No UConn women’s basketball player has ever won Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, but the Huskies’ odds are good in 2026 with two players on the award’s midseason watchlist.
Sophomore Sarah Strong and junior point guard KK Arnold were both selected to the 25-player list released Tuesday. UConn is one of just two programs with multiple players on the watchlist alongside No. 3 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas.
Strong has been one of the best players in the country on both ends of the floor this season. She currently leads the Huskies in every major statistical category, averaging 18.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.6 assist, 3.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. She also leads the country in nearly every advanced defensive metric, including defensive rating, defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus.
Strong is also considered a frontrunner to win the Naismith Trophy’s national player of the year award. She could become the second player ever to earn both recognitions in the same year, joining South Carolina great Aliyah Boston in 2022. Strong would also be the youngest player ever to win Defensive Player of the Year since it was established in 2018.
Arnold has been a centerpiece of the full-court press that makes UConn’s defense one of the most prolific in college basketball this year. The junior guard is averaging a career-high 2.7 steals per game, and she ranks in the top 10 nationally in defensive rating and box plus/minus.
UConn has the No. 2 scoring defense in the country allowing just 51 points per game, and it also ranks top 10 nationally in forced turnovers and opponent field goal percentage. The Huskies have yet to give up more than 70 points to an opponent this season and they haven’t allowed more than 55 during their 11-0 start to Big East play.
UCLA center Lauren Betts and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo were finalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 and are back on the midseason watchlist this year. Betts won the award over Hidalgo and fellow finalists USC star JuJu Watkins and West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly.
