Panini America launches UConn basketball NIL trading card box set

As UConn men’s and women’s basketball get ready for March Madness, the programs are at the center of a new NIL product from Panini America. They are part of a trading card box set from the company.

Members of both programs are featured in the set, which includes more than 100 trading cards. Men’s basketball stars Alex Karaban and Solo Ball are part of the initiative, as are women’s basketball standouts Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong. Program legends such as Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo, Ray Allen and Richard “Rip” Hamilton are also featured.

UConn is the first school to receive an NIL box set of trading cards from Panini America. The company said more programs will also get their own sets in the future.

“UConn is one of the premiere schools in the country, measuring its success in multiple NCAA Championships and Final Four appearances,” said Jason Howarth, Panini America Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations, in a statement. “Featuring their basketball programs and players is a natural fit for our first-ever NIL box set. We know that fans will be very excited for the set and to celebrate the Huskies.”

Bueckers’ involvement is through a multi-year NIL deal with Panini America, signed in November. One of the faces of women’s basketball, she has a $1.5 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 2 in the women’s college basketball NIL rankings and No. 3 in the On3 Women’s NIL 100. It also sits at No. 44 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

UConn basketball ready for Selection Sunday

Bueckers is the centerpiece of UConn’s attack after returning for one more season in Storrs. She enters March Madness averaging a team-high 19 points and 4.9 assists. Strong leads the other major categories, averaging 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 blocks. Her 16 points per game is also second only to Bueckers.

On the men’s side, Ball is UConn’s leading scorer, averaging 14.7 points while shooting a team-high 42.3% from three-point territory. Karaban is right behind him with 14.6 points and is also averaging 1.6 blocks, which sits just behind Tarris Reed for the team lead.

Both UConn basketball programs are gearing up for Selection Sunday, where they’ll find out when and where they will play in the NCAA tournament. The men’s selection show will be at 6 p.m. ET on CBS, and the women’s will get rolling at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.