UConn men’s basketball starts its 2025-26 season Monday night at Gampel Pavilion, as the Huskies take on New Haven in the Chargers’ first-ever Division I game. With the season about to start, The UConn Blog
staff has assembled an impressive array of content with another exciting season on the horizon. If you don’t already, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter , and Instagram to stay up-to-date all season long.
As is tradition at the blog, our preseason roundtable features our best guesses, hottest takes and overall thoughts on what to expect for the upcoming year. It’s also usually a pretty funny piece to return to when the season is really humming along. For part one, our staff takes a crack at predicting some of the key players on this year’s roster. If you have takes of your own, be sure to share them in the comments!
Team MVP
Zach Carter: If the Huskies want any chance to capture another national championship, it has to start with Alex Karaban. After a year when the two-time champ was plagued by shooting inconsistencies and draft speculation, Karaban enters his final year in a UConn uniform with a better supporting ensemble around him and a chance to be remembered as the greatest Husky of all time. That’s plenty of motivation to dial it up.
Patrick Martin: Tarris Reed. There’s a reason “Clingan merchant” is floating around Hurley’s name in certain corners of the internet. Having a dominant big man in college is a cheat code. Reed could be a more athletic version of Adama Sanogo, and that sort of gravity inside unlocks everything else for this deep and talented roster.
Dan Madigan: I think Silas Demary Jr. is going to do wonders for this team. As great as Hassan Diarra was this season, adding a big guard with scoring ability a la Tristen Newton felt like a missing piece. Demary fits that bill perfectly, and should bring the defensive tenacity and offensive chops necessary to help UConn make a deep run in March.
Scoring/Rebound/Assist Leader
Carter: The scoring is a toss-up between Karaban and Solo Ball, but I really see Ball taking a huge step in his second full season as a starter. Especially with UConn bringing in a true playmaking point guard in Silas Demary Jr., don’t be surprised if Ball flirts with 20 ppg and a 50% three-point percentage. He should find his way on a lot of NBA teams’ draft boards by this summer.
Demary will by far lead the team in assists, much like Hassan Diarra did last year, and Tarris Reed Jr. will easily lead the team in rebounds if he can stay healthy. Did you know that Reed only played 35 more minutes than Samson Johnson last season but grabbed 135 more rebounds?
Martin: Solo Ball will lead the team in scoring average, but Alex Karaban will lead the team in scoring more times. Solo can explode for 30 on any given night, but is prone to a few cold spells. Karaban finds his way into the scoring column consistently through cuts, free throws, and putbacks that are so critical for a jump-shooting team.
Reed is the obvious answer for rebounding, not overthinking that. For assists, I’m going with Malchi Smith. No knock on Silas, just that I think he’ll be asked to score more than distribute. Smith ranked 14th in the country in assist rate last year and has a career assist/turnover ratio of 2.5.
Madigan: I really think Solo Ball is ready to make “The Leap” and establish himself as one of the best shooters in the country. He’s my pick to lead the Huskies in scoring. As for boards, Reed figures to be a vacuum once again and is maybe the best rebounder the program has ever seen. I think Malachi Smith earns enough time to lead UConn in assists, as Demary will be doing a lot of scoring, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Karaban is in the mix for most assists too. I expect alot of offensive sets will run through him this season.
Impact newcomer
Martin: All it took was two minutes to be enamored with Silas Demary Jr. Fouls be damned, back-to-back threes and a stuffed statsheet was a fine debut against an Izzo-coached team. He’ll be the straw that stirs the drink.
Carter: I still think Braylon Mullins has the highest ceiling and will have the biggest impact despite his injury. If anything, the five-star recruit can give this team a real shot in the arm when he returns sometime in December.
Madigan: I’m really impressed with how Eric Reibe has looked so far. He really doesn’t play like a normal freshman big. His feel, especially on the offensive end, is really unmatched and his skillset is unlike any big that UConn has had under Hurley. I think him and Reed will form a truly terrorizing duo at center.
Over/under 4.5 UConn players on All-Big East teams (5 in preseason)
Carter: Give me the under. Karaban, Ball, and Reed will likely play their way onto at least the second team. Demary fits UConn’s system well and can rack up counting stats in a high-octane offense, but Mullins’ injury makes him a long shot for any end-of-season awards. Nobody else, likely, will see enough minutes with Hurley expanding the rotation. ZC
Martin: Under. It’s a share-the-wealth team, if the exhibitions are any indicator. Sure, Hurley will lean on the Big 3, but the roster is just so talented from top to bottom, and it seems like the staff is ready to embrace it. It reminds me of those Houston teams that went 10 deep, and every single person was a well-rounded player that just came at you in waves.
Madigan: Maybe I’m over my skis, but this feels like the easiest over of all time. I’m on the phone with TD Bank and whichever sportsbook is willing to sponsor us to see how much money I can put on this. Two of Reibe, Mullins and Jacob Furphy feel like locks for the All-Freshman Team. Same with two of Reed, Karaban, Ball and Demary Jr. And that doesn’t even factor in Jaylin Stewart or Jayden Ross, who have immense talent and finally have the playing time available to showcase it routinely. If this UConn team is as good as everyone expects it to be, five or six players on the all-conference teams makes perfect sense, especially in what is expected to be somewhat of a down year for the Big East.
