Kaleena Smith is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027.
Kaleena Smith, the No. 1 overall prospect in the women's basketball Class of 2027, and a target for the UConn women, has begun her official visit schedule.
Her first visit? The Washington Huskies, who advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament last season.
As noted by On3, she'll take 11 official visits in total. These visits will span more than three months. The visit to Washington is happening on Friday.
Here's what else you need to know.
About Smith
Smith, listed by ESPN as a 5-foot-6 point guard, hails from Ontario Christian school in California. She averaged 31.5 points per game while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range. She also averaged 6.9 assists per game while leading Ontario Christian to the California Interscholastic Federation title.
ESPN has her game compared to WNBA stars Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell.
Speaking of Washington, that's where Plum starred collegiately.
Desert Vista guard Marissa France (4) and Ontario Christian guard Kaleena Smith (11) playing in the Section 7 Girls Hoops on June 14, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectWhat other schools is she visiting?
Smith will visit several women's basketball powers between now and mid-November. In addition to Washington and UConn, she'll visit Baylor (Aug. 28), Georgia (Sept. 11), Tennessee (Sept. 25), Arizona State (Oct. 9), Miami (Oct. 16), USC (Oct. 23), UCLA (Oct. 30), and Texas A&M (Nov. 13).
So, when is she visiting UConn?
Nov. 6, which is the second-to-last visit on her schedule.
Biggest selling point for the Huskies?
Simply put, there is no school in the country that can put together the sales pitch that UConn can. The Huskies are the most decorated program in the sport's history, with head coach Geno Auriemma the winningest coach in the sport's history (1288 wins).
He's also won 12 national championships, including a title in 2024-25. This year's Huskies got to the Final Four after putting together an unbeaten regular season and conference tournament run.
If that doesn't impress Smith enough? UConn has had seven No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA Draft (Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd), including the last two (Bueckers and Fudd).
Biggest competing factors?
Well, if you are interested in some recency bias, it should be noted that UCLA won the last NCAA title, and since they are on this list, they should be taken seriously.
Furthermore, while Smith's visit schedule shows a clear willingness to leave her home area, it can't be discounted that Storrs is simply far away from her home in California.
If she cares about staying close to home, Washington, Arizona State, USC, and UCLA would all have a leg up in the recruiting battle.
Elsewhere in UConn Athletics
Speaking of basketball, the men's basketball team finished second in the Big East last season and made it to the national title game.
This year? St. John's head coach Rick Pitino doesn't see the Huskies as the league's favorite. Why?
