University of Connecticut Athletics
Five Huskies Earn All-BIG EAST, Three on First Team
3/8/2026 11:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK - The UConn men's basketball team had five members honored with six All-BIG EAST selections, as announced by the conference on Sunday (March 8). Connecticut becomes the first team in league history to have three First Team All-BIG EAST selections as Silas Demary Jr., Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. were each First Team picks. In addition Solo Ball was tabbed for the All-League Second Team, Braylon Mullins was a unanimous All-Freshman pick and Demary Jr. garnered a spot on the All-Defensive Team.Â
The Huskies five All-Conference honorees are the most of any team in the BIG EAST this season. It is the most All-League honorees UConn has had since six received accolades in 2005-06. Over the last six seasons since returning to the conference the Huskies have now placed 10 players on the First Team.Â
Demary Jr. picks up his first All-BIG EAST honors with his selection to the First Team and to the inaugural All-Defensive team. It's his second overall All-Conference nod after garnering a spot on the SEC All-Freshmen team in 2023-24 at Georgia.  In his first season in Storrs, Demary Jr. led the BIG EAST with 7.4 assists per game in league action. He started all 20 conference games and added 12.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor, 47.3 percent from three and 81.5 percent from the line. On the defensive end, he led the Huskies and was among the league leaders with 1.6 steals per game while acting as the 'head of the snake' on one of the league's best defensive units. UConn led the BIG EAST in field goal goal percentage defense (42.1 percent) and finished second in the conference in scoring defense (67.1 ppg).
Karaban earns his third All-Conference honor in four years from the BIG EAST, tabbed to the All-Freshman team in 22-23 and a Second Team pick in 24-25. His First Team nod this year comes after starting all 20 contests and stuffing the stat sheet with 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 'stocks' per game. He slashed a 45.8/37.8/84.8 shooting line and led the Huskies with 33.8 minutes per game in league, top-five in the conference. The winningest player in UConn history concluded his four-year run in the BIG EAST with a 62-18 (.775) mark in regular season league games, best of any player in the conference over the course of his career.Â
Reed Jr. is a BIG EAST First Team pick after winning the league's Sixth Man Award a season ago. In his second season at Connecticut this year the big man started all 20 conference matchups and averaged 13.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a league-best 2.1 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. He led the conference with a 63.5 percent mark from the floor in league action and posted eight double-doubles.Â
Ball is an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick for the second-consecutive campaign. He started all but one conference contest and posted averages of 13.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 30.2 minutes per game. The junior connected on 2.2 triples per game to rank among the league leaders and shot 84.7 from the charity stripe in conference.Â
Mullins was a unanimous pick to the league's All-Freshman Team. He started 19 of 20 league games and recorded averages of 12.8 points and 3.5 rebounds while totaling 24 steals and 15 blocked shots. The rookie guard shot 37.6 percent from three on 50 made 3-pointers, becoming the first freshman since Markus Howard in 2016-17 to knock down 50 triples in a BIG EAST season. UConn has had a BIG EAST All-Freshman selection in each of the last six seasons.Â
The Huskies concluded the conference season with a 17-3 record and will play as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament.Â
