UConn Women's Basketball Team Will Welcome Four Freshmen Next Season as Head Coach Geno Auriemma Announced the Program's 2023 Signing Class Wednesday

El Alfy will be UConn's first player from Egypt.

UConn's incoming class includes 5-foot-9 point guard KK Arnold, 6-foot-4 center Jana El Alfy, 6-foot-2 wing Qadence Samuels and 5-foot-10 shooting guard Ashlynn Shade.

"We're excited as can be about our class," Auriemma said. "There were needs that we felt we needed to address, and we feel that we addressed each and every one of them. We wanted to get quicker in the back court, we wanted to get longer on the wing, we wanted to physically get a little tougher and we wanted to add more athleticism and skill up front. I think we accomplished all those things.

BWB Africa 2022 MVP

"More importantly though, each member of this class really expressed an interest in coming here. They kept basketball at the forefront of why they wanted to be here. They kept going back to I want to play basketball at UConn, I want to go to UConn because I think that's where I can reach my full potential. We feel like we're getting a great group and they're all coming here for the right reasons."

Jana in Australia 

JANA El ALFY

C, 6-4, Cairo Egypt, Al Ahly Sporting Club

El Alfy will be UConn's first player from Egypt. She has represented Egypt in FIBA competition three times, including the 2021 FIBA U16 African Championship, the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup and the 2022 FIBA U18 African Women's Championship. At the 2022 U18 African Championship, El Alfy led the tournament with 24.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, leading Egypt to silver.

She has participated in the NBA Academy Women's Program since 2019 – fellow alums include current UConn players Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl.

Geno Auriemma (https://bit.ly/3fTyMMH) on Jana El Alfy:

"I think the skills Jana has are skills that translate well into the way basketball is played today. She's a big kid who's athletic and can play on the perimeter. She can score, she can rebound. She's played a lot of basketball growing up. Her father is the national team coach, so she really understands the game. There's an understanding from everyone of where Jana wants to go and what Jana wants to be. She wants to set an example for all the young girls not just in Egypt but in all of Africa."

Background:

• In August 2019, Jana participated in the Jr. NBA Global Championship, a youth basketball tournament for the top 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls from around the world, which took place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. Jana, who competed for the girls Africa team alongside top girls from across the continent, lead the international bracket in scoring.
• Later in 2019, Jana participated in the third NBA Academy Women’s Program camp in Saly, Senegal alongside top high school age prospects from across the continent. The NBA Academy Women’s Program (https://on.NBA.com/2C3BwQn) is a series of basketball development camps for top female prospects from outside the U.S at the league’s academies. NBA Academies have been launched in Canberra, Australia; Greater Noida, India; San Luis Potosí, Mexico; and Saly, Senegal for top prospects from their respective countries and continents.
• In 2021, Jana was selected to participate in the NBA Academy Women’s Virtual Program (https://on.NBA.com/3DZw546), an eight-week basketball and leadership development program for more than 40 of the top female, high-school age (14-17 years old) prospects from outside the U.S. As part of the program’s on-court curriculum, Jana and the other participants received weekly virtual basketball lessons, instructions and challenges featuring current and former WNBA players. They also participated in leadership and life skills development.
• From Feb 16 – March 12, 2022, Jana received a scholarship to participate in a multi-week training camp at NBA Global Academy (https://bit.ly/3hxeV6f), an elite basketball training center at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Canberra, Australia.  She became the second female prospect from the NBA Academy Women’s Program and the first female from Africa to participate in the short-term basketball development camp at NBA Global Academy, which serves as the NBA’s hub for top prospects from outside the U.S.  During her time at NBA Global Academy, Jana participated in basketball development activities under the guidance of coaches from the NBA Academy and Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence and participated in five-on-five scrimmages and weight training sessions alongside top Australian prospects.
• From Aug. 28-21, Jana participated in Basketball Without Borders Africa 2022 (https://on.NBA.com/3UzjuLZ) in Cairo, Egypt and was named camp MVP.  The camp brought together more than 60 of the top male and female players ages 18 and under from across Africa to learn directly from current and former NBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches and compete alongside the best young players on the continent.  The campers were coached by NBA players Udoka Azubuike, Mo Bamba, Malcolm Brogdon and Grant Williams, as well as NBA head coaches Steve Kerr, Chauncy Billups, Wes Unseld Jr. Chris Finch and Willie Green.
• More than 30 NBA Academy Women’s Program participants have committed to or gone on to attend NCAA Division I schools, including teammates Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards, who both participated in the NBA Academy Women's Program at the 2019 NCAA Women's Final Four.

November 11, 2022