Former UConn star Tuck retires
Former UConn star Morgan Tuck announced Monday she is retiring after five seasons in the WNBA.
“I have tried everything physically possible to be ready for the upcoming 2021 WNBA season. Unfortunately, it will not be possible,” Tuck said in a message posted on Twitter. “This was a hard decision to make but I have to listen to what my body is telling me.”
Tuck, 26, appeared in 10 games last season — plus one in the playoffs — for the WNBA champion Seattle Storm. She averaged 1.7 points, and shot 31.3% in 8.8 minutes off the bench. The 6-foot-2 forward spent the previous four seasons with the Connecticut Sun, who drafted her third overall out of UConn in 2016.
She averaged 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds between 2016-19 with the Sun, but was limited by knee issues. She played a career-high 34 games in 2018, which she credited at the time to new exercise and diet routines.
Knee problems plagued Tuck throughout her career, starting in high school when she tore her left ACL. She then missed all but eight games during her sophomore year at UConn to have surgery on her right knee. Though the NCAA granted her an extra year of eligibility, she chose to turn pro after the Huskies won their fourthstraight national championship in 2016.
Breanna Stewart (Seat
tle), Moriah Jefferson (San Antonio) and Tuck became the first players from the same school to be taken with the first three picks in the draft in league history.
Tuck, a four-time national champion, averaged 11.3 points and 4.7 boards in 115 games with the Huskies. She also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2018 World Cup in Spain.
In her message, she thanked UConn, USA Basketball, Adidas and both the Storm and Sun organizations for helping her “live my dream.” She also thanked her family, friends and former coaches for making an “immeasurable” impact on her life.
“Playing the game has been a huge part of my life for so many years,” she said. “Now that this chapter of my life has come to an end, I am ecstatic to explore the next chapter.”