Team: Connecticut Huskies<\/p>\n
2025-26 Record: 34-6, 17-3 Big East<\/p>\n
2025-26 Big East Finish: Second, one game behind St. John\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Final 2025-26 Computer Rankings<\/p>\n
NET: #9
KenPom.com: #9
BartTorvik.com: #9<\/p>\n
Postseason: After getting walloped by 20 by the Red Storm in the Big East championship game, UConn was still good enough to get a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament. They had to squeak past Michigan State and then get handed the gift of all gifts by Duke in order to reach the Final Four, then beat Illinois by nine to get to the national championship game. There they suffered their first loss in a national championship game in program history, which is kind of impressive, because they had won the first six times they got there, all since 1999.<\/p>\n
Notable Departures: We\u2019re going to talk about a lot of additions to this roster eventually, but the Huskies aren\u2019t losing that much in terms of every night rotation guys. Yes, they\u2019re still losing a lot, just not as much as the additions make it look like it is. Lotta dudes playing less than 100 minutes all year.<\/p>\n
Technically, UConn is losing all of their top three scorers from last season. I say \u201ctechnically\u201d because their #3 scorer this past year was Solo Ball at 12.8 points per game and he\u2019s still at UConn, but he probably won\u2019t be playing in 2026-27. He needed wrist surgery to repair something that he was dealing with all of last season<\/a> \u2014 he shot just 30% from three-point land after a 41% campaign as a sophomore \u2014 and so the plan, as of April, was for him to miss the entire season while he rehabbed the injury. However, since then, the NCAA has approved the five years\/five seasons eligibility model, so it\u2019s not like Ball is going to actually gain anything from sitting out the entire year. I would have to presume it\u2019s possible that we see him back on the court before the 2026-27 season ends\u2026. but maybe not?<\/p>\n We know UConn will be without Tarris Reed and Alex Karaban, who went #1 and #2 on the scoring chart respectively at 14.7 and 13.2 points per game. They also went in that order in the NBA Draft in June, with Reed going #26 overall to San Antonio and Karaban going #29 to Sacramento. Reed was a double-double threat at all times, averaging 9.0 rebounds, but also dishing 2.3 assists and swatting 2.0 blocks per game. Karaban goes into the record books as one of the most successful Huskies of all time, winning two national championships and playing in a third title game. He leaves Storrs with 1,880 points, 758 rebounds, and 309 assists, which I am sure leaves him amongst some very exclusive company.<\/p>\n UConn loses another senior in Malachi Smith. The Dayton transfer was only with the Huskies for one season, and given his averages with the Flyers (10.4 points, 5.3 assists in 28 minutes as a junior), his time in the Big East is a slight disappointment. He played in all 40 games, starting twice, but averaged just 15.9 minutes and had counting stats to match: 3.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists. He started off strong enough \u2014 21.1 minutes per game in November \u2014 but his playing time dwindled as the season went along.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also two rotation guys that headed out through the transfer portal. Jaylin Stewart is gone after three seasons at UConn, ending up at SMU. That\u2019s not a closer to home thing, as he hails from Seattle\u2026 although I guess Dallas is closer than Storrs? In any case, he started off this past season in the starting lineup for the Huskies, but eventually lost that job as a teammate got healthy. Stewart missed eight games late in the year due to a knee injury but was able to chip in off the bench in the last four contests in the NCAA tournament. Before that injury, Stewart was averaging 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game, but it\u2019s clear that he\u2019s not the best playing time option going forward. The other transfer is Eric Reibe, and the 7\u20191\u201d German is at USC after just one year with UConn. He was getting 13.8 minutes per game, although that was helped out by five starts in place of Tarris Reed along the way, and he averaged 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. You\u2019d think that Reed going in the draft would open things up for him on the roster, but apparently the former top 30 prospect disagreed.<\/p>\n Notable Returners: There\u2019s just three rotation players returning for UConn, at least for opening night. For me, that list starts with Silas Demary, who led the Big East with 5.9 assists per game. He was also a double digit scorer at 10.1 per night and a heck of a rebounder for his position at 4.5 per game. When he wasn\u2019t dishing it, it was a massive threat to shoot it, connecting on over 38% of his three-point attempts, third best on the team.<\/p>\n The next guy we have to mention is probably the most famous of the three, because I think that anyone who was watching the UConn\/Duke Final Four game is going to remember Braylon Mullins forever.<\/p>\n Shouts to Silas Demary for that free throw, by the way. Ice in his veins stuff right there.<\/p>\n Mullins is the guy who got healthy from a preseason injury and took Jaylin Stewart\u2019s starting spot. He came off the bench for his first four college games and then started in the remainder of his appearances during his freshman season. The former top 20 prospect was UConn\u2019s #4 scorer at 12.0 points per game, which makes him UConn\u2019s top returning scorer without Ball in the lineup. He finished the year shooting 33.5% long range, but he did hit nearly 38% in 19 Big East games\u2026.. which includes a 1-for-10 in Marquette\u2019s 68-62 victory over the Huskies at Fiserv Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n The last returning rotation guy is Jayden Ross. He\u2019s seen his minutes go up in each of his three years in Storrs, ending up at 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 17.4 minutes this past year. While I can\u2019t say for certain what his role might be next season, I think the fact that his younger brother Jacob was a redshirt freshman this past year plays a role in Jayden sticking around for another year.<\/p>\n RELATED: Jacob Ross is the only other player returning next season.<\/p>\n Key Additions: Yes, UConn\u2019s top end talent is gone, and yes, UConn\u2019s depth is completely gone, too. With that said, the Huskies aren\u2019t exactly going short on talent this winter. That starts with Colben Landrew (6\u20196\u201d, 236 lb. freshman forward, McComb, Mississippi) and Junior County (6\u20195\u201d, 205 lb. freshman guard, Highland Park, Utah), a pair of top 50 freshmen according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings. Landrew is the higher ranked of the two at #27, and he\u2019s your favorite for Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year since he\u2019s the top ranked recruit in the entire conference. SPOILER ALERT: County is #2 on that list, so there may be some wagering value there if you\u2019re a a real sicko like that.<\/p>\n What do you want to take from Connecticut signing up Egor Amosov, a 6\u20198\u201d, 236 pound Russian forward, in early July? He\u2019s the 15th player to join the roster with a roster limit of 15, so it\u2019s not like they were shorthanded without him, but also: Why sign him up if you don\u2019t expect him to contribute with a lack of proven players available? He\u2019s got a pretty long list of playing for youth club teams across Europe<\/a>, but that\u2019s not a guarantee that he\u2019s ready to contribute right away.<\/p>\n That brings us to the seven transfers that the Huskies are bringing in. Four of them come in after just one year somewhere else, and one of them played just 16 minutes at Arkansas, so let\u2019s not presume he\u2019s going to be amazing immediately. The most notable name on a national level out of the other three is Nik Khamenia (6\u20198\u201d, 225 lb. forward, Tarzana, California), who didn\u2019t quite turn his top 20 ranking as a prospect into a major role at Duke last year. A role, yes, of course, at just under 20 minutes a game, but just 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. The most familiar name to Big East fans is Na\u2019jai Hines (6\u201911\u201d, 278 lb. center, Plainfield, New Jersey), who takes up the mantle as the Kadary Richmond Transfer Of The Year, aka \u201cGuy who left Seton Hall probably because of money and went to another Big East team.\u201d Hines was actually the most prolific shot blocker in the conference last year, averaging 2.2 per game even though he never started a game and averaged just 18.0 minutes a game. 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest is tremendous for his level of playing time, so no knock on him there at all. The third and final \u201cI\u2019d like something new after one year\u201d guy is Oskar Giltay (6\u201911\u201d, 240 lb. center, Blizen, Belgium), who started off college action at Stanford. Playing 14.6 minutes a game as a freshman is good, starting five times in 32 games is good, averaging 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds\u2026. well, the rebounds part is pretty good given the playing time. I would like to point out the heights and weights on Hines and Giltay and ask you if you really think the 7-footer from Arkansas is going to play this year?<\/p>\n Out of the other three transfers, Nils Machowski (6\u20194\u201d, 190 lb. guard, Berlin, Germany) is the most proven, but he proved it at Wofford. There\u2019s not much to say about his two years at UCF, but after being given a starting spot with the Terriers, he blew up. Machowski averaged 17.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, and he shot 38% from behind the three-point line as well. The question is, of course, if that translates to the Big East. Jaye Nash (6\u20192\u201d, 193 lb. guard, Memphis, Tennessee) started a bit early and a bit late for Jacksonville State this past season after not much of anything at Tulsa as a freshman, but ended up averaging 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in less than 26 minutes a night. His playing time didn\u2019t change much whether he was starting or not, and the assists would be the most intriguing part here if I didn\u2019t know that Silas Demary was going to play as much as he wants. Finally, there\u2019s Isaiah Shaw (6\u20198\u201d, 207 lb. forward, Phoenix, Arizona), who had one shortened first season out of two and Grand Canyon, then one at Valparaiso, and then last year at Northern Arizona. He did start 22 times for the Lumberjacks and in 18.3 minutes overall, he added 8.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. If he can match his career average of 37.7% three-point shooting, he can play for the Huskies\u2026. and if he can match last year\u2019s shooting percentage of 46.4%, he\u2019s going to be the most annoying Huskies player by a long shot. Get it? Long shot??<\/p>\n Coach: Dan Hurley, entering his eighth season with Connecticut and 16th season as a Division 1 head coach. He has a record of 199-75 with the Huskies and 350-180 overall.<\/p>\n Outlook: Connecticut returns two starters from a team that went to the national championship game and almost nothing else\u2026. and BartTorvik.com\u2019s preseason projections have UConn as the #10 team in the country<\/a>. Before you ask: Yes, that\u2019s without Solo Ball in the lineup at all<\/a>. You would have to figure that if Ball\u2019s original timeline of \u201cwon\u2019t play\u201d is more like \u201cwould be available on Valentine\u2019s Day,\u201d there\u2019s enough of a reason to treat him like a trade deadline acquisition and get him out there to contribute. That would obviously raise UConn\u2019s ceiling, even if starting at \u201ctop ten team\u201d doesn\u2019t leave much to actually raise.<\/p>\n So this brings us to this point: I\u2019m all for giving Dan Hurley his flowers as a coach, but is this going too far? Heck, Gary Parrish from CBS Sports has the Huskies at #4 in his most recent Top 25 & 1 rankings<\/a>, so you could even argue that #10 according to the computer algorithm is underestimating UConn here.<\/p>\n