UConn guard Solo Ball will undergo wrist surgery, miss entire 2026-27 season

Solo Ball’s wrist injury was worse than anyone thought.

UConn announced Monday that Ball, a junior guard who averaged 12.8 points last season for the Huskies, will undergo wrist surgery and miss the entirety of the 2026-27 season. The plan is for Ball to take a medical redshirt, then return for his senior year in 2027-28.

Ball hurt his left wrist — his shooting hand — in mid-December during the Huskies’ win over Butler, sat out the DePaul game five days later, then tweaked it again on Dec. 31 in a win at Xavier.

He played with it taped during the remainder of UConn’s season, which ended with a 69-63 loss to Michigan in the national championship. Before the title game, Ball was limping around in a boot after hurting his left foot in the Final Four win over Illinois. Ball played in both games in Indianapolis, scoring 13 points against Illinois on 5-of-11 shooting and 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting against Michigan.

“Solo is a true Husky and a champion who would do anything to be out on the court,” coach Dan Hurley said in a news release. “This guy has shown throughout his career what a warrior he is. Solo is going to use the season to get his wrist fully healthy and then come back next year as one of the best guards in America while cementing his legacy as an all-time great at UConn.”

Ball has started all but one game over the past two seasons at UConn and is 10th in program history with 199 made 3-pointers. He connected on 41.4 percent of his 3s in the 2024-25 season, but just 30 percent of his long-distance attempts in 2025-26 while dealing with the wrist injury.

With Ball out next season, even more will be needed from guard Braylon Mullins, who announced over the weekend he’s returning to UConn for his sophomore season.