Geno Auriemma was 41 years old and the WNBA didn't yet exist when the UConn Huskies won their first national championship in women's basketball in 1995.
Sunday, when the Huskies clinched their 12th title, Auriemma was 71 -- the oldest coach to win an NCAA title in women's or men's basketball -- and he was sending off guard Paige Bueckers, who on Monday is expected to be UConn's sixth WNBA No. 1 draft pick.
The other five -- Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart -- won multiple NCAA titles. Bueckers' long-awaited first marked UConn's first since 2016.
The Huskies' success is mind-boggling. Six of their championship squads went undefeated. Here we rank UConn's title teams -- a list where being last still means the team is among the best of the best.
12. 2004 UConn (31-4)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 63-55 vs. UC Santa Barbara in Sweet 16
This team, led by then-senior Diana Taurasi, capped the Huskies' first three-peat. The group was virtually the same as the 2002-03 championship squad, just a little more experienced. However, this team lost three more games than the season before -- including to Boston College in the Big East tournament semifinals -- so there were more doubts about the Huskies going into the NCAA tournament. But they beat two No. 1 seeds -- Penn State in the Elite Eight and Tennessee in the national championship game, plus Lindsay Whalen-led Minnesota in the national semifinals. Taurasi led four players in double figures with 17 points in her final college game, then was the No. 1 draft pick by the Phoenix Mercury, where she spent her 20-season WNBA career before retiring in February.
11. 2003 UConn (37-1)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 71-69 vs. Texas in national semifinals
Of all the amazing things Taurasi did in her career, getting a national championship with this team, which had lost four of its five starters to the WNBA from a perfect 2001-02 season, is her most impressive. She led the Huskies in points, rebounds and assists. There were no seniors; the top five scorers were two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen. In the Final Four, Taurasi had 26 points to beat Texas by two, and 28 to beat Tennessee by five. Freshmen Ann Strother and Barbara Turner combined for 27 points in the NCAA final against the Lady Vols.
10. 2013 UConn (35-4)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 83-65 vs. Notre Dame in national semifinals
This group tied 2004 for the most losses by a UConn championship team -- and three of those defeats came to Notre Dame: twice in the regular season as well as in the Big East tournament title game. But by the NCAA tournament, the Huskies were unstoppable. UConn won the matchup with the Irish that mattered most -- in the national semifinals -- then blew out Louisville by 33 points in the national championship game. Louisville had upset defending champion Baylor in the Sweet 16; the Bears were the other team that had defeated UConn that season. A UConn-Baylor title-game matchup -- senior Brittney Griner vs. freshman Stewart -- might have been epic, but it wasn't to be.
9. 2015 UConn (38-1)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 63-53 vs. Notre Dame in national championship game
The Huskies lost the second game of the season 88-86 in overtime at Stanford on Nov. 17, 2013. UConn didn't lose again until the 2017 national semifinals, for a record 111-game winning streak. The loss to Stanford might have briefly given hope to UConn's opponents in the 2014-15 season, but it was false hope. All it did was prevent them from having three perfect seasons in a row, as they went undefeated in 2013-14 and 2015-16. For the second consecutive season, five players averaged in double-figures scoring in 2014-15, including freshman Kia Nurse.
8. 2025 UConn (37-3)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 78-64 vs. USC in Elite Eight
This team ended the so-called title "drought" for UConn, which had not won the national championship since 2016. (There wasn't an NCAA tournament in 2020.) After injuries and illness issues impacted the 2022 and 2024 Final Fours for the Huskies, everything went right for them this year. Their closest tournament game was against USC, which had defeated UConn in the regular season but lost injured star JuJu Watkins in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Led by the trio of Final Four Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd, Bueckers and Sarah Strong, UConn outscored its national semifinal and final opponents, UCLA and South Carolina, by a combined 57 points.
7. 2014 UConn (40-0)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 69-54 vs. Texas A&M in Elite Eight
This team won more games than any other UConn championship squad. Led by then-sophomore Stewart, the Huskies were in their first of seven seasons in the American Athletic Conference, in which they never lost a game. Meanwhile, Notre Dame had moved to the ACC, but the two former Big East teams had the hottest rivalry at the time in women's basketball. Both were undefeated when they met in the NCAA final in Nashville. But the game was anticlimactic in part because the Irish had lost starting forward Natalie Achonwa to a knee injury in the Elite Eight. UConn won 79-58; center Stefanie Dolson had 17 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks, then went on to the WNBA with fellow senior Bria Hartley.
6. 2000 UConn (36-1)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 86-71 vs. LSU in Elite Eight
This championship came during the most heated period of the UConn-Tennessee rivalry, as they faced off four times in the 2000 calendar year -- including in the 2000 title game, which the Huskies dominated 71-52. The Final Four was in Philadelphia, Auriemma's hometown, and he has referred to it as one of his favorites among his 24 appearances in the Final Four. This was UConn's second championship, the first for the class of Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams, who were then sophomores. It's notable that every team ahead of this one in our ranking went undefeated; this team's lone loss was to Tennessee 72-71 at UConn on Feb. 2, 2000.
5. 2010 UConn (39-0)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 53-47 vs. Stanford in national championship game
Moore, Charles, Tiffany Hayes and Kalana Greene were all back from the '09 title team. The Huskies added freshman guard Kelly Faris, known for her nonstop energy and willingness to do the "dirty work" of scrapping for every loose ball. These Huskies carried over the success of the season before; this is the only time UConn had two undefeated teams in a row. The NCAA final was not a good game; UConn trailed Stanford 20-12 at halftime. But led by Moore, the Huskies scored 41 points in the second half. Moore finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
4. 2009 UConn (39-0)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 83-64 vs. Arizona State in Elite Eight, and vs. Stanford in national semifinals
It's tough to distinguish between the back-to-back perfect champions of 2009 and 2010, as both were led by superstars Moore and Charles. They went on to be No. 1 draft picks and WNBA MVPs. We give a slight edge to the 2009 champs because they also had Renee Montgomery, a WNBA lottery pick in 2009. This team also had two other future WNBA players: Hayes, who like Charles is still in the league in 2025, and Greene. This team started what is now UConn's second-longest winning streak: 90 games.
3. 2016 UConn (38-0)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 86-65 vs. Texas in Elite Eight
Stewart fulfilled her pledge of winning four championships in a row and was also named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player each time. These Huskies bulldozed through the NCAA tournament. They won their two games at the Final Four -- vs. Oregon State and Syracuse -- by 60 points, the highest combined margin ever in the national semis and final. This team had six players who are still competing in the WNBA, including Stewart and Napheesa Collier, whose New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx teams, respectively, met for the league championship last year. Another starter on this team, Morgan Tuck, is now a WNBA general manager with the Connecticut Sun.
2. 1995 UConn (35-0)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 67-63 vs. Virginia in Elite Eight
This team started the UConn championship dynasty on the program's second trip to the Final Four. Four of the stars had pro careers that included at least four seasons in the WNBA, which started two years after this title: Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti, Nykesha Sales and Kara Wolters. Other standouts included Jamelle Elliott, Carla Berube and Pam Webber. This group ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 after beating Tennessee in January, and then defeated the Lady Vols again in the NCAA final.
1. 2002 UConn (39-0)
Closest NCAA tournament win: 82-70 vs. Oklahoma in national championship game
This team had seven future WNBA players, three of whom are in the Naismith Hall of Fame or soon will be: Cash, Bird and Taurasi. Jones joins those three as an Olympic gold medalist. And Williams, Jessica Moore and Ashley Battle also played at least six seasons in the WNBA. This gets our vote as not just the best UConn team but is also on the very short list of best teams in women's college basketball history (counting NCAA and AIAW eras).