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After four seasons with the UConn women’s basketball team, Ayanna Patterson is entering the transfer portal according to a report from On3.
Patterson, a 6-foot-2 forward from Fort Wayne, Indiana, graduated from UConn this year and walked during the Huskies’ Senior Day ceremony, but she enters the portal as a redshirt sophomore with two years of eligibility remaining after injuries plagued her career with the Huskies. Patterson redshirted the 2023-24 season to undergo surgery for patellar tendonitis, and she was also sidelined for all of 2024-25 by a shoulder injury that eventually required season-ending surgery.
Patterson returned to the court in 2025-26 and played in 30 games averaging five minutes. She also averaged 10 minutes in 30 appearances as a freshman in 2022-23. Patterson signed with the Huskies as the No. 4 recruit in the Class of 2022.
Before committing to UConn, Patterson’s other finalists were Indiana, Louisville, Notre Dame and UCLA.
Patterson indicated on Senior Day that she was open to returning to the Huskies in 2026-27, but it likely would have been difficult for her to carve out playing time in the team’s frontcourt rotation. UConn returns national player of the year Sarah Strong and Big East Freshman of the Year Blanca Quinonez at forward as well as redshirt sophomore center Jana El Alfy, who started 27 games in 2024-25, with No. 3 2026 recruit Olivia Vukosa, a 6-foot-5 center, also coming in.
After McDonald’s All-American game, Olivia Vukosa prepares for next chapter with UConn women’s basketball
“I’ve loved my time here at UConn, and I love playing with this group of guys,” Patterson said on Senior Day. “That locker room means everything to me, and the coaching staff, the players in that locker room, that’s family. Those are my sisters, and I would love to be back in that locker room.”
Patterson is just the seventh scholarship player to enter the transfer portal out of UConn since it was established in 2019, and the program has never lost a starter in the portal era. UConn’s lone portal departure last season was Qadence Samuels (NC State), who averaged less than six minutes per game in 2024-25.
With Patterson’s departure and two incoming freshmen signed, the Huskies have up to two scholarship spots available entering 2026-27 for potential portal additions. Coach Geno Auriemma has only signed five transfers since the portal was established including two this season, and all have been immediate contributors. Senior center Serah Williams, a Wisconsin transfer, started 38 games for UConn in 2025-26 averaging 6.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 17.4 minutes. Sophomore point guard Kayleigh Heckel, a USC transfer, was a key piece of the rotation off the bench averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 18.9 minutes.
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Patterson, a 6-foot-2 forward from Fort Wayne, Indiana, graduated from UConn this year and walked during the Huskies’ Senior Day ceremony, but she enters the portal as a redshirt sophomore with two years of eligibility remaining after injuries plagued her career with the Huskies. Patterson redshirted the 2023-24 season to undergo surgery for patellar tendonitis, and she was also sidelined for all of 2024-25 by a shoulder injury that eventually required season-ending surgery.
Patterson returned to the court in 2025-26 and played in 30 games averaging five minutes. She also averaged 10 minutes in 30 appearances as a freshman in 2022-23. Patterson signed with the Huskies as the No. 4 recruit in the Class of 2022.
Before committing to UConn, Patterson’s other finalists were Indiana, Louisville, Notre Dame and UCLA.
Patterson indicated on Senior Day that she was open to returning to the Huskies in 2026-27, but it likely would have been difficult for her to carve out playing time in the team’s frontcourt rotation. UConn returns national player of the year Sarah Strong and Big East Freshman of the Year Blanca Quinonez at forward as well as redshirt sophomore center Jana El Alfy, who started 27 games in 2024-25, with No. 3 2026 recruit Olivia Vukosa, a 6-foot-5 center, also coming in.
After McDonald’s All-American game, Olivia Vukosa prepares for next chapter with UConn women’s basketball
“I’ve loved my time here at UConn, and I love playing with this group of guys,” Patterson said on Senior Day. “That locker room means everything to me, and the coaching staff, the players in that locker room, that’s family. Those are my sisters, and I would love to be back in that locker room.”
Patterson is just the seventh scholarship player to enter the transfer portal out of UConn since it was established in 2019, and the program has never lost a starter in the portal era. UConn’s lone portal departure last season was Qadence Samuels (NC State), who averaged less than six minutes per game in 2024-25.
With Patterson’s departure and two incoming freshmen signed, the Huskies have up to two scholarship spots available entering 2026-27 for potential portal additions. Coach Geno Auriemma has only signed five transfers since the portal was established including two this season, and all have been immediate contributors. Senior center Serah Williams, a Wisconsin transfer, started 38 games for UConn in 2025-26 averaging 6.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 17.4 minutes. Sophomore point guard Kayleigh Heckel, a USC transfer, was a key piece of the rotation off the bench averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 18.9 minutes.
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