Connecticut sports in 2022: UConn football resurgence, missing Paige Bueckers, new look for Travelers and transition for Athletic among the top stories

The sun had yet to set on Rentschler Field, on one of the last warm days of the year. It was Nov. 12 and UConn football still mattered, mattered more than it has in a decade.

The final seconds ticked off and the Huskies had a win over a ranked team, Liberty, and with it were assured of a .500 finish, good enough to go to a bowl game.

Jim Mora, hired a year earlier, had taken a program that finished 1-11 in 2021, didn’t play at all in 2020 and had lost 50 of 60 games since its last bowl appearance, and turned UConn football around. The school’s move out of the American Athletic Conference and into the Big East, leaving its football program to function as an independent, was perceived as a white flag, a death knell for the program.

Mora, 61, who had coached in the NFL and at UCLA, would have none of that. He told AD David Benedict he would never concede any game and the Huskies, after a 1-4 start, won five of their last seven.

They lost the Myrtle Beach Bowl to Marshall, 28-14, on Dec. 19, but the rebirth of UConn football was the story of the year in Connecticut sports. For the first time since the Fiesta Bowl in 2011, the program had left its fans wanting more. And now the task will be to deliver more in 2023.

Here are more of the top sports stories we followed in 2022:

Bueckers’ injuries

Paige Bueckers, considered the best player in the country as a freshman at UConn, began the year on crutches, recovering from knee surgery. She returned in late February and, in the Regional Final in Bridgeport, turned in a bravura performance in overtime to lead the UConn women past NC State and into the Final Four for the 13th year in a row. The Huskies eventually lost the championship game to South Carolina, the first time either the UConn women (11-0) or men (4-0) had ever lost an NCAA final.

Then came an August gut punch. Bueckers tore her ACL in a pickup game on campus and would be lost for the 2022-23 season. With Bueckers on the sidelines as a self-proclaimed, unofficial assistant coach, the Huskies continue the fight. The program’s injury rash has sometimes left coach Geno Auriemma with barely enough players to play, but they end the calendar year at No. 8 in the country, with players like Nika Mühl and Aaliyah Edwards stepping up, well positioned for another March run.

Hurley: From heartbreak to heady stuff

The UConn men looked primed for a tournament run, but were stunned by 12 seed New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAAs. Then came a spate of transfers.

Coach Dan Hurley took the opportunity to retool his team, bringing in four key transfers to assemble the deepest squad he has ever had around Andre Jackson, Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins. The new season began with promise, and when the Huskies joined the women’s team in winning their Phil Knight tournament in Portland over Thanksgiving, they were in the rankings.

The end of 2022 finds UConn at No. 2, undefeated after winning each of its first 13 games by double digits. All indications are the new year will bring memorable times.

The Boys from Bristol

Freshmen Donovan Clingan, in basketball, and Victor Rosa, in football, were two of the state’s top high school performers at Bristol Central. Best friends, they entered UConn together and made big splashes. Clingan was MVP at the PK Invitational and Rosa led the Huskies in rushing yards (636) and touchdowns (11).

Sun set just short of ultimate goal

Coach Curt Miller had been warning that the “championship window” was closing for the Connecticut Sun, who had been one of the WNBA’s best teams for years but had never closed the deal. The Sun reached the final round once again, but lost to Las Vegas and the window closed.

Miller left for Los Angeles, and the Sun will begin a new era with Stephanie White as coach.

Travelers moving up in the golf world

The Travelers Championship was overshadowed by the LIV Golf controversy, as star players left the PGA Tour to chase Saudi money. Xander Schauffele won in a typical dramatic finish at the TPC.

But the big news for the Travelers came months later, when the PGA announced a plan to respond to the LIV challenge. The Tour will have a rotating series of upper tier tournaments with the purse beefed up to $20 million and, in 2023, the Travelers will be one of these “elevated” events. All of the Top 20 golfers in the world are expected to play in Cromwell in 2023.

Athletic in transition

The Hartford Athletic made bold moves to reimagine its future, first luring former UConn coach Ray Reid from retirement to be the technical director, or GM. Reid hired Tab Ramos, a coach with extensive Team USA and Major League Soccer experience, to take over for the final six games.

The new leadership has plans to build a developmental program that will lift The Athletic to contend for championships in its league.

Stellar finish

The Manchester Road Race had a stellar field on Thanksgiving Day and conditions were perfect for a record. But nobody expected five men, led by winner Conner Mantz of Utah, to break the course record at the 86th edition of the 4.748-mile race. Mantz finished in 21:04, breaking the 2018 record (21:16) set by Edward Cheserek and was followed by runner-up Morgan Beadlescomb (21:05), Wesley Kiptoo (21:06), Andrew Colley (21:07) and Hillary Bor (21:15).

Banner year for East Hartford

East Hartford won its first girls basketball championship 54-33 over Wilton in the Class LL state final behind Seton Hall-bound Shailyn Pinkney, who had 26 points and eight rebounds. It was the Hornets’ second state championship in the span of a month; the wrestling team shared the Class LL state championship with Danbury, which has won 21 of the last 25 Class LL titles. East Hartford hadn’t won a championship in any sport since 1996. Elsewhere on the high school front:

* Before arriving in Storrs, Clingan and his Bristol Central teammates won the Division II boys basketball state championship in March, beating Northwest Catholic 56-36 to win their 43rd game in a row.

*Bloomfield won its first state championship in boys basketball since 2008 in Division IV but the Warhawks lost their “Coach Mo,” coach Kevin Moses, who died in September of colon cancer.

*Old Saybrook boys soccer coach Steve Waters, the state’s winningest boys soccer coach, won his 600th game in the state tournament and the Rams won their fourth straight title in Class S 2-0 over East Hampton. *The Windsor baseball team went 24-1 and won its first state title since 1991 with a 3-1 victory over Maloney in the Class L final.

*Southington softball won its 20th state title, setting a national record, with a 13-1 win over Bristol Central in the Class LL championship game.

Knocking on the door, and more

The UConn baseball and men’s hockey teams knocked on the doors leading to long-held aspirations. The baseball team reached the NCAA Super Regional, but fell one win short of the College World Series, losing two of three at Stanford. The men’s hockey team reached the Hockey East final, but lost in overtime to UMass. Coaches Jim Penders and Mike Cavanaugh earned long-term extensions as a result. ... The Yale football team did reach its annual goals, beating Princeton and Harvard to end the season as Ivy Football champs. In basketball, the Yale men won the Ivy, losing to Purdue in the NCAA Round of 64. ... Trinity football finished undefeated, winning the NESCAC title. ... The Yard Goats had their best season on the field at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, narrowly missing the Eastern League playoffs. The franchise sold out 40 of 67 home dates, averaging 6,002 per game. ... The CT Whale, the state’s women’s pro hockey team, settled into a new home at the refurbished International Skating Center of Connecticut. ... Saint Joseph men’s basketball finish the season ranked No.1 in Division III, not bad for program that only came into existence five years ago. ... UHart’s transitioned to D-III continued. Men’s basketball coach John Gallagher resigned on the eve of the season, later reaching a settlement with the school to put a stop to all litigation. ... … In the Winter Olympics, Madison’s Zach Donahue won a bronze medal in ice dancing with partner Madison Hubbell after the pair just missed the podium in 2018, finishing fourth.

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com

Lori Riley contributed to this story.