UConn women's basketball freshman forward Ice Brady will miss the season after suffering a dislocated patella in her right knee, the second season-ending knee injury the Huskies have experienced heading into the 2022-23 campaign.
The injury occurred during practice Friday, and Brady underwent surgery Tuesday and will begin rehab Wednesday.
"Anytime any player has an injury, it's so heartbreaking because they put so much time and effort into being the best player they can be," coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. "When that's taken away -- regardless of how long they're out -- to not be able to play is unfortunate. Ice has made so much progress since she's been here and I'm really confident that when she does come back, she's going to be better and more impactful than she already has been."
Brady, a 6-foot-3 post player from San Diego, is one of three incoming freshmen for the Huskies, ranked No. 5 in her class per espnW's rankings, one spot behind UConn classmate Ayanna Patterson. After 2020-21 Player of the Year Paige Bueckers' ACL injury in August, Auriemma also brought in Inês Bettencourt from Portugal to add another guard.
UConn -- ranked No. 6 in ESPN's and AP's preseason polls -- will now have 10 healthy players for the season, with Bueckers and Brady sidelined for 2022-23.
In addition to losing Bueckers and now Brady to injury, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Evina Westbrook all left for the WNBA. Returners Aaliyah Edwards, Dorka Juhász, Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme will help carry the load for a depleted Huskies team, which is looking for its first national title since 2016 and its 12th overall.