UConn’s Braylon Mullins has landed on the Jerry West Award watch list, with the Basketball Hall of Fame naming the Huskies star among 20 players up for the honor Tuesday.
The award, part of the Naismith Starting Five, goes annually to the top shooting guard in college basketball.
Mullins is back in the mix after missing UConn’s first two exhibition games this preseason because of an undisclosed injury. He arrived in Storrs with plenty of momentum already, earning Preseason First Team All-Big East recognition after unanimously making the league’s All-Freshman Team last season.
In his first year at UConn, the Greenfield, Indiana, native averaged 12.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game. He also knocked down 72 3-pointers, which ranks as the second-most ever by a UConn freshman.
Mullins’ national calling card is the 35-foot shot he hit to beat Duke and send the Huskies back to the Final Four, but this season he’s aiming to show a more complete version of his game.
Point guard Silas Demary Jr., who was named Monday to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, expects Mullins to take on more responsibility this season.
“His usage rate is going to be up even more. I think him being more aggressive in the ball screen, making plays for others, and still being that guy that can make plays and score for himself.
I think him being able to balance between the both, but still be able to be that killer,” Demary said. “I think he’s been preparing for it and I think him getting back acclimated these past couple of days, it’s just been good to see him out there and I don’t think he’s lost a step.”
UConn has already seen three winners of Naismith awards, all point guards: Kemba Walker in 2011, Shabazz Napier in 2014 and Tristen Newton in 2024.
In Other News...
UConns Depth Just Sent A Strong Message Before The Real Games
The final tune-up before the real thing looked a lot like what has made UConn such a difficult team to pin down in recent years: size, depth and enough scoring options to keep rolling even when the rotation opens up. The No. 4 Huskies closed their exhibition slate with a 76-53 win over Purdue at PeoplesBank Arena, moving through the preseason unbeaten and getting a strong all-around showing from a bench that kept the pressure on throughout.
Colben Landrew was the loudest of those second-unit sparks, finishing with 15 points in just 18 minutes, while Jayden Ross, Oskar Giltay and Silas Demary Jr. also reached double figures. Just as encouraging for Dan Hurleys group was the defensive edge, as UConn held Purdue to 32.8 percent shooting overall and barely gave the Boilermakers anything from outside, a reminder that the Huskies may already be close to their regular-season form. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Is Walking Into A Big East Grind Fans Can't Ignore
The Big East is shaping up as the kind of league that can wear a team down before March even arrives, and UConn is right in the middle of it. St. Johns enters the 2026-27 season with a chance to chase a third straight Big East regular-season and tournament title, but Rick Pitinos point about the conference getting better across the board is the bigger warning sign for everyone else. Xavier, Georgetown, Providence, Creighton and Marquette all drew mention as teams on the rise, which is a reminder that there may not be many easy nights left on the schedule.
Preseason rankings only add to the sense that the conference is loaded from top to bottom, with UConn and St. Johns standing out nationally while other Big East programs sit firmly in the mix. For UConn, that means every trip through the league will demand focus, depth and the kind of consistency that separates title contenders from teams that merely survive the grind. The challenge is not just beating the usual suspects, but navigating a conference where almost every opponent arrives with enough quality to make a slip cost plenty. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Showed Promise Against Purdue But Bigger Answers Come Next
UConn closed the preseason with a 3-0 record and a convincing 76-53 win over Purdue, a result that offered a real glimpse of the teams depth and versatility heading into the regular season. The Huskies got production from across the roster, including transfers Najai Hines and Oskar Giltay working inside, while freshman Colben Landrew led the scoring in the finale and helped reinforce the feeling that this group has more than one way to beat teams.
Braylon Mullins also returned from injury and logged his first extended run of the preseason, another encouraging sign as UConn turns to games that will say much more about where it stands. Gardner-Webb is next, but the real measuring stick comes soon after, when the Huskies start seeing a string of Power Four opponents early in the schedule and the questions about their frontcourt rotation and overall ceiling get a lot harder to avoid. [Read more 🡒]