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One to watch: Breanna Stewart

Former UConn star seeking to extend legacy to international stage

Breanna Stewart
School: University of Connecticut
Sport: Women’s basketball

Stewart recently graduated from the University of Connecticut, where she finished perhaps the most successful career in women’s basketball history under coach Geno Auriemma, who is also the U.S. women’s basketball team’s head coach. At 21, Stewart is the youngest member of the team, one of three newcomers on a USA squad  packed with Olympic veterans. But Stewart is far from inexperienced. At 6-foot-4, Stewart draws admiration for the depth of her basketball skill set, which played an integral role in the Huskies’ four consecutive national titles during her collegiate career. In addition to four team titles, Stewart is the first athlete in NCAA history to  be named the Most Outstanding Player of the Women’s Final Four in all four years. To top off an already outstanding year, Stewart was also the first pick of the 2016 WNBA draft, going to the Seattle Storm.

When to watch: The women's basketball team faces Japan at 5:45 p.m. Eastern time today.

Why we're cheering: Stewart’s success on the court piled up so many awards and trophies that it can be easy to overlook the success she had in the classroom as well. At UConn, Stewart had stints on the school’s Athletics Director’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List, was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America  second team as a junior and helped the Huskies earn the American Athletic Conference Excellence Award for having the highest GPA of any women’s basketball team in the league.


Others to watch today:

Edgar Rivera-Morales (track and field, high jump, Mexico): Born in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, Rivera-Morales competed in the Mexican National Championships throughout high school, where he won the 2009 high jump championship. He came to the U.S. to attend the University of Arizona, where he was a successful student and athlete. Rivera-Morales majored in industrial engineering, earning Academic All-American awards while being named to indoor and outdoor track and field All-America teams four times.