Huskies Report

UConn Lands Third Back-to-Back Preseason Big East Freshman

The UConn Huskies’ streak continues with a preseason Freshman of the Year award as a promising new guard joins the rotation.
Shivani Menon|
Greenfield Central's Braylon Mullins during a scrimmage against Lawrence North at the Notre Dame Team Camp at Rolfs Athletics Hall on Thursday, June 13, 2024, in South Bend.
Greenfield Central's Braylon Mullins during a scrimmage against Lawrence North at the Notre Dame Team Camp at Rolfs Athletics Hall on Thursday, June 13, 2024, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

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UConn Huskies

UConn Huskies freshman phenom Braylon Mullins is the latest in a line of Huskies expected to
dominate right away. The 6-foot-5 Indiana native was named the 2025-26 Preseason Big East Freshman of the Year.

Mullins’ win marks the third-straight season a UConn freshman has earned the honor. Mullins joins Stephon Castle and Liam McNeeley. Soon after winning, Castle and McNeeley each left a distinct mark on their rookie campaigns.

Castle went on to average 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while racking up a league-record 11 Big East Freshman of the Week awards. He could take on any defender, score in bunches, and deliver 20-point games in conference play.

Meanwhile, McNeeley, the 6-7 Texan, went on to average 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 86.6 percent from the free-throw line. Even an eight-game midseason injury couldn’t slow him down. He returned with a 38-point, 10-rebound performance in a road win over Creighton.

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were the only people to create such a stat line as a freshman before McNeeley. Interestingly, both Castle and McNeeley also went on to win the postseason honors before hearing their name called in the first round. And now, all eyes are on Mullins to see if he can continue the Huskies’ freshman dominance.

Can Braylon Mullins Shine Like Castle and McNeeley Right Away?

Well, if the exhibition match against Boston was a sign, then yes. He scored 12 points in the first game as a Husky. However, it is not all that surprising, looking at his records. Last season, Mullins broke his high school’s scoring record with over 2,100 career points, earned Indiana Mr. Basketball honours, joining Kyle Guy, Gary Harris, Eric Gordon, and Sean May.

Perhaps, Associate Head Coach Kimani Young put it best when he said, "Braylon Mullins is as exciting a freshman as I’ve seen since we’ve been here. His ability to shoot the ball is impressive. He’s probably an underrated playmaker and a really good athlete. He also has defensive potential with his size and athleticism." That combination of skill and athleticism makes Mullins a player to watch all season long.

UConn’s preseason recognitions don’t stop with Mullins. Alex Karaban, Solo Ball, and Tarris Reed also earned spots on the Preseason All-Big East First Team, making UConn the first program since Villanova in 2005-06 to place three players on the first team. Silas Demary Jr., the Georgia transfer expected to start at point guard, rounds out the Huskies’ preseason honors on the second team. However, he missed the BC exhibition due to an injury.

With Mullins joining an already talented squad, and if his early glimpses are any indication, he could follow Castle and McNeeley’s footsteps in becoming a cornerstone of UConn’s next chapter.

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Shivani Menon
SHIVANI MENON

Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.

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