Dan Hurley is primed to follow up last season’s National Runner-up campaign with another title contender in UConn basketball.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: UConn basketball.
Dan Hurley proved yet again that he has what it takes to be at the top of the top of the sport after making his third Final Four appearance in just four seasons in 2026. Ultimately, UConn basketball fell short to Michigan in the title game, which ended up being the program’s first loss in college basketball’s championship game. While there are some returning players, the 2026-27 UConn basketball team is headlined by plenty of new faces as Hurley looks to reach the summit again.
This year’s squad looks to be very talented throughout the lineup. The backcourt is highlighted by returners Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins, but has depth with freshman Junior County and transfer Nils Machowski, who may prove to be key pieces off the bench. On the wing, Husky fans may see senior Jayden Ross ascend into the starting lineup if he can hold off five-star freshman Colben Landrew. The frontcourt is all new faces, with Najai Hines and Oskar Giltay splitting duties at the center position and star transfer Nik Khamenia stepping into perhaps the biggest shoes to fill in the country by playing the power forward spot for the Huskies.
In his three final four runs, Hurley’s team has finished with a Top 10 defense per Kenpom, and this season is looking to fit that mold. Hurley made comments after UConn basketball’s opening exhibition matchup that this may be the best defensive team he has coached. With lofty expectations like that, it’s safe to say the coaching staff feels really good about the roster that they assembled. In three exhibition games, they held their opponents to an average of 58.4 points per game as they showcased what should be an elite defense.
An interesting storyline to follow with UConn basketball as the season kicks off will be the availability of senior Solo Ball. During the offseason, it was announced that Ball would undergo wrist surgery and medically redshirt for the 2026-27 season in order to focus on recovery and be able to finish his college career with a full, healthy season. Then, over the Summer, the NCAA announced the new eligibility rules, which essentially eliminated the old practice of needing to sit out a season in order to obtain that fifth year of eligibility. Currently, Solo Ball has started practicing with the team, which is leading fans to believe that they may see the star shooter in action at some point this season.
UConn basketball has as real a shot as any team in the country to reach the Final Four, but everyone knows that Dan Hurley and his staff set their sights even further than that.
Head coach: Dan Hurley (17th season overall, 9th at UConn)
2025-26 record: 34-6 (17-3)
2026 postseason finish: Lost to Michigan (69-63) in National Championship game of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Alex Karaban (13.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 37.4 3P%)
- Tarris Reed Jr. (14.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 BPG, 60.7 FG%)
- Jaylin Stewart (4.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.1 APG)
- Malachi Smith (3.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 0.8 SPG)
- Eric Reibe (5.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.5 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Michigan (Nov. 6) – TD Garden
- vs. Ohio State (Nov. 13)
- at Arizona (Nov. 18) – Tucson, AZ
- vs. Duke (Nov. 25) – Las Vegas, NV
- vs. Illinois (Dec. 4) – Chicago, IL
- vs. Kansas (Dec. 12)
- vs. Virginia (Dec. 20) – Madison Square Garden
Projected Rotation
PG: Silas Demary Jr. (6-4, 195, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 38.5 3P%
SG: Braylon Mullins (6-6, 198, So.)
2025-26 stats: 12.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.0 SPG
SF: Jayden Ross (6-7, 210, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 4.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, 39.1 3P%
PF: Nik Khamenia (6-8, 220, So.)
2025-26 stats: 5.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.0 APG (Duke)
C: Najai Hines (6-11, 265, So.)
2025-26 stats: 6.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.6 APG, 2.2 BPG, 60.2 FG% (Seton Hall)
6: Colben Landrew (6-6, 236, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 26 Ranked Recruit
7: Oskar Giltay (6-11, 242, So.)
2025-26 stats: 3.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.3 APG, 1.2 BPG, 62.7 FG% (Stanford)
8: Junior County (6-5, 212, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 47 Ranked Recruit
9: Nils Machowski (6-4, 190, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 17.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 38.2 3P% (Wofford)
10: Egor Amosov (6-8, 240, Fr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.5 SPG (Real Madrid in U22 Spanish Liga)
UConn basketball team MVP: Silas Demary Jr.
It’s no secret that Preseason Big East Player of the Year is going to be the leader on this team. Silas not only fits the bill for a prototypical UConn basketball guard, but he fits the Dan Hurley system perfectly. He’s a physical guard who is not afraid of driving to the rim either to score or set up one of his teammates. He plays phenomenal defense, can shoot the ball, and somehow does it all without drawing attention.
Lots of comparisons have been made between Demary and Tristen Newton, and while those may be due to some recency bias or hope, the comparison does not fall as short as they normally do when stacking up a program legend to a current player. Silas may seem to be a soft-spoken player at times, but he plays the game with more intensity than anyone else, and his drive to win is unrivaled.
Silas Demary Jr. is set up to have an all-time great campaign as the Huskies pursue the mountaintop.
UConn basketball make-or-break player: Najai Hines
If a strong point guard is the key ingredient for a Dan Hurley team, then a dominating center is the next most important role. Najai Hines really does have his work cut out for him, needing to assume the starting center role that has produced three NBA players in the last 4 seasons without having any experience playing in the Hurley system. Hines will lift the ceiling for this team if he is able to get up to speed quickly and carry the front court of this UConn basketball team.
It’s probably not the best practice to form serious takeaways from the exhibition games (they used to play those games behind closed doors for a reason!), but Najai Hines showed that he can really handle the load during the preseason stretch. From catching alley-oops to kicking the ball out to open teammates to demoralizing blocks, Hines really did it all. The biggest area it seems like he’ll need to work on is his conditioning because if he can consistently give that effort for 25 to 30 minutes per game, then he’ll find his name in the conversation with the great previous Husky centers.
Key statistic: Points allowed per game
Hurley has a truly creative offensive system that usually gives opposing defenses a very hard time, but sometimes the shots just don’t fall. Those nights can become a disaster quickly, considering these Hurley squads typically play slow and limit the overall number of possessions.
If UConn really has as good a defense as the coaching staff believes they do, then they will be in the mix of every single game this season even if they do have a cold shooting night.
UConn basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the Big East
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Champion