfield in 2022. Lopez-Senechal went on to earn first-team All-Big East honors in 2022-23, and she was the No. 5 overall pick by the Dallas Wings in the 2023 WNBA Draft. The Huskies also lost junior forward Amari DeBerry and sophomore guard Ines Bettencourt to the portal, though neither averaged more than six minutes per game in 2023-24.
UConn’s backcourt will be crowded in 2024-25, but the Huskies need all the depth they can get after six season-ending injuries nearly derailed their season. The group is led by superstar Paige Bueckers, who had a remarkable comeback season in 2023-24 earning unanimous first-team All-American honors and making the finalist list for Naismith Player of the Year. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2021, will return after suffering an ACL tear two games into 2023, and the Huskies also bring back freshman starters KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade.
With three incoming freshmen, Chen will be one of the most senior members of the Huskies roster alongside Bueckers and sixth-year Aubrey Griffin. UConn was the only team in the country to sign three top-15 prospects in the Class of 2024: No. 1 Sarah Strong, No. 7 Allie Ziebell and No. 11 Morgan Cheli.
