Life is going to look a little different in Storrs this season. UConn, fresh off its third Final Four appearance in the last four years, is facing the reality that it must replace three starters, three more role players and two coaches from one of the smartest game-planning staffs in America. Long-time UConn assistant Tom Moore retired, and sharp offensive mastermind Luke Murray took the Boston College gig.
And yet, the Huskies enter 2026-27 with legitimate National Championship aspirations. Such is life for a big-boy program. Change is inevitable. Sky-high expectations are unavoidable.
Let’s dive into the weeds of Dan Hurley’s new roster.
Projected starting lineup
Demary will be the standard-bearer for this group now that program pillar Alex Karaban is off to the NBA. Demary has all the tools (on the court and between the ears) to be the best point guard in college basketball next season. The jumbo lead guard is a vicious point-of-attack defender who will take tough assignments every night, and he plays such a physical brand of basketball on both ends. Over 40% of Demary’s shots came at the rim last year, and he notched the fourth-best free throw rate in Big East play. Oh, and he led the league in assists (5.9 per game).
Getting fully healthy was a big priority this offseason because of how much it impacted his offensive aggression. UConn needs more from Demary offensively this year without Karaban, Tarris Reed and the injured Solo Ball. Demary was a bit too deferential for stretches, and his nasty ankle injury in March sapped a ton of his explosiveness. More drives. More 3s, especially to restock the nearly 12 attempts per game that the Karaban-Ball, 1-2 punch provided last season.
With a huge workload on tap, Demary has every opportunity to be a 15-5-5 guy in 2026-27. No high-major player hit that threshold last year, but it’s in play for Demary. That’s an All-American, just like Tristen Newton evolved into in his second year under Hurley on the way to the 2024 National Championship.
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2. G Braylon Mullins | 6-6 | 198 | So.
Mullins is not a true breakout candidate (he averaged 12.1 points last year and started 29 games for a team that went to the natty), but he will be one of the faces of college basketball next season.
The Shot. The Return. The Sequel.
It’s all there.
But even the most historic shots don’t carry over to the next season. Mullins passed on the NBA to return to UConn for his sophomore year to do some special things. Remember, he suffered a preseason ankle injury that knocked his freshman season off-kilter for over two months. A full, healthy offseason should work wonders for his development. Getting stronger is a huge priority, and Mullins has already packed on over 10 pounds.
The situation has changed drastically, too. UConn’s layered, complex offense created the second-most 3s off screens in the country last season. Karaban (141 possessions) and Ball (134 possessions) sopped up a ton of that usage with Mullins (91 possessions) mixing in behind ’em. Mullins goes from No. 3 on the pecking order to No. 1 for those movement treys. He will have every chance to lead the Big East in triples next season.
But Mullins’ secret sauce may be that he doesn’t tie his value to the jumpers going in or not. Mullins knows how to use leverage to his advantage, slipping off curls to get to his pull-up jumper or saucy floater. I think UConn will give him a chance to play with the ball in his hands a bit more and show his full arsenal. Pressuring the rim even more should be a priority with a stronger frame. He’s also a willing offensive rebounder and a competitor defensively.
Mullins is in for a gigantic year. The All-American prophecies will age wisely.
3. G/F Jayden Ross | 6-7 | 210 | Sr.
If Ross pans out, UConn may have the best backcourt in America. The role allocation may be a bit easier with Ross on the floor while Ball is on the mend. Ross is not the shooter of Ball’s ilk, but he brings more defense, athleticism and rebounding. UConn rated in the 98th percentile nationally with a +23 net rating with Ross, Demary and Mullins on the floor together. I think that’s real because you have no duplicative skill sets in that backcourt.
Demary is the point guard who makes others better. Mullins is the elite shot-maker. Ross brings a sky-scraping athlete on the wing. It’s a sharp mix, and it’s one that UConn is betting big on.
Demary is an elite guard defender, and Ross can be an elite wing defender. That gives UConn two big, strong perimeter stoppers who can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Decision-making will be everything for Ross. Tightening up his handle and playing cleaner will be essential. He’s made strides as a shooter (39% on 64 attempts last year), but if he can be trusted to attack long closeouts and make the right read at the right time, Ross is going to help this club a ton.
4. F Nik Khamenia | 6-8 | 225 | So.
Processing and passing are two vital qualities for a UConn offense that moves the basketball more than so many others. Those are two of Khamenia’s superpowers. He made plenty of enemies jumping sides in the burgeoning Duke-UConn rivalry, but the former five-star recruit should succeed in Storrs. The 6-foot-8 stretch 4 is not a movement shooter like Karaban, but he offers a bit more mismatch hunting. UConn could use Khamenia in backdowns to create advantages in late-clock situations. He’ll help this offense with his spot-up shooting, cutting and offensive rebounding.
Plus, he’s got some nastiness that should jive well with Hurley’s personality. Khamenia isn’t afraid to stick his nose in the fan. It could be a little clunky at first — the adjustment process for transfers in this scheme is real — but Khamenia should develop into an excellent role player with room to grow into so much more down the road.
5. C Na’jai Hines | 6-11 | 278 | So.
Bart Torvik’s database goes back to 2008. There are dozens of stats for thousands of players.
Hines legitimately broke the spreadsheets with his freshman season at Seton Hall.
Hines notched 2.2 blocks and 2.4 offensive rebounds per game for the Pirates in 18 minutes. That percolates out to a 15.3 offensive rebound rate and a 16.4 block percentage. Hines is the only player in the last 19 seasons of college basketball who has notched a season with an offensive rebound rate and block rate north of 15.0.
That’s the type of monster that UConn landed in the portal.
The 6-foot-10, 278-pound big fella may be the skeleton key to the Huskies making it back to the Final Four, yet again.
If Hines can clean up his body to be a guy who can consistently play 25 minutes, there’s a lot to like about this portal marriage. Hines rated in the 94th percentile in post-up efficiency last season. That’s ideal for a UConn offense that uses a bunch of flowery off-ball actions to open up deep duck-ins. Hines’ screening, offensive rebounding and rim protection will all be major assets for this UConn club, too.
Hurley’s track record with bigs is flawless. Hines is up next to ride the jetpack joy ride.
Off the bench
F Colben Landrew 6-6 | 235 | Fr.
The fact that a prized top-30 recruit like Landrew could come off the bench is a promising sign of where this UConn roster is at. Landrew is an outstanding prospect with one-and-done potential thanks to his blend of positional size, bucket-getting abilities and versatility. But my favorite part of his game is his physicality. The 6-foot-6, 235-pound wing is always trying to go through defenders, especially in the open floor. The jumper looks a lot smoother and less hitchy than it did earlier in his high school career, and he’ll impact the game on the glass, defensively and as a secondary creator.
Landrew should fill a bunch of gaps for this UConn rotation because he is such a positionless player. If Khamenia is struggling, Landrew is burly enough to guard 4s. If it isn’t Ross’ night, Landrew can slot right into the mix at the 3. He’s got a path to play starter minutes. I’m curious how long it takes for Landrew to force his way into the starting 5. It might be sooner rather than later.
C Oskar Giltay 6-11 | 240 | So.
You ready for some good screens? Giltay brings blockade screens to the table to go along with rim protection and plenty of rebounding. UConn quietly needed to replace both Tarris Reed and top backup center Eric Reibe (who transferred to USC). Giltay may not have the ceiling of Reibe, but the Stanford transfer will be a serviceable backup 5-man. With Hines and Giltay, UConn will have an elite rim protector on the floor for all 40 minutes.
G Junior County 6-5 | 205 | Fr.
County is one of my favorite role player bets from the incoming freshman class. County is just good at basketball. The 6-foot-5 guard has terrific positional size, and he is a high-feel player. He can cut. He can slash. He can make 3s. He can play on or off the ball. He’s one of the best guard rebounders in the entire 2026 recruiting class. County has a real shot to help this team because he does a little bit of everything well.
F Egor Amosov 6-8 | 235 | Fr.
Size, shooting and playmaking? Sounds like a UConn forward. The 6-foot-8 Russian product should push Khamenia for minutes at the 4. Amosov’s quick-trigger jumper sets up his entire game, but the rest of his toolkit is promising. Patience may be required early, but Amosov’s got a chance to crack this rotation. He had 16 points and nine rebounds for Real Madrid in a late-May, head-to-head showdown with UCLA’s Nikola Kusturica, Duke’s Joaquim Boumtje-Boumjte and Mohamed Dabone, one of the top prospects in the world. Amosov can hoop.
PG Jaye Nash 6-2 | 193 | Jr.
Nash, a Jacksonville State transfer, brings a bit of speed that this roster was missing. Scoring is not his forte, but his knack for creating advantages gives him a chance to earn minutes as a backup point guard. He better be ready to pressure the basketball if he wants to earn more time, though.
G Nils Machowski 6-4 | 190 | Sr.
Machowski shot over 38% from downtown on 7.2 attempts for Wofford last season. He’s a veteran who won’t rock the boat if he doesn’t earn major minutes in the rotation. Machowski, County and Nash are in a three-headed camp battle for backup guard minutes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes will have the edge.
Filling out the roster
Two-year starting shooting guard Solo Ball is currently expected to miss the entire season after wrist surgery. However, it remains unclear how the new 5-in-5 eligibility model from the NCAA could influence Ball’s decision-making. The current expectation is that injury redshirts will not exist under the new model. Ball only has two years of eligibility remaining. Even if he doesn’t play a second in 2026-27, he’d only have one more year of eligibility left. Texas Tech star JT Toppin is in a similar boat after suffering a knee injury last February. Instead of sitting out the entire year, Toppin is planning to return around conference play. Could Ball change his mind and follow suit? That’s a midseason variable that could shake up UConn’s outlook (and rotation).
Market watch
Odds to win 2026 NCAA Tournament (via Fanduel): +1200, third-best odds
Your bigs control your floor, and your guards control your ceiling. That means UConn could be a bit more mercurial in 2026-27. On the nights when UConn’s new-look frontcourt isn’t up to snuff, it will be vulnerable. On the nights when the frontcourt is playing well, UConn’s tremendous backcourt can elevate it to a special level.
I’m bullish on Demary and Mullins playing like two of the best guards in America, but defense has to be the backbone of this group. Demary, Ross and Hines give Hurley three excellent defenders at all three levels: the point of attack, the wing and the paint. Can UConn be a top-10 defense again? The personnel is there, even though the Huskies will miss Karaban’s ability to be in the right place at the right time defensively and will ask a ton of young guys to play real minutes. There’s a chance seven of the top nine players in the rotation are underclassmen. But freshmen like Landrew and County are the right freshmen, and sophomores like Hines and Khamenia are the right sophomores.
That’s why it’s hard to see this group falling flat. If you were looking for transfers in the portal to replace Karaban and Reed, they’d probably look a lot like Khamenia and Hines. Could this offense be better? I think that’s firmly in play after rating 29th in offensive efficiency last year. UConn averaged just over 8.0 transition points last year. Accessing easier shots in transition should be in play with Hines’ ability to rebound and the willingness from guys like Khamenia, Mullins, Landrew and Ross to run the floor. This is a more athletic team than a year ago, and UConn has loads of shooting, rim pressure, post-up presence and offensive rebounding, to boot.
If Hines is an All-Big East center and Khamenia is the answer at the 4, UConn can win the National Championship. Check ball.
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