UConn women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers told Fox News Digital that she believes more of her peers are being outward about their faith.
UConn women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers has never been one to hide her faith, but now she sees her peers following suit.
The 23-year-old phenom has regularly cited Bible verses and given thanks to God in times of standout basketball success. That success wrote another chapter Wednesday night when she put up 23 points at the prominent Catholic institution, Seton Hall, to lead a dominant 91-49 win.
After the game, she told Fox News Digital during the postgame press conference how she sees public displays of faith becoming more common in her sport.
“Yeah, I think people are more outward in their faith and more comfortable talking about it,” Bueckers said when asked if she sees embracing Christianity becoming more common in women’s basketball and sports as a whole.
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For her, making an effort to put faith on display makes it more comfortable for other players to do the same.
“I feel like the more you see it the more populized it becomes, and the more comfortable everybody comes with it,” Bueckers said. “But yeah, I definitely think it’s growing in terms of being outspoken about it.”
A commitment to Christianity has been a prominent staple of Bueckers’ basketball journey so far in her career. After she tore her ACL in an August 2022 pickup game, she wasted no time reminding her fans that her faith in God would help her return.
“It’s hard trying to make sense of it all now but I can’t help but think that God is using me as a testimony as to how much you can overcome with Him by your side,” she wrote in an Instagram post that month. “Some little kid that just tore their ACL or had a major surgery might need this story P, because it’s going to be one hell of a comeback. There is going to be good days and there is going to be bad days but my absolute love for the game and Godly strength will get me back to where I need to be.”
Six months later in February 2023, Bueckers credited “God’s timing” when she gave an update on her recovery.
“Beauty in the struggle… [six] months down (yesterday) God’s timing is never off, keep working,” she wrote on Instagram.
When she returned to the court for the 2023-24 season, she led UConn all the way to the Final Four.
After a 32-point game against Syracuse in the second round of the tournament, she reflected on the prayer that went into her journey back.
“I prayed so hard a year ago today to be in my shoes where I’m at right now, so just to appreciate it, especially playing here in front of the best fans in the country with the best teammates and the best coaching staff in the world,” Bueckers told reporters in the post-game press conference “I give all glory to God, all glory to my coaching staff, and my teammates for instilling that confidence within me just to have fun and play my game.”
Now, Bueckers is watching other players in women’s basketball show their belief in God along with her, as she gears up for her last March Madness run.
American sports as a whole has seen a wave of star athletes put their devotion to Christianity on full display for fans over the last year.
After the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and star players Jalen Hurts, Darius Slay and Saquon Barkley all gave thanks to God and their “Lord and Savior,” for the win.
The Chiefs and their quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who were going for their third straight Super Bowl win, also never strayed away from hiding their devotion to faith.
After Mahomes led the Chiefs to an AFC Championship victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, he thanked God in his postgame interview with CBS.
During the Los Angeles Dodgers run to the 2024 World Series title, players Tommy Edman and Blake Treinen each spoke about their thanks to God along the way.
The 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship saw two teams in Notre Dame and Ohio State include players that boasted their connection to Christianity and gratitude to God throughout the postseason.
And those are just a few examples of star athletes who made sure the nation saw their faith in moments of triumph this past year, as more and more are sharing their connection to Christianity with fans.
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