Get to know UConn junior Kayleigh Heckel.
Kayleigh Heckel, who attends and plays basketball at the University of Connecticut, is entering her junior year. Heckel is a guard and is from Port Chester, New York, but was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. For high school, she attended Port Chester High School before transferring to Long Island Lutheran High School. While at Port Chester, Heckel averaged 34.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. She was ranked the overall No. 13 recruit from the class of 2024. Her senior year, she was named both a McDonald’s All-American and a Jordan Brand All-American.
For college, Heckel committed to play basketball at the University of Southern California. During her time at USC, she averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Heckel started in seven out of the 34 games she played in. During this season, USC made it to the Elite Eight during the NCAA tournament and were defeated by UConn. After the season ended, Heckel entered the transfer portal and transferred to UConn.
At UConn during Heckel’s sophomore year, she averaged 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. She played in all 39 games that season and came in off the bench. UConn made it to the Final Four during the 2026 season but lost to the University of South Carolina. Heckel was awarded the 2026 NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award.
In addition to her collegiate success, Heckel plays for Team USA basketball. She won gold at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup and at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. At the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup, Heckle averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. During the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, she averaged 9.0 points and 3.6 assists per game, and started every game.
You can cheer on Heckel during the upcoming college basketball season. UConn will have their first game of the season on Nov. 5 against Michigan.