Former Ivy Player of Year Chen joining UConn

April 28, 2024 ndowd

Alexa Philippou, ESPNApr 28, 2024, 12:27 PM ET
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- Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA
- Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
- Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer

Former Ivy League Player of the Year Kaitlyn Chen has committed to UConn as a transfer out of Princeton, she announced on social media Sunday.

Chen spent the past three seasons under former UConn player Carla Berube, earning first-team all-Ivy honors in 2023 and 2024. The senior, whose freshman season in 2020-21 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was unable to use her final year of eligibility at Princeton, as Ivy League rules stipulate graduate students cannot participate in athletics.

The 5-foot-9 guard from San Marino, California, averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season on her way to earning a nod as a WBCA honorable mention All-American. The season prior, in her Ivy League Player of the Year campaign, she averaged 16.2 points per game.

Chen helped the Tigers to three Ivy League tournament championships, earning Most Outstanding Player each time, and three NCAA tournament appearances. The Tigers have won at least a share of the Ivy League crown in each of the past six seasons.

The addition of Chen compensates for the Huskies’ loss of Nika Muhl to the WNBA. UConn still has a strong backcourt featuring 2021 national player of the year Paige Bueckers, rising sophomore KK Arnold and Azzi Fudd, among others.

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