Hailey Van Lith of TCU chose to stay at university for a fifth year.Photography: Gerald Herbert / AP
During the senior evening of Uconn in February 2024, inside a Pavampel pavilion wrapped, Paige Bueckers took the microphone. “I know everyone wants me to address the elephant in the room,” she told the crowd. “Unfortunately, this will not be my last senior evening here in Uconn.” With that, she confirmed her decision to return for a fifth and last year with the Huskies.
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The prolonged eligibility of Bueckers comes from the NCAA rules which grant the five years of student-athletes to compete in four seasons, with an additional year for those who played in 2020-2010 due to the COVVI-19 derogation. And an injury in 2022 which led to a year of red shirt gave Bueckers another season. While many speculate, she stayed for void lucrative offers – estimated at around 1.5 million dollars this season – Bueckers insists that his decision is rooted in loyalty to Uconn, his teammates and his coaches. “Family camaraderie, love it here, love my teammates and love my coaches,” she says.
The enlarged college careers have become common in Uconn, with Aubrey Griffin using six years and Caroline Ducharme and Azzi Fudd by taking a fifth. However, a member of UCONN coaches staff told the Guardian that injuries rather than preparation in Nile or WNBA had been the cause of these decisions.
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Bueckers addressed the problem during an appearance in the virtual panel on Birth’s Torethxr, pushing the fact that Nile Money is the engine of its fifth year. “You just look at the comments, and it’s like” yeah, she stays at university because she will earn so much more (money) in college than in the WNBA (where the maximum recruit salary is $ 78,000) “,” she said. “And it’s like, you have no idea. You do null at university, and once you arrive at WNBA, these endorsements will follow you in addition to the salary that you already do. It is not so difficult to educate yourself.”
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However, Bueckers’ decision led to a debate. Some on social networks have criticized the age gap between the 23 -year -old Uconn star, and many of his competitors, with an X user saying: “Paige Bueckers is an adult about to play basketball with 18 -year -olds.” Although staying an additional year normalizes, the conversation around prolonged eligibility and the stories attached to it show no sign of discoloration.
Hailey Van Lith, a fifth year senior in TCU, was faced with a similar examination. She postponed criticism at a recent press conference. “It’s just the new standard, that’s just what will happen now. It’s funny to see people react and think about it negatively, but when you really analyze it, it comes down to frustration that they did not have this opportunity … I will not allow people to feel bad because I had this opportunity to play five years.”
And she is not wrong, this opportunity can be a “blessing” for the players. The combination of zero opportunities, academic progress and the ability to improve draft stock has created an undeniable change in female university basketball. As Guard Kentucky says, Georgia Amoore, “I think everyone had his own reasons (to stay at university for five years) and I saw a variety, but mine was mainly for more development (before playing in the WNBA).”
Despite the noise, Van Lith remains firm. “I think people only say about me because I am one of those to whom they pay a lot of attention. There are many girls who take their fifth years, and many girls are very successful (like), I have who take their fifth years. ”
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And the figures supported him. In March 2025, only seven days after the opening of the transfer portal, more than 1,100 players in university division i entered it, a significant number being elderly. Among them is a surprising fifth year transfer of the star player of Notre Dame, Olivia Miles, which had been the choice planned n ° 2 in the project.
This increased concentration on female university basketball, marked by repeated years and mass transfers, is not incidental. It represents a gap compared to the traditional structure of the college ball. In comparison, in male basketball, where players can declare for the NBA after only a year, programs are increasingly urging male athletes to stay longer.
But there are many more reasons for male athletes to rush into the NBA than for female athletes to join the WNBA. To start, there are more opportunities. In the NBA, 60 draft choices are distributed in 30 teams. The WNBA has only 39 choices distributed among 13 teams. And although the minimum recruit in the NBA is just over $ 1 million, in the WNBA is less than $ 80,000. It’s true that the WNBA popularity and income increase Thank you to the influx of stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese but the commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver recognized the financial struggles of the WNBASaying in a declaration in 2024: “This season, the (League) will lose $ 40 million.”
With the low wages of the WNBA as well as its limited training facilities and its players’ equipment, there is an important incentive for athletes to extend their university career, holding the hand to see if the league develops further before becoming pro. And with only 39 recovery places available each season and a surplus of NCAA female basketball seniors that competition, staying an additional year to improve your draft stock is not only a trend. It is a strategic decision.
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In addition, the WNBA should negotiate a new Collective negotiation contract Due to the League growing value. According to the president of the WNBPA, Nneka Ogwumike, this agreement will bring important changes, in particular the expansion of the franchise – with the addition of two new teams – an increased salary ceiling, improved working conditions, additional benefits of players and, above all, a share of WNBA shares for players. For the elderly who are considering a fifth year, this has an incentive. By remaining an additional season, they can not only obtain larger and more lucrative Nile agreements in the short term, but also enter the 2026 project as part of a more favorable financial arrangement, finally earning a higher salary than if they have declared this year.
For some players, the decision is not as calculated, it might be to want to win an NCAA championship. Amoore echoed this feeling. “I trust the coach Brooks for four years, and he put me in a member of success,” she said last month. “So, with his move (from Virginia Tech to Kentucky) and the challenge of participating in this talented conference with a brand new team, it was a massive jump that I was ready to take.”
For Amoore, the decision to stay at university did not only concern competition but personal growth. “I knew it would challenge me in all ways,” she said. “And I was going to go better – period, on the field and outside.”
Meanwhile, Kylie Feuerbach Senior of Iowa has chosen to return simply for “the opportunity to play with my closest friends and our incredible base of fans”.
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For some, the decision was not motivated by devotion or even a lot of reflection. Fudd, known for its indecision, clearly said that the declaration window: “I will see about a fifth year,” she said.
Uconn head coach Geno Auriemma even gave him an ultimatum, demanding an answer in the 48 hours of the Big East tournament.
“I think she will (will come back). I think he will be (will come back),” said Auriemma. “But again, I am no longer the number one voice in his ear, as I was. Now there are a lot of voices.”
One of these voices was to return Ducharme Senior. “From time to time, I would be like” then, closer to deciding? “,” Said Ducharme to Hartford Current. “One day, I just asked her when we were in the baths, and she was like:” Don’t tell anyone, but I made the decision. “”
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Two weeks later, Fudd took Instagram To publish a photo of her smiling happily on the dashboard Uconn: 101 points at the 31 points by Arkansas State, a match in which she had scored 27 points. She subtitled the photo: “Hey Gampel, thank you for last night … See you next year🤗😝😏 #onemoreyear.”
Fudd, like many others, would come back for a fifth year.
