Jaylin Stewart is something of a favorite among Huskies fans.
The 6-7 forward showed more patience and loyalty than most college players these days, eschewing opportunities to enter the transfer portal and staying at UConn for three years. Despite betting on himself, it became clear that Stewart likely wouldn’t carve out the role he’d hoped for when he first decided to come to UConn.
So after three seasons, two Final Fours and a national championship in his freshman year, Stewart entered the transfer portal— and now he’s found a new home.
The Seattle, Washington native committed to SMU on Monday. He’ll play for head coach Andy Enfield. The Mustangs finished 20-14 overall last season, 8-10 in the ACC. They earned a No. 11 seed and a spot in the First Four in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Miami (OH), 89-79.
Stewart averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game for the Huskies last season.
He committed to UConn as a Top-100 recruit in the Class of 2023, the top recruit out of the state of Washington and ranked No. 56 nationally by 247 Sports.
Stewart played in 37 games during UConn’s 2024 national championship season, averaging 8.9 minutes per. He started 12 of 35 games as a sophomore and ended up averaging 5.2 points in 17.8 minutes per, but saw his role decrease slightly this season.
He was used sparingly during the NCAA Tournament run as he came back from a knee injury, missing the first two games and then playing a combined 21 minutes in the remaining four games, and nine minutes in the national title game against Michigan. He averaged just 1.8 points during the NCAA Tournament.
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