{"id":159312,"date":"2025-09-17T10:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=159312"},"modified":"2025-09-17T10:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:03:24","slug":"uconn-makes-rookie-of-the-year-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/17\/uconn-makes-rookie-of-the-year-history\/","title":{"rendered":"UCONN Makes Exclusive History After Paige Bueckers Wins Award"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CONNECTICUT \u2014 Connecticut has long been considered the capital of basketball. This season, the program cemented that reputation with history no other school can claim. For the first time ever, a single college produced both the NBA Rookie of the Year and the WNBA Rookie of the Year in the same season. That exclusive milestone belongs to UConn.<\/p>\n<h2>UCONN Makes Rookie Of The Year History After Paige Bueckers Wins Award<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124017\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124017\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-124017\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Stephon Castle\u2019s rookie of the year means UConn has made basketball history \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/USATSI_25430240_168415934_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124017\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Feb 15, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Stephon Castle (5) reacts in the slam dunk competition during All Star Saturday Night ahead of the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/b\/bueckpa01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paige Bueckers<\/a>, drafted first overall by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/tag\/dallas-wings\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Wings<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/16\/cathy-engelbert-surprises-paige-bueckers-after-wnba-roty-win\/\" target=\"_self\">capped<\/a> her extraordinary debut year by claiming the WNBA\u2019s top rookie honor. At the same time, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/castlst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephon Castle<\/a>, a one-and-done Husky with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/spurs\/\" target=\"_self\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, seized the NBA equivalent. Together, they made UConn history.<\/p>\n<h3>Paige Bueckers\u2019 Breakthrough Season<\/h3>\n<p>Bueckers entered the WNBA with enormous expectations after leading UConn to the 2024 NCAA title. She exceeded them with poise and dominance. Averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, she became the engine of Dallas\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers is the 2025 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Y8YNwZ5xvg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Y8YNwZ5xvg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WNBA Communications (@WNBAComms) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WNBAComms\/status\/1967968447540892069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>She set a rookie single-game scoring record with 44 points and delivered consistent production. She claimed 70 of 72 Rookie of the Year votes. Her success strengthens the UConn Rookie of the Year tradition, becoming the latest Husky to make an immediate professional impact.<\/p>\n<h3>Castle Rises With San Antonio<\/h3>\n<p>Castle\u2019s story unfolded differently. After winning a national championship in his lone season at UConn, he entered the NBA draft and went fourth overall to the Spurs. The Rookie of the Year race was tight for months, but Castle broke away late.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Stephon Castle. National Champ \u27a1\ufe0f ROTY <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tzRFX29dzL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/tzRFX29dzL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Barstool UConn (@BarstoolStorrs) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BarstoolStorrs\/status\/1917356620503306705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Castle led all rookies in total points, field goals, and steals. He also made over 100 more free throws than any other first-year player. Across 80 games, he averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. His steady scoring, combined with his defensive instincts, earned him 92 of 100 first-place votes.<\/p>\n<p>Castle entered with elite potential and delivered in his rookie year. He reinforced UConn\u2019s Rookie of the Year tradition, becoming the program\u2019s latest star ready for the spotlight.<\/p>\n<h3>UConn\u2019s Unique Legacy<\/h3>\n<p>Bueckers and Castle now stand as proof of UConn\u2019s unmatched ability to produce professionals who thrive immediately. Both were five-star recruits who entered Storrs with high expectations, and both exited as champions before dominating at the next level.<\/p>\n<p>The achievement of producing both NBA and WNBA Rookies of the Year in the same season is unprecedented. It reinforces UConn\u2019s reputation not just as a collegiate powerhouse, but as the undisputed basketball capital of the world.<\/p>\n<p>Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CONNECTICUT \u2014 Connecticut has long been considered the capital of basketball. This season, the program cemented that reputation with history no other school can claim. For the first time ever, a single college produced both the NBA Rookie of the Year and the WNBA Rookie of the Year in the same season. That exclusive milestone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":159282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,773,3,49709],"tags":[3073,4153,49264,1744],"class_list":["post-159312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","category-news","category-wnba","tag-nba-rookie-of-the-year","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-stephon-castle","tag-uconn-huskies"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159312"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159320,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159312\/revisions\/159320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}