TCU’s Hailey Van Lith chose to stay in college for a fifth year.Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP
On UConn’s senior night in February 2024, inside a packed Gampel Pavilion, Paige Bueckers took the mic. “I know everybody wants me to address the elephant in the room,” she told the crowd. “Unfortunately, this will not be my last senior night here at UConn.” With that, she confirmed her decision to return for a fifth and final year with the Huskies.
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Bueckers’ extended eligibility comes from NCAA rules that grant student-athletes five years to compete in four seasons, with an additional year for those who played in 2020-21 due to the Covid-19 waiver. And a 2022 injury that led to a redshirt year gave Bueckers yet another season. While many speculate she stayed for lucrative NIL deals – estimated at around $1.5m this season – Bueckers insists her decision is rooted in loyalty to UConn, her teammates, and her coaches. “Family camaraderie, loving it here, loving my teammates, and loving my coaches,” she says.
Extended collegiate careers have become common at UConn, with Aubrey Griffin using six years and Caroline Ducharme and Azzi Fudd taking a fifth. Still, one member of the UConn coaching staff told the Guardian that injuries rather than NIL or WNBA readiness have been behind these decisions.
Related: Why hasn’t middle America given Paige Bueckers the Caitlin Clark treatment?
Bueckers addressed the issue during an appearance on Sue Bird’s Togethxr virtual panel, pushing back against the assumption that NIL money is the driving force behind her fifth year. “You just look at the comments, and it’s like, ‘Yeah, she’s just staying in college because she’s gonna make so much more [money] in college than in the WNBA [where the rookie maximum salary is $78,000],’” she said. “And it’s like, you guys have no idea. You’re making NIL in college, and once you get to the WNBA, those endorsements are going to follow you on top of the salary you’re already making. It’s not that hard to educate yourself.”
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Still, Bueckers’ decision led to a debate. Some on social media criticized the age gap between the 23-year-old UConn star and many of her competitors, with one X user saying, “Paige Bueckers is an adult about to be playing basketball with 18-year-olds.” While staying an extra year is becoming more normalized, the conversation around extended eligibility, and the narratives attached to it, show no signs of fading.
Hailey Van Lith, a fifth-year senior at TCU, has faced similar scrutiny. She pushed back on the criticism in a recent news conference. “It’s just the new norm, it’s just what’s going to happen now. It’s funny to see people react and think about it negatively, but when you really analyze it, a lot of it comes down to frustration that they didn’t have that opportunity … I’m not gonna allow people to make me feel bad because I was blessed with this opportunity to play five years.”
And she’s not wrong, this opportunity may be a “blessing” for players. The combination of NIL opportunities, academic advancement, and the ability to improve draft stock has created an undeniable shift in women’s college basketball. As Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore says, “I think everyone had their own reasons [for staying in college for five years] and I’ve seen a variety of them, but mine was primarily for more development [before playing in the WNBA].”
Despite the noise, Van Lith remains firm. “I think people are only saying that about me because I’m one of the ones they’re paying a lot of attention to. There’s a lot of girls taking their fifth years, and there’s a lot of girls having a lot of success [like] I’m having that are taking their fifth years.”
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And the numbers back her up. As of March 2025, just seven days after the transfer portal opened, more than 1,100 Division I female college basketball players have entered it, with a significant number being seniors. Among them is a surprising fifth-year transfer from Notre Dame’s star player Olivia Miles, who had been the projected No 2 pick in the draft.
This heightened focus on women’s college basketball, marked by repeated years and mass transfers, is not incidental. It represents a departure from the traditional structure of college ball. By comparison, in men’s basketball, where players can declare for the NBA after just one year, programs are increasingly urging male athletes to stay longer.
But there are far more reasons for male athletes to hurry into the NBA than there are for female athletes to join the WNBA. For a start there are more opportunities. In the NBA, 60 draft picks are distributed across 30 teams. The WNBA has just 39 picks spread among 13 teams. And while the rookie minimum in the NBA is a little over $1m, in the WNBA it’s less than $80,000. It’s true that the WNBA’s popularity and revenue is growing thanks to the influx of stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese but NBA commissioner Adam Silver has acknowledged the WNBA’s financial struggles, saying in a 2024 statement, “This season, the [league] will lose $40m.”
With the WNBA’s low salaries as well as its limited practice facilities and player amenities, there’s a significant incentive for athletes to extend their college careers, holding out to see if the league expands further before they go pro. And with only 39 draft spots available each season and a surplus of NCAA women’s basketball seniors competing for them, staying an extra year to improve one’s draft stock isn’t just a trend. It’s a strategic decision.
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Also, the WNBA is set to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement due to the league’s rising value. According to WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, this agreement will bring significant change, including franchise expansion – with the addition of two new teams – an increased salary cap, improved working conditions, additional player benefits, and, most importantly, a share in WNBA equity for players. For seniors considering a fifth year, this presents an incentive. By staying an extra season, they can not only secure larger and more lucrative NIL deals in the short term but also enter the 2026 draft under a more favorable financial arrangement, ultimately earning a higher salary than if they declared this year.
For some players, the decision isn’t as calculated, it could be just about wanting to win an NCAA championship. Amoore echoed this sentiment. “I’ve trusted Coach Brooks for four years, and he’s put me in positions to succeed,” she said last month. “So, with his move [from Virginia Tech to Kentucky] and the challenge of competing in that talented conference with a brand-new team, it was a massive jump I was willing to take.”
For Amoore, the decision to stay in college wasn’t just about competition but personal growth. “I knew it would challenge me in every way,” she says. “And I was going to get better – period, on court and off.”
Meanwhile, Iowa senior Kylie Feuerbach chose to return simply for “the opportunity to play with my closest friends and our incredible fanbase.”
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For some, the decision wasn’t driven by devotion or even much thought at all. Fudd, known for her indecisiveness, made that clear well before the declaration window, “I’ll see about a fifth year,” she said.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma even gave her an ultimatum, demanding an answer within 48 hours of the Big East Tournament.
“I think she will [come back]. I think Azzi will [return],” Auriemma said. “But again, I’m not the number one voice in her ear anymore, like I used to be. Now, there’s a lot of voices.”
One of those voices was returning senior Ducharme. “Every once in a while, I’d be like, ‘So, any closer to deciding?’” Ducharme told the Hartford Courant. “One day, I just asked her when we were in the tubs, and she was like, ‘Don’t tell anyone, but I did make the decision.’”
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Just two weeks later, Fudd took to Instagram to post a photo of her smiling gleefully at the UConn scoreboard: 101 points to Arkansas State’s 31 points, a game in which she had scored 27 points. She captioned the photo, “Hey Gampel, thanks for last night… See you next year🤗😝😏 #onemoreyear.”
Fudd, like many others, would be returning for a fifth year.
