UConn women’s basketball lands 2023 wing Qadence Samuels

UConn women’s basketball added its third commitment to the class of 2023, landing guard/wing Qadence Samuels.

Listed at 6-foot-2 out of Forestville, Maryland — a suburb of Washington, DC — Samuels is rated as the No. 35 player in the class by ESPN. She describes herself as a “big guard” in her Twitter bio, a mold UConn covets with players like Caroline Ducharme and Lou Lopez Sénéchal on the current roster and Katie Lou Samuelson in the past.

ESPN’s Shane Lafflin included Samuels in a list of “recruits who upped their stocks this season” which featured a scouting report on the Husky.

Samuels effortlessly runs the floor. She glides baseline to baseline and is a threat to either sprint for an easy layup at the rim or spot up for the transition triple. Her confidence and effectiveness from deep have really improved over the last year. Her improved shot preparation has helped her in all aspects of her shooting, and she attacks the elbows for pull-up jumpers very well.

Defensively, her frame and length allow her to be a real weapon for her team. Her high school and club (Team Takeover) programs emphasize defense, and she has begun to buy in. As that becomes more of a staple, she can be a lock-down type of defender, and her rebounding will improve as she adds more strength.

Samuels, who averages 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds, has a competitive edge in between the lines that separates her. As she learns to translate that into day-to-day work, consistency and production, watch her stock continue to rise. She has offers from North Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Florida State, Alabama, Kansas State, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech Miami, Mississippi State and Pitt.

Samuels plays at Bishop McNamara in Maryland, which fell to St. John’s — Azzi Fudd’s old high school — in the state championship game but also participated in the High School Nationals in Florida this past season.

She’s the third commit in UConn’s class of 2023, joining guards Ashlynn Shade (No. 6 in the class) and KK Arnold (No. 7).