The only thing bigger and better for Connecticut in 2026 than Braylon Mullins’ shot to send the Huskies to the Final Four is the man’s decision to run it back and stay in Storrs for a second season.
The news landed Saturday, as Mullins announced — on his 20th birthday, no less — that he will return for his sophomore year. That means Dan Hurley’s program should again be Big East contenders and will surely slot in the preseason top 10 for a fourth consecutive year. Mullins is a former five-star prospect from Indiana whose NBA Draft stock improved as the season went along. He likely would have been a first round pick in June, but with no guarantees of being in the top 20, Mullins stands to make millions by returning to play for Connecticut and will likely receive a bigger payout in NIL benefits in 2026-27 than he would have in the NBA.
The 6-5 shooting guard played in 33 of Connecticut’s 40 games (starting in 29 of them) and averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28.3 minutes per game. He’ll join forces again with three veteran pieces: shooting guard Solo Ball, point guard Silas Demary and wing Jayden Ross; the Huskies lost forward Jaylin Stewart and big man Eric Reibe to the portal. Mullins’ verdict went public less than four hours after the other big UConn headline from Saturday. The Huskies landed a transfer from the team they knocked out of the 2026 tournament: former Duke Blue Devil Nik Khamenia is also coming aboard after committing toe the school following his official visit this week.
Getting four pieces back on a 34-6 team that made it to the national title game is a coup for Hurley. Program legend Alex Karaban is graduating, as is starting center Tarris Reed Jr., who had one of the best NCAA Tournament runs by any big man in the past five decades. The Huskies are also bringing on Seton Hall transfer Najai Hines, a 6-10 sophomore-to-be, in addition to a pair of top-40 prospects, Colben Landrew and Junior County. They will add at least one more notable portal piece in the coming week(s).
In a larger sense, Mullins coming back also means UConn will have one of the more prominent names and faces in the sport again. The Huskies’ 19-point come-from-behind win over No. 1 overall seed Duke in the Elite Eight was punctuated by one of the all-time sequences in NCAA Tournament history.
Mullins’ March miracle 3 that shot the Huskies to a third Final Four in four years’ time is already regarded among the 10-or-so biggest shots in the history of the NCAAs. This shot will live with him forever.
The Mullins triple from 33 feet also ranks among the all-time moments in UConn history, right there with Tate George’s buzzer-beater against Clemson in the 1990 Sweet 16 and Kemba Walker’s ankle-breaking walk-off against Pitt in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Big East Tournament.
The Huskies have been college basketball’s most discussed — and successful — program over the past four seasons. After another impressive run to the final weekend on the college hoops calendar, and thanks to Mullins’ buy-in for another campaign, Hurley’s Huskies are set up yet again to be among the most interesting teams in the sport.
