Najai Hines showed the Huskies he could be dominant on the boards in his two games against them this season. He comes from Hurley's alma mater, Seton Hall.
UConn is signing transfer big man Najai Hines, who played his freshman season at Big East rival Seton Hall.
Hines announced his commitment to the Huskies on social media Wednesday night. He declared his decision to enter the transfer portal on April 3.
Coming out of high school in Plainfield, N.J., Hines was rated by 247Sports as the No. 8 center in the Class of 2025 and the top player in his state.
In his only season with the Pirates, the 6-foot-10, 265-pound Hines appeared in 31 games off the bench and averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 steals and 2.2 blocks over 18.0 minutes per game.
Per 40 minutes, those numbers extrapolate to 14.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.9 blocks.
He shot 60.2% from the field.
On Tuesday, Hines made an official visit to UConn. He likely had a lot in common with Huskies head coach Dan Hurley, himself a New Jersey native who also played at Seton Hall.
Hurley won’t be done mining the portal for a center. Tarris Reed Jr., who evolved into a dominant big man for the Huskies as the season progressed, is out of eligibility. Eric Reibe, a dependable backup to Reed, put his name in the portal as did fellow freshman 7-footer Rrezon Elezaj.
Elezaj played just five minutes on the season, but Hurley praised Reibe when he talked with the media on Tuesday.
“Eric was a soldier and a warrior for us,” Hurley said. “He saved us in the non-conference. He played great. He’s going to have a great career no matter where he goes. He’s one of my favorite guys I’ve coached. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Eric.”
Reed leaves behind big shoes to fill. He led the Huskies in scoring (14.7 points), rebounds (9.0) and blocks (2.0) over 27.3 minutes per game.
Hines vs. UConn
At Seton Hall (21-12, 10-10 Big East) Hines got an up-close look at just how Hurley’s Huskies (34-6, 17-3) play. And Hines turned in strong performances in both games, which were narrow wins by UConn.
Seton Hall center Najai Hines (25) shoots the ball against UConn center Eric Reibe (12) in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., on Feb. 28, 2026. Credit: David Butler II-Imagn ImagesIn the January game between the teams, Hines scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in 19 minutes. In the second meeting, he recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, another team-best total, in 29 minutes.
Reporter Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 applauded the move Wednesday night on social media, writing:
"The perfect Dan Hurley big man.
"Tough as (expletive), rebounds, physical, will do all the dirty work."
More portal additions
The names of two more UConn players were added to the 247Sports transfer portal listing on Wednesday: freshman guard Jacob Furphy from Australia and Uros Paunovic, a junior from Serbia in his first season with the Huskies. Both played sparingly. They combined for eight points in 47 minutes.
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