UConn hoops star Paige Bueckers and legendary coach Geno Auriemma BOTH say they’ll be back next season after 2021 Player of the Year got extra eligibility as a medical redshirt

Paige Bueckers, Connecticut basketball star and former Naismith Player of the Year, is returning to Storrs for a fifth season, and legendary coach Geno Auriemma plans to be there, too.

Another fifth-year student, Aubrey Griffin, also confirmed she will be back in 2024-2025.

Bueckers, an academic senior, made the announcement during senior night ceremonies at Gampel Pavilion following the team’s 85-44 win over Georgetown on Friday night.

Bueckers told the crowd she wanted to “address the elephant in the room,” saying, “Thankfully, this won’t be my last year.”

Her coach followed that announcement by ending any speculation that he would retire at the end of the season.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma advocated for a call a game in South Carolina last week

He joked to reporters that he planned to return next year, too, “until Paige announced she’s coming back.” Then he added, “Yes, I’ll be back.”

Bueckers was named national player of the year as a freshman and spent that season playing in front of cardboard cutouts during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the Huskies to the national semifinals where they lost to Arizona.

UConn guard Paige Bueckers looks for a shot next to Georgetown’s Kelsey Ransom

She spent most of her sophomore year on the bench with a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee, but returned in time to lead the Huskies to the national championship game, where they lost to South Carolina.

She suffered a torn ACL in that same knee before last season and was out all year.

Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards, Nika Muhl and Aubrey Griffin were all honored Friday.

Griffin, who tore an ACL last month, also announced she will be back next season. She is one of five Huskies out for the remainder of the season with injuries. The others – Azzi Fudd, Jana El-Alfy, Caroline Ducharme and Annaya Patterson – are all expected back.

Edwards and Muhl did not reveal their plans, but both said, “We’re not done yet.”

Bueckers has two years of eligibility remaining. Edwards, Muhl and Griffin each have one.

But both Edwards and Bueckers are projected as high first-round picks if they enter the WNBA draft.

As international players, Muhl (Croatia) and Edwards (Canada) have also failed to earn the NIL money that flowed to their teammates during their studies.

UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards, guard Aubrey Griffin, guard Nika Muhl and guard Paige Bueckers cheer on UConn at the end of senior night ceremonies in Storrs

Auriemma said he would be surprised if Muhl or Edwards returned for an additional year.

However, he said he wasn’t sure Bueckers would be back until she announced it to the public.

“I never forced her to do it either,” he said.

Bueckers said Thursday she is not giving up on winning a national championship this season despite five decisive losses against top teams: North Carolina State, UCLA, Texas, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

UConn has just four regular season games remaining, including games at home against Creighton on Monday in Hartford and Villanova on Feb. 28 in Gampel.