2025-26 Season Recap:
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34-6 record, 17-3 in conference play
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Finished in 2nd place in the Big East
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Lost to St. John’s in the Big East Tournament (Finals)
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Lost to Michigan in NCAA Championship Game
Head Coach: Dan Hurley returns for his ninth season at the helm
Departing players:
Tarris Reed Jr. – Graduation (14.7 PPG)
Alex Karaban – Graduation (13.2 PPG)
Eric Reibe – USC (5.9 PPG)
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Jaylin Stewart – SMU (4.2 PPG)
Malachi Smith – Graduation (3.6 PPG)
Dwayne Koroma – Graduation (1.4 PPG)
Alec Millender – Graduation (0.6 PPG)
Jacob Furphy – Boston College (0.4 PPG)
Uros Paunovic – Transfer Portal (0.1 PPG)
Rrezon Elezaj – Appalachian State (0 PPG in four games played)
Returning Players:
Solo Ball – 6’4” senior who averaged 12.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Expected to miss the season after left wrist surgery, but that could change with the “5 in 5” ruling.
Silas Demary Jr. – 6’4” senior who averaged 10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Jayden Ross – 6’7” senior who averaged 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 39.1% from three.
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Jacob Ross – 6’5” sophomore who did not appear in a game. Younger brother of Jayden Ross.
Braylon Mullins – 6’6” sophomore who averaged 12 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
New Players:
Junior County – 6’5” freshman who is a four-star recruit on 247Sports (43rd overall).
Colben Landrew – 6’6” freshman who is a four-star recruit on 247Sports (25th overall).
Nik Khamenia – 6’8” sophomore transfer from Duke who averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 34% from three. Former five-star recruit via 247Sports (15th overall).
Jaye Nash – 6’3” junior transfer from Jacksonville State who averaged 5.1 points and 4.0 assists per game.
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Na’jai Hines – 6’10” sophomore transfer from Seton Hall who averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Isaiah Shaw – 6’8” redshirt senior transfer from Northern Arizona who averaged 8.1 points and 2.1 rebounds, while shooting 46.4% from three.
Nils Machowski – 6’3” senior transfer from Wofford who averaged 17.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. The guard shot 38.2% from three.
Oskar Giltay – 6’10” sophomore transfer from Stanford who averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 14.6 minutes per game.
Elmir Dzafic – 7’ sophomore transfer from Arkansas who appeared in seven games and scored three points. 20-year-old from Bosnia.
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Egor Amosov – 6’7” freshman from Samara, Russia by way of Real Madrid in the Spanish Liga U, where he was named Player of the Year. Amosov averaged 14.6 points, 6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.5 steals over 30 games.
Overall thoughts:
It’s tough to replace guys like Reed Jr. and Karaban, but returning Demary Jr. and Mullins from the starting lineup is massive. Ball projects to also be a “loss” in essence, as he’s not expected to play next season. Jayden Ross is the third consequential returning player, and he projects to slide into the starting lineup as a senior. Hines, who Villanova fans are familiar with, will be the replacement for Reed Jr. and Khamenia projects to replace Karaban. The depth should be solid, between Machowski, Giltay (who is a genuine replacement for Reibe) and the two freshmen. Amosov was a late add who could also potentially help.
Many prognosticators are projecting the Huskies as a top-five team for next year, and most of that projection comes from three places: Mullins sophomore leap, Demary Jr. being first team all-conference and Dan Hurley’s player development. It’s hard to expect Hines to come in and be anything close to what Reed Jr. was a year ago. The tools are there for him to develop, but Connecticut objectively got worse in the frontcourt. Khamenia has the pedigree and skillset to be Karaban-like, but again it’s a lot to ask.
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Regardless of how you see their ceiling in the national landscape, there’s no question that Connecticut will be picked to finish in the top-two once again in the Big East. Between arguably the best backcourt in the country, possibly the best coach and other interesting players, the ingredients are there for another March run.
