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UConn women's basketball adds Princeton guard Kaitlyn Chen from transfer portal

Chen was Ivy League Player of the Year for 2023-24

Ian Casselberry
·Contributing writer
·2-min read
SALT LAKE CITY, UT- MARCH 19: Kaitlyn Chen #20 of the Princeton Tigers brings the ball up the court against the Utah Utes during the first half of the second round of the NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament at the Jon M Huntsman Center March 19, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Kaitlyn Chen will join the UConn Huskies after three seasons playing for Princeton. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) (Chris Gardner via Getty Images)

The UConn women's basketball team is adding the Ivy League Player of the Year from the transfer portal.

Kaitlyn Chen has committed to the Huskies after playing the previous three years at Princeton under head coach Carla Berube, a former UConn forward. Chen announced her transfer Sunday morning via social media.

The 5-foot-9 senior was Princeton's leading scorer for the past two seasons. Last season, she won Ivy League Player of the Year honors by averaging 15.8 points, 4.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Chen has been even better in the postseason, averaging 20.3 points in eight games and winning Ivy League tournament Most Outstanding Player honors during the past two seasons. Princeton made the NCAA women's tournament during each of Chen's three seasons. This year, the Tigers lost to West Virginia in the first round.

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Against top competition, Chen excelled in matchups versus UCLA (24 points), Oklahoma (20 points) and Villanova (31 points). She also scored 18 points against UConn this past season.

"In any big situation she rises to the occasion and the challenge," Berube told CT Insider's Carl Adamec in February. "She doesn't back down in the bright lights and she's ready to do what her team needs for us to be successful. She did that against UCLA this year and the Ivy League tournament last year and the year before. She's tough, gritty."

Chen is expected to start at point guard, replacing Nika Mühl, who left for the WNBA. Chen and Paige Bueckers (who averaged 21 points per game last season) should give the Huskies a formidable backcourt along with Azzi Fudd and KK Arnold as they pursue another Final Four and national championship.

UConn also added the nation's No. 1 recruit, Sarah Strong, shortly after losing to Iowa in the Final Four.

Chen committed to UConn after visiting Storrs last week. She will transfer as a graduate student, having one season of eligibility remaining due to the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver. The Ivy League does not provide student-athletes with a fifth year of eligibility, putting Chen in a position where she had to transfer to keep playing.