After losing in the national title game in 2025-26, the Huskies are itching to get back in 2026-27.
In the era of transfer portal, NIL and the "one and done" player, it's really difficult for college basketball programs to retain talent from one year to the next.
In fact, it's become just as important, if not more, to re-recruit your own players than it is to recruit new ones coming out of high school.
Rosters are constantly turning over and fans don't have a great idea of who is even in a program anymore until the start of the season rolls around.
It's hard to find consistency, which is what already makes the 2026-27 UConn men's basketball team a rarity amongst its college hoops peers.
Per KenPom and the Field of 68, UConn is one of only 14 programs set to return three or more major contributors from this past season into next season. In addition to UConn, Florida, Michigan State, Illinois and Duke are just some of the teams on the list.
In full transparency, several fans in the comments complained that the graphic was wrong, saying their teams had more or less significant contributors, and there was even some discourse about constitutes a "significant contributor" at all, so we put this graphic up only as a conversation point.
How it relates to UConn
Regardless of how you feel about the exact definition of "significant contributor," the point above still stands. It's hard - and rare - to retain your talent from season to season.
The Huskies are set to lose Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. to graduation (and the NBA Draft), while Solo Ball will miss the season because of wrist surgery.
This means that returning sophomore Braylon Mullins and returning senior Silas Demary Jr. will be the key cogs in Dan Hurley's machine. The Huskies will go from a wing and interior-dominated team to a backcourt dominated team.
As for a third contributor? Jayden Ross will likely have to fill that role in the wake of Ball's injury. He played in 38 games this past season, becoming one of the most important reserves on the team. He averaged 4.6 ppg and 2.5 rebounds.
UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (24) shoots Monday, April 6, 2026, during the NCAA men's basketball tournament national championship game against the Michigan Wolverines at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesElsewhere in Huskies news
Speaking on Wednesday's edition of "Inside College Basketball Now," CBS Sports Insider Jon Rothstein spoke about UConn's future in the Big East, suggesting the Huskies could bolt for a new league if a proper offer came.
We took a deeper dive at that in this post here.
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