UConn Daily Digest: No more FloSports, McNeeley shines in Summer League

Welcome to the UConn Daily Digest, a weekly update on all things UConn sports. 

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Headlines

Big East signs digital rights deal with ESPN+

UConn’s Olympic sports are about to become more accessible than ever. Thanks to a new digital rights deal agreed upon by the Big East and ESPN+, more than 200 Olympic sporting events for the conference’s 11 schools will be streamed annually on the digital platform. Beginning with the 2025-26 academic year, the deal also includes a minimum of 75 women’s basketball games as well as 25 non-conference men’s basketball games. 

Gone are the likes of FloSports, which carried games of many UConn Olympic sports like baseball, softball, soccer, etc, offering low-quality streaming at a high cost.

Read: Big East signs multi-year digital rights agreement with ESPN+

The conference has now secured proper coverage for many of its secondary, non-revenue sports. Last summer, the Big East did the same for its heavy hitters — men’s and women’s basketball — on a deal that runs through 2030-31. FOX (FOX, FS1, and FS2), NBC Sports (NBC and Peacock) and TNT Sports (TNT, TBS, truTV, and Max) will remain the primary home for Big East basketball, while ESPN+ will carry most other sports through the end of the decade. 

McNeeley lights it up in Summer League debut

Liam McNeeley has found the cure for his draft day blues:

Buckets.

The 19-year-old put on a show in his NBA Summer League debut, taking the court in Las Vegas with an inspired chip on his shoulder. Coming off the bench, McNeeley scored a team-high 22 points en route to his first professional double-double (12 rebounds), adding six assists. He shot 50% from three, hitting three times on six attempts. His performance earned him a start in the Hornets’ next game, where he continued to stuff the stat sheet. Alongside 14 points, he tallied five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. 

No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel sat out Saturday night, part of Charlotte’s plan to heal an pre-existing ankle injury while ramping Knueppel up simultaneously, which gave McNeeley the opportunity to run the offense.

McNeeley and Charlotte will continue their summer league action Monday night with a matchup against No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper and the San Antonio Spurs, coached by UConn alum Mike Noyes. 

Cam Spencer is getting paid (more, longer)

Two weeks after signing a guaranteed two-year deal with the Grizzlies, Spencer has restructured his contract for more money and more years.

Furphy, Reibe wrap FIBA U19 with a bang

We’ve been tracking Jacob Furphy and Eric Reibe’s time overseas at the FIBA U19 Cup for a few weeks now. At the tournament’s conclusion, the United States ran away with the gold medal, crushing Germany in the July 6 title game.

Jacob Furphy’s 34.4 minutes per game ranked first across all tournament players. His 16.7 points per game ranked 12th as Australia finished sixth in the field of 16 teams. Though Furphy had his worst performance in their elimination match against Canada, he should be proud of what was otherwise a productive stint in Switzerland. 

For silver-medalist Germany, Reibe was an integral part of the group’s run to the finals. He averaged the third-highest points per game on the roster (15.4), grabbed five rebounds per game, and even dished 11 assists over seven games. In the title match, he dropped 17 points against Team USA despite the loss. 

Read: FIBA U19 Wrap Up - Will Eric Reibe and Jacob Furphy Take Storrs by Storm? ($)

Both Furphy and Reibe should already be in Storrs by now, joining the rest of the group in summer workouts ahead of what is expected to be a bounce-back year for the program. Hopes are high that this roster will have the starpower and depth to make another run at a national championship.

Nika Muhl signs with pro Hungarian club Sopran Basket

Nika Muhl is set to join Sopran Basket, a club in the Hungarian National Championship — regarded as the top professional league in Hungary. 

Since leaving UConn, Muhl looked to compete for a spot on a WNBA team coming out of the draft. The Seattle Storm selected Muhl in 2024 in the second round, though after she tore her ACL in October playing overseas in Turkey, Seattle placed Muhl on the suspended list in April to save cap space. Muhl is still recovering from her aforementioned ACL tear, now about nine months removed from the initial injury. Depending on the severity of the tear, this is a kind of injury that can take almost a full calendar year to recover from, putting Muhl on track to return sometime in the fall.

When healthy, Muhl will suit up for Sopran during the WNBA offseason, which gets underway for non-playoff teams following the end of the regular season September 11 and all other teams when the WNBA finals wrap up around mid-October. Her time overseas should help ease her transition back into the WNBA for the 2026 season. 

New Women’s Tennis head coach

The UConn women’s tennis team announced last Tuesday that Laura Glitz will take over as the program’s newest head coach after 18 years with the Purdue Boilermakers and a program record 210 victories. 

Glitz, a former Women’s Tennis Association pro player, began her coaching career short stint as an assistant with Princeton. She got her first head coaching job with Cornell, coaching the Big Red from 2004-2007. From Ithaca, she led the Boilermakers for nearly two decades. 

The Huskies are coming off one of their best seasons in recent program history, finishing 16-5 despite falling at the hands of Villanova in the second round of the Big East Tournament. UConn women’s tennis has quietly been trending in the right direction for the past half-decade. 

• 2019-20 record: 3-7 (canceled mid-year due to COVID)

• 2021-22 record: 10-12

• 2022-23 record: 11-10

• 2023-24 record: 13-8

• 2024-25 record: 16-5

With an established winner now at the helm — Glitz’s Boilermakers were nationally-ranked in 10 of her 18 seasons — the team is looking to capitalize on its recent surge and make a push for a Big East championship.  

Weekly Rewind

Big East signs multi-year digital rights agreement with ESPN+ – More than 200 Olympic sporting events across the conference will stream on ESPN+ annually. 

Men’s Basketball

Seven former Huskies set to appear in 2025 NBA Summer League – Rookies Liam McNeeley and Samson Johnson join the group of former Huskies playing in Las Vegas. 

FIBA U19 Wrap Up - Will Eric Reibe and Jacob Furphy Take Storrs by Storm? ($) – Reibe’s Team Germany took home silver while Furphy’s Team Australia placed sixth. How did the two incoming big men finish out their time in Switzerland?

Women’s Basketball

ON SALE: 24-25 UConn WBB Autographed Championship Basketballs – Get your hands on some memorabilia signed by the entire team and head coach Geno Auriemma, now. 

Sarah Strong looking “way better” during summer workouts ($) – Sarah Strong dominated the Final Four en route to a national championship. Now, she looks even better. 

Newsletter: After snapping national title drought, UConn has its swagger back – The realization has set in for those remaining from last year’s title run, but now they’re out for more. 

Football

Take a Look Back at the Top 10 Football Recruits of All-Time ($) – The Huskies have captured some prestigious talent over the years. 

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