While her future team is in the middle of the NCAA Tournament chasing back-to-back national championships, UConn women’s basketball signee Olivia Vukosa will be competing on one of the biggest stages of her career at the 2026 McDonald’s All-American game.
Vukosa, a Queens, New York native, was named to the East roster for the prestigious game, which will be played March 31 in Glendale, Arizona. She is the first UConn signee to compete in the McDonald’s All-American game since Sarah Strong, Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli were selected in 2024.
The Huskies’ current roster features 10 former McDonald’s All-Americans, but they didn’t have an incoming All-American in 2025 for the first time since 2013. Vukosa is the program’s 47th signee selected to play in the game since it was established in 2002.
Vukosa, the No. 3 recruit in the Class of 2026, committed to UConn in late October, choosing the Huskies over a top 5 that included South Carolina, LSU, Texas and Ohio State. The 6-foot-4 forward was named the 2025 New York Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 19.2 points and 17.9 rebounds plus 5.5 blocks and 3.8 assists during her junior high school season.
“She’s been on campus a lot over the years, and she’s gotten better and better every time that I’ve seen her,” coach Geno Auriemma said in November after Vukosa signed. “She a competitive kid and really skilled, probably the most skilled kid coming out of high school at her size. She’s in the mold of kids that we’ve had in the past, a (Stefanie) Dolson kind of kid that can dribble, can pass, can shoot it, wants to play defense, gets up and down the floor quickly. And she’s a great kid with a great family.”
Five-star Olivia Vukosa aims to join high school’s rich legacy of UConn women’s basketball greats
UConn has deep ties to Vukosa’s high school Christ the King, the alma mater of Huskies legends Tina Charles and Sue Bird as well as two-time NCAA champion guard Lorin Dixon. Bird graduated before the McDonald’s All-American game began holding a women’s event, but Charles and Dixon were both selected to compete in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
Vukosa also represents Croatia in FIBA competition and has a relationship with fellow Croatian and former Huskies standout Nika Muhl. She averaged 19.4 points and 15.6 rebounds to lead Croatia at the 2024 U17 FIBA World Cup, and she also played in the 2023 U16 European Championship and the 2025 U20 EuroBasket tournament.
Vukosa is one of two signees to UConn’s 2026 class, joined by Serbian point guard Jovana Popovich. Popovich plays professionally in Serbia, so she was not eligible for McDonald’s All-American selection.