Paige Bueckers closed out her women’s college basketball career in the highest of highs as the UConn Huskies dismantled the South Carolina Gamecocks in March Madness‘ Final. After the Huskies’ championship, former LSU star, 2023 national champ Angel Reese dropped a bold message, directed at Caitlin Clark and the rest of the 2020 recruiting class.
Bueckers is stepping away from the NCAA, and into the next chapter, as the projected first overall selection in the upcoming WNBA Draft finally accomplished her goal that so many times eluded her.
Clark ended the Huskies’ national title dreams during the 2023-24 season, as her Iowa Hawkeyes eliminated UConn in the Final Four—en route to a tough National Championship loss to the Gamecocks.
Now, things have come full circle: while Clark and Reese moved on to the WNBA, Bueckers stayed in college for a fifth year (her fourth college basketball season, as she missed the entire 2022-23 campaign) after battling serious injuries during her career.
Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies speaks to the media during a press conference after beating the South Carolina Gamecocks 82-59 to win the National Championship of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on April 06, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.
Finally, Bueckers had her long-awaited redemption, leading UConn to its 12th national title in program history—but her first championship. As the No. 1-ranked recruit in the 2020 class finally enjoyed the laurels of her hard work, Angel Reese dropped a blunt admission about her fellow classmate.
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“2020 class has done so many special things for the game. #proud,” Angel Reese stated on her X account following Bueckers’ coronation in March Madness 2025.
The class that rewrote the history books
It’s no longer an open secret, it’s a fact: the 2020 recruits’ class is the greatest in women’s college basketball history. Featuring Bueckers, Clark, Reese, Cameron Brink, and Hailey Van Lith among others, the highest-ranked recruits in this list went on to become household names in the NCAA.
Caitlin Clark of Indiana Fever, the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year
Many felt like college basketball owed Bueckers a proper goodbye, after she announced her decision to stay with the Huskies and hunt for a national title. Ultimately, Bueckers did it, and she can now move on from the collegiate level with no regrets.
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A dish best served cold
Bueckers’ national title victory with UConn was even sweeter as she got one back against South Carolina—the same program that had defeated the Huskies in the 2021 National Championship Game. That chapter can now be closed for Bueckers, and a new one will begin with the WNBA Draft.
