University of Connecticut Athletics
Bell and Brown Named to 2026 Senior Bowl Top 300
8/20/2025 9:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, CT - UConn wide receiver Sklyer Bell (Bronx, NY) and running back Mel Brown (Stone Mountain, GA) have been named to the 2026 Senior Bowl Top 300 list announced on Wednesday. The 2026 Panini Senior Bowl will be played on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. CT at South Alabama's Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
The Senior Bowl scouting department, comprised entirely of former NFL scouts, evaluated  over 2,000 prospects from all levels of college football to compile the Senior Bowl Top 300. A total of 86 schools are represented on this year's list. Bell and Brown are two of 19 players selected from the "Group of 5" schools. The participants in this year's game will be announced at the conclusion of the season.
Bell, who was named to the 2025 Biletnikoff Award Watchlist, made an immediate impact for the Huskies in his first season last fall. The r-senior wideout hauled in 50 passes for 860 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch on the season, ranking 37th among the nation's top-receivers. Bell opened his UConn career with five catches for 141 yards at Maryland and followed that up a two-catch, 105 yards and a touchdown against Merrimack. His best game of the season saw him pull down six passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns against Buffalo, tying the UConn school record for TD catches. At Syracuse, he had his fourth 100-yard receiving game the season while catching a career-high 10 passes. In his two seasons at Wisconsin Bell had 68 catches for 740 yards and six scores for the Badgers.
Brown, named to the 2025 Jet Award Preseason Watchlist, was a part of a UConn running game that piled up 2,590 yards last season. He finished with 673 yards on 118 carries in 13 games. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry and found the endzone twice. He also caught a score. Brown has established himself as a game-changing return specialist on special teams. Last season, Brown was second in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging an impressive 29.1 yards per return on 17 attempts. His explosive ability was on full display with a spectacular 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the regular season finale at UMass.
Both Bell and Brown along with teammate Cam Edwards (Norwalk, CT) were also named to the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 watchlist earlier this summer.
