NCAA Tourney Star Braylon Mullins Opts To Stay at UConn, Chase National Title

NCAA Tournament star Braylon Mullins will stick around for one more season at UConn in hopes of winning a national championship instead of heading straight to the NBA. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard made his announcement Saturday on his Instagram account with highlight clips of his biggest shots and the words “unfinished business.” Mullins was projected to be a first-round pick. The 2025 IndyStar Indiana Mr. Basketball Award winner became a national sensation when he made a 35-footer with 0.4 seconds left to cap UConn’s incredible comeback to beat top-seeded Duke 73-72 to win the East Region title, sending the Huskies to their third Final Four in four years. He had been a key player for the Huskies once he returned from an ankle injury that kept him out of UConn’s first six games. He was fourth on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game and also averaged 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals. He finished third on the team with 72 3-pointers, five behind Alex Karaban, who played in all 40 games, and Solo Ball, who played in 39. [2026 NBA Draft Declarations Tracker] Mullins scored 15 points in a victory over Illinois before finishing with 11 in the national championship game loss to Michigan — with both games being played about a 30-minute drive from his alma mater, Greenfield-Central High School. Reporting by The Associated Press.