Jaylin Stewart’s Journey at UConn: A Long Way From Seattle, But Right at Home
When UConn takes the court against DePaul at Wintrust Arena on Sunday, Jaylin Stewart won’t exactly be playing a home game-but it’s about as close as it gets during Big East play. At roughly 2,000 miles from his hometown of Seattle, Chicago offers one of the few moments this season where Stewart is even remotely within reach of the Pacific Northwest. And with Christmas just days away, you might think he'd take a quick detour home before heading back to campus.
But that’s not how things work at UConn.
After Sunday’s game, the entire Huskies squad will fly back to Connecticut for a team event on Monday. Only then will players and coaches scatter for the NCAA-mandated three-day holiday break.
For some, it’s a quick trip-Alex Karaban’s got just a 45-minute drive to Southborough, Massachusetts. Others will head to Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, St.
Louis, or the Bronx. Stewart?
He’s making the eight-hour flight back to Seattle, where he’ll spend about 36 hours with family before turning around and heading back east for practice on Friday.
It’s the kind of grind that comes with playing for a top-tier program. As head coach Dan Hurley likes to say, it’s an 11-month season in Storrs. And Stewart has embraced it fully.
“He loves the school,” said Jamar Jones, who’s been a father figure to Stewart since he was two. “Once he gets comfortable at a place, he’s comfortable. He’s comfortable with his boys there.”
That comfort has come not just from basketball, but from the relationships he’s built off the court. Stewart is part of a tight-knit trio with teammates Jayden Ross and Solo Ball-especially Ross, who’s been his roommate for three years. Even with Ross’s younger brother now on the team, their bond remains strong.
Still, being nearly 3,000 miles from home has its challenges. When Stewart re-aggravated a shoulder injury during Tuesday’s win over Butler and had to sit out the second half, his family wasn’t in the stands.
They were back in Seattle, dealing with the city’s recent flooding. (Jones, who lives on higher ground, confirmed they’re safe.
As for the shoulder, an MRI came back clean.)
And when Stewart recently learned that freshman Braylon Mullins would be taking his spot in the starting lineup, he handled it with maturity beyond his years. His text to Jones was simple: “It is what it is. It’s nothing I’m doing wrong.”
“He was positive,” Jones said. “Most kids would’ve been like, ‘(Bleep) this place.’
But he was really positive. I’ve never seen him mad about not playing.
He’s trusting what they’re giving him.”
That trust-and that attitude-hasn’t gone unnoticed. Stewart’s family makes a point to be there when they can, even if it means long flights, expensive hotels, and more than a few delays.
Jones and Stewart’s mother, Sherrill, have already made three trips this season: for the opener against New Haven, the early-season matchups against Arizona and BYU in Boston, and the recent games against Texas and Florida. Each trip home has come with its own travel saga, often involving long delays through Chicago.
The worst? A 13-hour return in early November.
“It gets pricey,” Jones admitted. “But it’s definitely worth it.”
To help ease the burden, UConn families get a little support through a name, image, and likeness (NIL) arrangement. Out-of-town parents can stay at the on-campus Graduate hotel at a discounted rate. Stewart’s helped promote the hotel on social media-no UConn gear involved, of course-as part of the deal.
Jones would’ve loved to see Stewart play closer to home. After last season, the transfer portal came calling with a handful of offers. But Stewart shut that door quickly.
“He’s a grown man now, that’s his choice,” Jones said. “He didn’t want to hear about anything else.
He was locked in. I was like, ‘OK, he made his choice, let’s leave him alone.’
That’s one thing we won’t do. Even when he committed to UConn, he’d tell everybody, ‘Stop calling my phone.’”
Jones has built his own little network among UConn parents. His first season, he got close with Bill Clingan’s and Tristen Newton’s families. This year, it’s been the dads of Tarris Reed Jr. and Silas Demary Jr.-especially Demary, who shares a birthday just one day apart from Jones.
So far, Jamar and Sherrill haven’t made it to a road game. Maybe next season’s trip to Arizona will change that. But for now, they’ll keep cheering from afar, watching their son grow into his own.
“This year, you can see how much more comfortable and confident he looks,” Jones said. “He’s a super-sweet kid, he doesn’t like all the extra stuff.
He smiles all the time. It’s good to see him grow.
He’s always been a quiet kid, never in trouble. He keeps a small circle, they’re all close.
Hearing him do interviews now, I’m like, ‘Do you guys practice this or something? You’re growing up on me, man.’”
For Jaylin Stewart, home might be 3,000 miles away-but in Storrs, he’s found a second one.