UConn men’s basketball announced Friday that star freshman Braylon Mullins suffered an ankle injury in practice earlier this week and is set to miss approximately six weeks. Mullins, a McDonald’s All-American
and the highest-ranked freshman in the Huskies’ 2025 recruiting class, was just named the Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year earlier this week.
Mullins started for the Huskies in UConn’s mid-October exhibition win over Boston College, scoring 12 points. Prior to coming to UConn, he was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball and scored over 2,100 points, setting his high school’s scoring record. The 6-foot-5 Mullins was the No. 12 overall recruit in the Class of 2025 before committing to the Huskies in September of 2024.
With Mullins’ absence looming, the Huskies’ purported depth will be put to the test much earlier than expected. Jaylin Stewart figures to be in the mix to slide into Mullins’ starting spot, but Dayton transfer Malachi Smith is a legitimate option as well. How UConn replaces Mullins in its rotation will likely boil down to opposing team matchups and UConn’s overall health, as big man Tarris Reed is dealing with a hamstring injury and is likely to miss the upcoming exhibition against Michigan State on Oct. 28.
If Mullins’ recovery timeline does take six weeks, Mullins will likely miss key non conference games against the likes of No. 8 BYU, No. 13 Arizona, No. 17 Illinois and No. 19 Kansas. The earliest the Greenville, Indiana could realistically return is for a Dec. 5 matchup against East Texas A&M in Storrs. A few minutes to get back in the swing of things would be crucial for Mullins ahead of a critical matchup with defending national champion No. 3 Florida at Madison Square Garden.
