STORRS, Conn. — The UConn women’s basketball 2025 freshman class is beginning to take shape, as head coach Geno Auiremma signed two players on Thursday.
The two newest Huskies are Gandy Malou-Mamel, a 6-6 center from Limerick, Ireland, and Kelis Fisher, a 5-9 guard from Baltimore, Md., who ESPN has ranked as the No. 27 overall recruit in her high school class.
Malou-Mamel is an intriguing prospect, as she will become the first player from Ireland ever to represent the UConn women’s basketball program on the hardwood. According to the UConn Blog, Malou-Mamel didn’t begin playing basketball until the age of 12 but took great strides during the summer of 2022 when she arrived in the United States.
The Ireland native verbally committed to the Huskies in the summer of 2023, so it should come as a relief to finally sign with the program.
The UConn Division of Athletics reports that Malou-Mamel represented Ireland at the 2024 FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket Division B tournament, where she scored 10.6 points per game and averaged 10 rebounds per contest.
Malou-Mamel currently attends Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, N.J. In 2023-2024, she averaged 16.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Auriemma is excited to help develop Malou-Mamel when she arrives in Storrs full-time next year.
“Gandy is in some ways raw, but she has a couple characteristics that are really valuable,” Auriemma said. “She runs the floor great, and she wants to play defense and rebound the ball. We certainly could use another big post presence, and she’ll be a great compliment to the bigs we have on the roster now.”
Fisher is currently enrolled at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. She was named to the 2024-2025 Naismith Trophy Girl’s High School Player of the Year watchlist on Wednesday, according to the UConn Division of Athletics.
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In April, she participated in USA Basketball’s junior national team minicamp and also played in Overtime Select in September, where she led ISO World to the championship game with 31 points and 11 rebounds in the semifinal.
Fisher originally committed to the Huskies in January 2023. Like Malou-Mamel, signing with the program has been long-awaited. Auriemma has been complimentary of Fisher’s game, noting that she is athletic, plays tough defense and continues to improve. He believes she will help the team up its tempo.
“Kelis is an athletic guard that can have an impact on the game at both ends of the court,” Auriemma said. “I think she can be a tremendous defender. Kelis plays at IMG, which has allowed her to play against some great competition. She’s improved every year she’s been there.”
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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