9 Things to Know About UConn Basketball Star Paige Bueckers Right Now

This attitude was obvious earlier in the 2025 tournament, when USC star JuJu Watkins tore her ACL, ending her season. Bueckers, who is all too familiar with the “devastation” that comes from that experience, made sure to connect with her. “I reached out to her offering my support and prayers and letting her know that we’ve exchanged numbers now, so we’re locked in,” Bueckers said, per USA Today. “Whatever she needs mentally, physically, to vent, ask questions.”

3. She was once teammates with Caitlin Clark.

Two of the biggest names in women’s basketball—and they weren’t always rivals: While many folks may remember the showdown between the two powerhouses during 2024’s Final Four, Bueckers and Caitlin Clark were actually teammates for a brief time a few years ago. They both played for Team USA in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup—and won gold. In fact, Bueckers was even named MVP of the tournament, in part due to her role helping her team win in the overtime final.

“Since I’ve known her, since she was in middle school, she’s always worked that same way, she’s always had that fire, she’s always been a great leader, and I really honestly couldn’t be happier for her and the year she’s had,” Clark told SNY going into 2024’s Final Four.

4. Bueckers uses her platform for advocacy.

After winning the ESPY for best women’s college athlete in 2021, Bueckers used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to advocate for Black athletes. “As a white woman who leads a Black-led sport,” she said on stage, “I want to shed a light on Black women. They don’t get the media coverage they deserve. They’ve given so much to this sport, the community, and society as a whole, and their value is undeniable.”

Bueckers also uses her social media platforms to draw attention to racism, police brutality, and social injustice. It’s personal for Bueckers, whose younger brother Drew is Black. She captioned a carousel of photos of Drew promising, “I’m going to work for change, little brother. I want you to grow up in a world that accepts you for who you are.”

5. She applied to trademark the nickname Paige Buckets.

Bueckers must have seen an opportunity when the NCAA began allowing student-athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in 2021. According to Sports Illustrated, she applied to trademark the term Paige Buckets to sell merch tagged with her apt nickname (namely “shirts, pants, jackets, footwear, hats and caps, athletic uniforms,” according to the trademark application). It looks like the trademark has since been abandoned, but now that UConn is back in the Final Four for a record 24th time, it may be time to revive the plan so Bueckers’s fans can get some serious swag.

6. And she already has some pretty sweet sponsors and partnerships.

Bueckers has 5.7 million followers across Instagram and TikTok combined, and she may be among the highest-paid college athletes. In fact, she was ranked as the top-earning female college athlete of 2024 by NIL Store. She’s partnered with several noteworthy brands, including Bose, Uber, Google Chrome, Chegg, Intuit, Dunkin’, CeraVe, and even the new women’s basketball league Unrivaled. She’s also sponsored by Gatorade and Nike.

7. But her off-the-court routine is pretty chill.

Despite her fame, Bueckers takes a laid-back, down-to-earth approach to caring for her hair and skin, keeping her regimen short and sweet and opting for drugstore staples rather than super-luxe products. Her nighttime routine starts with a shower since all that exercise drains her hair—to say nothing of the dye (yep, that blond hue isn’t natural, as reported by Allure!) and her typical on-court hairstyle (face-framing French braids paired with a ponytail). “Between the braids, the coloring, the sweat, I just want to make sure it’s as healthy as possible,” she previously told SELF.