Sarah Strong

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Sarah Strong
Strong with UConn in 2025
No. 21 – UConn Huskies
PositionSmall forward
LeagueBig East Conference
Personal information
Born (2006-02-03) February 3, 2006 (age 19)
Madrid, Spain
NationalityAmerican / French
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High school
CollegeUConn (2024–present)
Career highlights
Medals
Representing the  United States
Women's basketball
FIBA Under-18 Women's AmeriCup
Gold medal – first place 2024 Colombia
FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2024 Hungary
Gold medal – first place 2023 Hungary
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hungary

Sarah Strong (born February 3, 2006) is an American-French college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference. She was ranked the number one recruit in the 2024 class by ESPN.

High school career

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Strong played her freshman year at Fuquay-Varina High School in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, and averaged 25 points and 19 rebounds per game.[1] After that season, she moved to Grace Christian School in Sanford, North Carolina, and won three consecutive NCISAA state titles as the team went 91–4 over three years and finished on a 41-game undefeated streak.[2][3] As a senior, she averaged 21.0 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 2023–24.[4] She was named North Carolina Miss Basketball in 2023 and 2024 and was selected to play in the 2024 McDonald's All-American Girls Game.[4] She was named the Naismith High School Player of the Year in 2024, becoming the first North Carolinian to be so honored.[5] Strong was ranked as the No. 1 recruit of the class of 2024 by ESPN.[6] On April 6, 2024, she committed to play college basketball at UConn.[7]

College career

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Freshman season

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Strong debuted for the UConn Huskies on November 7, 2024, scoring a team-high 17 points with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 steals in a 86–32 win over Boston University.[8]

At the end of the 2025 regular season, Strong was named Big East Freshman of the Year, and was unanimously named to the All-Big East First Team, along with teammate Paige Bueckers, and the Big East All-Freshman Team.[9] She was also named the Division I WBCA Freshman of the Year.[10]

On April 6, 2025, Strong won her first national championship scoring a double-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, becoming the first player in history to have at least 20 points, 15 boards and 5 assists in the national championship game.[11] She finished her freshman season averaging 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

National team career

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In 3x3 basketball, Strong won gold with the United States at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup, and at the 2024 FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup.[12]

In June 2025, Strong represented USA Basketball at the 2025 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, finishing sixth after a 18-15 loss to Mongolia in the quarterfinals. In five games (4-1), Strong averaged 7.6 points (4th among all players) and 7.8 rebounds (1st).[12][13][14]

Off the court

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Personal life

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Strong was born on February 3, 2006, in Madrid, Spain. She spent the first 10 years of her life living with her parents in Spain and is fluent in Spanish.[15]

Strong's father, Danny Strong, played college basketball at NC State. Strong's mother, Allison Feaster, played college basketball at Harvard, and then professionally in the WNBA. Feaster later joined the Boston Celtics front office.[4][2]

Strong has dual citizenship with France.[16]

Business interests

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In April 2024, Strong signed a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with the collective Bleeding Blue For Good.[17]

On July 21, 2025, Unrivaled, a 3x3 basketball league, announced the signing of 14 of the best women's college basketball players, including Strong and her UConn teammate Azzi Fudd, to groundbreaking NIL deals as part of "The Future is Unrivaled Class of 2025", building on the league's commitment to investing in and cultivating the future of the game.[18][19]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
* Denotes seasons in which Strong won an NCAA Championship

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2024–25* UConn 40 40 28.7 58.6 38.8 74.0 8.9 3.6 2.3 1.7 1.6 16.4
Career 40 40 28.7 58.6 38.8 74.0 8.9 3.6 2.3 1.7 1.6 16.4
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference[20]

References

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  1. ^ Gibson, Todd (December 8, 2023). "Grace Christian's Sarah Strong in no hurry to name a college". CBS 17. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Bass, Alex (December 30, 2023). "Why defending Sarah Strong, the nation's top prep girls basketball player, is often futile". The News & Observer. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Villamarzo, Andy (March 9, 2024). "Grace Christian's Sarah Strong named Naismith Girls Basketball Player of the Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Wertz Jr., Langston (March 14, 2024). "Grace Christian standout Sarah Strong is NC Ms. Basketball for second straight year". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Eberly, Keaton (March 9, 2024). "'I am humbled': North Carolina high school basketball star wins national award". WNCT. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Laflin, Shane (March 14, 2024). "No. 1 recruit Sarah Strong is down to three schools: Who makes the list?". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Laflin, Shane (April 6, 2024). "Top 2024 recruit Sarah Strong commits to UConn". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ^ Adams, Emily (November 8, 2024). "Sarah Strong dominates for UConn women's basketball in 86–32 rout Boston University to open season". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  9. ^ "2025 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Annual Awards Announced". www.bigeast.com. March 6, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  10. ^ "UConn's Sarah Strong named 2025 WBCA NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year presented by adidas". WBCA. April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  11. ^ "How UConn beat South Carolina to win the women's NCAA championship". ESPN.com. April 7, 2025. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Sarah Strong". USA Basketball. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Sarah Strong to Play for USA Basketball at 2025 FIBA 3x3 World Cup". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  14. ^ "USA's 3x3 World Cup Runs End in Quarterfinals". USA Basketball. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Spears, Marc J. (March 21, 2025). "Boston Celtics executive Allison Feaster hopes shining moment comes for daughter, UConn star Sarah Strong". Andscape. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  16. ^ "Sarah Strong's passion for trying something different, embracing 3x3". USA Basketball. August 22, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  17. ^ D, Eric. "Sarah Strong NIL Deal- What NIL Deals Has Sarah Strong Signed?". The Playoffs. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  18. ^ "Unrivaled | Official Site of the Unrivaled Basketball League". www.unrivaled.basketball. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Connolly, Daniel (July 20, 2025). "Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong sign NIL deals with Unrivaled". The UConn Blog. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  20. ^ "Sarah Strong College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
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