From now until Villanova’s first game in Rome on November 1 against Notre Dame, WBR’s Andrew Kresin will run down the 10 other Big East programs as a MISE EN PLACE series. You can check out the rest of the series here.
General Information
- Head Coach: Dan Hurley (Ninth season at UConn, 199-75 in Storrs, 350-180 overall)
- 2025-26 Record: 34-6 (17-3)
- 2025-26 Postseason: Lost in Big East Finals to St. John’s, lost in NCAA National Championship Game to Michigan
- Coaches’ Poll Placement: First (98 points, eight first-place votes)
- Media Day All-Big East Members: Player of the Year Silas Demary Jr., Unanimous First Team member Braylon Mullins, Second Team member Na’jai Hines, Freshman of the Year Colben Landrew
- 2026-27 Scoring Retention: ~47.8 percent of scoring across four players
Key Returners
This chart highlights the four returning players to the UConn roster from last season in descending order by total points scored.
Looking at this chart above and the Preseason All-Big East members might warrant a question: where is Solo Ball? The Second Team All-Big East member at the end of last season leads the returning Huskies in total points scored, including over 100 points more than Demary Jr., who won the Big East’s Preseason Player of the Year award. Note that Ball is returning, but is sitting out to receive surgery on his left wrist which will sideline him the entire 2026-27 season.
This key loss has not slowed UConn’s Big East or NCAA Championship aspirations one bit, thanks in large part to several other major contributors returning. Included on this list is senior guard Silas Demary Jr., who I mentioned received Big East POTY honors. In his freshman and sophomore years at Georgia, Demary Jr. was a score-first guard who averaged an impressive 13.5 points per game with just 3.1 assists per game in his sophomore season. It seems he was challenged by Hurley to become more of a facilitator than he was in Athens and he delivered; he led the conference in assists with 5.9 per game last season.
The emphasis on passing has not limited his defensive attack. Demary Jr. had logged at least 50 steals per season in his two years with Georgia and continued this trend with a career-high 62 steals at Connecticut, fourth highest in the conference. In placing fourth, Demary Jr. also managed to finish top 10 within his conference in total steals for the third consecutive season. For Coach Hurley to have a player who averaged as many points and assists as Demary Jr., combined with his defensive impact, furthered by his stellar shooting percentages which I didn’t even touch on in this short blurb… it’s a ton of firepower right off the bat.
Demary Jr. will be joined by sophomore guard Braylon Mullins, which is a bit of a surprise. Mullins was projected by ESPN as a mid-to-late first round pick in the NBA Draft when it was announced he would return to the Huskies for his sophomore season. Mullins was one of the Big East’s best freshmen, averaging 12.0 points per game shooting 42.1 percent from the field on double-digit attempts per game, so it made sense why he was being considered for a high draft pick by ESPN’s mock draft.
But perhaps Coach Hurley was able to convince Mullins that another season with more work on his rebounding and playmaking would benefit him in the long run. Mullins grabbed just 116 rebounds last season over 33 games, 29 starts and 931 minutes; among the 215 players for NCAA Tournament teams with at least 900 minutes played last season, Mullins’ 116 rebounds placed 163rd. When that same group of 215 players are sorted for assists, Mullins’ 47 assists placed 182nd on that list. To retain Mullins is a tremendous win for Hurley, but Mullins also has some individual growing to do as a player before he becomes a true Big East All-First Team talent.
UConn also returned senior forward Jayden Ross, one of the last remaining players from the 2023-24 national championship team. Ross’ role on UConn has grown steadily over the last three seasons, receiving just spot minutes on the national championship team before seeing 663 minutes across 38 games this last season. His role has increased as he has grown confidence in the system; Ross is taking more shots and increasing his shooting percentage by nearly 10 percent year over year. His most recent season, Ross averaged 4.6 points per game shooting 50.4 percent from the field.
He’s also developed a strong three-point shot. In his first two seasons, Ross shot just 19.6 percent from three on around one attempt per game. In his junior season, Ross shot 39.1 percent from three on 1.7 attempts per game. Ross had been stuck behind Husky-great Alex Karaban for the past three years, but with Karaban’s graduation and move to the NBA, Ross can compete with the incoming pieces for minutes alongside Demary Jr. and Mullins in the starting lineup.
Key Transfers
This graph shows all seven transfers and their total points scored at their last school. Please note that, unlike the Butler article, this graph has all players shown in the same color scheme.
UConn received seven transfer commitments for this season, headlined by two rising sophomores to bolster the Huskies down low. The first major transfer is sophomore center Na’jai Hines, a Preseason Big East All-Second Team selection. Hines comes to Storrs after one season with the Seton Hall Pirates where he averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while playing just 31 games and 18.0 minutes per game. Hines’ 69 blocks over his 559 minutes played last season led the nation among players with 600 or less minutes played, and his average of 2.2 blocks per game led the Big East Conference.
Now Hines is in Connecticut, where recent greats like Tarris Reed Jr., Donovan Clingan and Adama Sanogo have paved the way for Hines to have a breakout season. He’s physically imposing at 6-foot-11, 278 pounds, has Big East experience and has one of the best coaches in the game to make sure he improves. Hines is poised for a big role with UConn, hence the Preseason Second Team selection.
Joining Hines in the frontcourt is Nik Khamenia, a rising sophomore forward from Duke. Khamenia had 38 appearances and five starts for the Blue Devils while scoring double figures six times en route to a loss in the Elite Eight to UConn. His 5.7 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game did not land the former McDonald’s All-American on any ACC All-Freshman team.
So he comes to Storrs with motivation, skill and opportunity. Khamenia shot 44.4 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from three on 4.4 and 2.7 attempts, respectively; he’s an effective scorer. With his rebounding prowess, he’ll be competitive with Ross to start at the power forward position while working alongside players like Hines to snuff out opponent opportunities on the offensive glass. He’s someone who can make an immediate impact no matter what role he ends up with in Storrs.
Sophomore center Oskar Giltay was mostly a reserve center at Stanford in his first season before transferring to UConn. In limited minutes with the Cardinal, Giltay had a total rebounding rate hovering around 17 percent, 10th in the ACC among players with at least 100 minutes played. Giltay’s 62.7 percent clip from the field also shows that he is a capable scorer down low in limited attempts. Hines will most likely start, but Giltay has a track to be the primary backup behind Hines.
Coming from Wofford is senior guard Nils Machowski, a proven scorer for the Terriers after two seasons with the UCF Knights. He played and started in 32 contests for the Terriers, where he attempted over 13 shots per game and still shot 43.3 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three. Having averaged 17.2 points per game at Wofford while also grabbing 5.7 rebounds and dishing out 2.6 assists, Machowski will provide a strong presence on the bench for Dan Hurley.
UConn’s other two lower-level transfers can make an impact boosting Dan Hurley’s bench. Junior guard Jaye Nash, formerly of Jacksonville State, was a 25.6 minute per game player for the Gamecocks who scored just 5.1 points per game. Instead Nash’s skillset is much more focused on his passing abilities. In his two college seasons, Nash has a combined 29.6 percent assist rate, and last season’s 28.4 percent assist rate was a top-100 mark in the country among players with at least 800 minutes played. He’ll be able to come in immediately and, while perhaps not the strongest scoring option, will find open players for Connecticut.
Redshirt senior forward Isaiah Shaw joins Nash as the other lower-level transfer for Hurley, and it’s not hard to see why Hurley wanted Shaw: he shot 46.4 percent from three last season. Granted, Shaw only shot 69 threes—making 32 of them—but to have a shooter in high-efficiency situations with the ability to drain threes is something Hurley will love. Shaw will also keep players like Khamenia and Ross under pressure to perform.
Key College Newcomers
UConn has three college newcomers on their roster, headlined by Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year forward Colben Landrew. Ranked in the top 30 of 247Sports’ rankings, Landrew averaged 23.9 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game with Wheeler High School in Georgia, where he won the Georgia Class AAAAAA State Championship as a senior. At 6-foot-6 and 236 pounds, Landrew has a natural strength that few incoming freshmen have in their first season, allowing him to potentially play both forward positions for Dan Hurley as the need arises.
Freshman guard Junior County was a top-50 recruit on 247Sports when he committed to UConn. Having played for Wasatch Academy in Utah, County won the 2026 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year award averaging 19.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Standing at just 6-foot-5, County also averaged 1.2 blocks per game for Wasatch, showing how long and aggressive County was on defense. Thanks in part to the injury to Ball we discussed early, County may have an expedited role on this UConn team.
Freshman forward Egor Amosov last played basketball with Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga U, a 22-and-under league that started just last year. Amosov was a strong contributor to this Real Madrid team, averaging 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game and won the championship in the league’s first season. He has been playing either in his native Russia or in Spain since he was 14 years old.
Others
Sophomore center Elmir Dzafic spent his freshman season with Arkansas where he logged just three points, a rebound and a steal over 17 minutes played. He provides depth that UConn might not need to call upon with players like Hines and Giltay ahead of him. Sophomore forward Jacob Ross, brother of Jayden Ross, was originally signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers before former coach Ben Johnson was replaced by current head coach Niko Medved. While Jacob Ross did not appear in a game last season for the Huskies, he was ranked as a top-50 small forward and top-25 California prospect by 247Sports for the High School Class of 2025.
Outlook
It seems as if Coach Hurley has another team with championship-level aspirations. I am always a fan of seeing the vision within particular additions to a roster, and with every additional player Hurley added to UConn, I can see the purpose justifying “why” Hurley added those players. Players like Hines, Giltay, Landrew, Nash and Khamenia bolster their specific positions and make the players around them play better. The framework is there for Hurley to contend again not just in the Big East but nationally.
Credits
Demographic information (including previous schools, high school stats, international stats, et cetera) found on UConn’s roster page. Stats from Division One schools other than UConn found on Sports-Reference. Lists made in Stathead. High school rankings found on 247Sports. Charts made in Microsoft Excel.