On Wednesday, UConn women’s basketball received a commitment from Blanca Quiñonez, a 6-1 wing from Ecuador currently playing in Italy’s Serie A1. She’ll be the first player in program history from South America.

While Quiñonez isn’t included in ESPN’s recruiting rankings as an international prospect, she’s already proven herself at a high level. Last season, she averaged 10.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29 Serie A games — a professional league — with Campobasso as a 17-year old.

This past summer, Quiñonez participated in a Basketball Without Borders event at the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix. More recently, head coach Geno Auriemma and assistant Morgan Valley visited her in Italy.

Quiñonez is the Huskies’ third 2025 commitment, joining guard Kelis Fisher (No. 28 in ESPN’s rankings) and post Gandy Malou-Mamel (No. 72). She’s also the latest in a line of international players for the program that includes Evelyn Adebayo (United Kingdom), Anna Makurat (Poland), Nika Mühl (Croatia), Aaliyah Edwards (Canada), Dorka Juhász (Hungary), Lou Lopez Sénéchal (Mexico/France), Inês Bettencourt (Portugal), Jana El Alfy (Egypt) and Malou-Mamel (Ireland).

UConn could still add another, too. The Huskies have one scholarship open for next season and are in the mix for two remaining 2025 prospects: Agot Makeer (the No. 4 prospect in the class) from Canada and Lara Somfai (No. 23) from Australia.