NEW YORK – The UConn men's basketball team has been selected as the unanimous favorite to repeat atop the BIG EAST standings, as announced in the league's 2024-25 Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday (Oct. 23). Three Huskies received preseason laurels from the conference as well; Alex Karaban was a unanimous First Team selection, Aidan Mahaney picked up a Third Team nod and Liam McNeeley was named Preseason Freshman of the Year.
The first place selection for the Huskies comes a year after they ran rough-shod through the conference, winning a league-record 18 games to claim their conference-record 11th regular season title. UConn also tied a league benchmark with a 14-game winning streak during conference play. The last time Connecticut was picked to win the BIG EAST in the preseason was 2011-12 when they shared favorite honors with Syracuse. UConn was last picked to finish first outright ahead of the 2008-09 campaign.
Karaban's preseason All BIG EAST honor comes amidst a slew of early-season laurels for the redshirt junior forward, including several preseason All-America nods. Despite earning five slots on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor roll a season ago he was snubbed for postseason laurels, but averaged career-highs of 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a second-year starter. That followed a freshman campaign in which Karaban was an eight-time Freshman of the Week and earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman squad. For his career, Karaban has started 77 games and UConn holds a staggering 66-11 mark in those contests.
McNeeley is UConn's second-straight BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, looking to follow in the footsteps of Stephon Castle last season who took home both the preseason and regular honor. McNeeley comes to UConn as a five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American, prepping at national champion Montverde Academy.
The Third Team preseason nod for Mahaney comes after a pair of All-Conference seasons for the first-year Husky at Saint Mary's. Mahaney averaged 13.9 points per game as both a freshman and sophomore for the Gaels to nab a pair of First Team All-WCC laurels.
The 2024-25 Huskies kick off their back-to-back title defense on Wednesday, Nov. 6 when they host Sacred Heart at Gampel Pavilion.
Players Mentioned
- F
- 6' 8"
- Redshirt Sophomore
- G
- 6' 6"
- Freshman
- G
- 6' 3"
- Junior
- F
- 6' 7"
- Freshman
Players Mentioned
- 6' 8"
- Redshirt Sophomore
- F
- 6' 6"
- Freshman
- G
- 6' 3"
- Junior
- G
- 6' 7"
- Freshman
- F
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