The UConn men’s basketball team has completed its 15-man roster for the 2025-26 season with the addition of international prospects Rrezon Elezaj and Uroš Paunović.
“With rosters expanding to 15 this year, we look at it as a great opportunity to further roster construction, focusing on growing our team’s depth and competitiveness,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said in a press release. “We feel like Rrezon and Uroš help us do that.”
Elezaj is a 7-foot-1 center from Turkey, last playing for Beşiktaş JK of the Turkey U-19 League. The Istanbul native helped his nation reach the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket with averages of 5.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and two blocks in 17.7 minutes per game. He also helped Turkey earn a bronze medal at the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, averaging 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. Elezaj shot 51.4% in that tournament and averaged 16.9 minutes per game. With Beşiktaş JK, he averaged 7.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 20.2 minutes per game during the 2024-25 season. His shooting percentage turned heads, shooting 60.7% from the floor. At the 2025 Istanbul Adidas Next Generation Tournament, Elezaj played in four games for Next Generation Istanbul and averaged 5.3 points, four rebounds and 1.8 blocks on 56.3% shooting in 12.4 minutes per game.
“Rrezon is an interesting prospect, a true 7-footer, who just turned 18,” Hurley said. “We’re looking forward to bringing him into our program and getting to work on his development. He has really solid instincts and timing as a shot-blocker and is a legitimate lob threat in the ball-screen game. Rrezon has experience coming through the ranks as a Turkish youth national team player, and we’re excited to add him to our group up front with Tarris [Reed Jr.], Eric [Reibe] and Dwayne [Koroma].”
Paunović is a 6-foot-3 guard who last played for KK Zlatibor of the KLS in Serbia. The Belgrade native has been competing in the country’s top division since the 2021-22 season. He played in 11 games in the Adriatic League 2 before appearing as a regular starter in the top flight. Scoring was much more prominent for Paunović. In KLS play, Paunović averaged 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 21.7 minutes per game while shooting 47.1% from the floor and 34.8% from downtown. His best season came with KK Dynamic during the 2023-24 season. He scored a career-high 11.7 points per game along with averages of 3.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game. During the 30 games he played that season, Paunović posted a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio.
“Uroš is a guy we liked on film,” Hurley said. “He’s got a ton of experience as a 22-year-old; he’s been a starter professionally in the top division in Serbia, a 6-3 guard who’s pretty good with the ball, can shoot and pass, and plays with real emotion on the floor. We’re looking forward to having him join the Huskies.”
Paunović and Elezaj are two of the 10 newcomers to this year’s roster. You can see them in action with the rest of the team starting on Oct. 13 against Boston College.