Paige Bueckers announces she will return to UConn for 2024-25 season

The Paige Bueckers era at UConn will continue on into 2025.

The Connecticut women's basketball All-American and Big East Player of the Year frontrunner acknowledged what she called the "elephant in the room" at Friday's Senior Night ceremony, sending the Huskies faithful into absolute jubilation as she announced that she would be back for the 2024-25 campaign.

Following the 15th-ranked Huskies' 85-44 win over Georgetown on Friday night, headlined by fellow senior Aaliyah Edwards going off for 26 points and 16 rebounds while Bueckers had 21 points and eight assists, the four UConn seniors each had their moment to address the crowd.

"Unfortunately, this will not be my last Senior Night because I'm coming back," Bueckers told the crowd. "I can't put into words what this program has meant to me and what the fans have meant to me. Obviously, this four years didn't go how I planned or how I wanted it to, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I wouldn't have been able to get through what I went through without everybody here. Thank you to the best fans in the country."

Bueckers, who missed all of last season due to a torn ACL, has battled injuries throughout her career with a knee setback that resulted in her missing 19 games.

As a result of her missing last year, Connecticut's record streak of 14 straight Final Four appearances ended with a Sweet 16 loss, marking the first time since 2007 that they did not reach the national semifinals. 

The 15th-ranked Huskies are 14-0 in the Big East but are not at the level of the top teams in the nation this year, having lost to South Carolina 83-65 on Feb. 11 and taken five non-conference losses.

This news means Bueckers will rejoin Azzi Fudd, who's sidelined for the season with a torn ACL for one more ride next year. Grad student Aubrey Griffin also announced she will return for a fifth season after she tore her ACL in December. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 14 games before the injury.

More than anything, UConn will need better health fortunes next season, something they've been snakebitten by as bad as anyone in the country over the last three years.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter at @John_Fanta.