NEW. YORK – UConn men's basketball standout Liam McNeeley has been named 2025 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, as announced by the league on Wednesday (March 11). It marks the second-straight season the Huskies have produced the league's top freshman.
McNeeley's honor comes after the 6-7 Texan earned eight BIG EAST Freshman of the Week certificates during a sterling rookie season in Storrs. He averaged 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists during the regular season and has connected on a team-best 86.4 percent from the free throw line on the most attempts of any Husky. In conference play he ramped up his scoring output to 15.6 points per game and shot 35.4 percent from 3-point range.
McNeeley started his UConn career with a double-double and had marquee non-conference performances in wins over No. 15 Baylor (17 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) and No. 8 Gonzaga (26 points, 8 rebounds, four assists). He went down with an injury on Jan. 1 and missed eight games but returned with a flourish.
In his second game back on Feb. 11, he turned in one of the great freshman performances in UConn and BIG EAST history. McNeeley poured in 38 points to lead UConn to a top-25 win over Creighton in Omaha where it had never won. He added 10 rebounds to notch one of four double-doubles recorded this season and hit five 3-pointers. The only other freshmen in modern NCAA history to score 35 and 10 with five triples in a road game are Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
Other signature performances including a 17-point, 7-assist, 5-rebound stat sheet-stuffing performance at Butler on Dec. 21 and a team-high 20 points with seven rebounds and a 9-9 performance from the line to help the Huskies rally from 14 back against Villanova on Feb. 18. McNeeley scored in double-figures in 10 of the 12 BIG EAST games he played in.
McNeeley becomes the seventh freshman in UConn history to take home BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, joining: Castle (2024), Rudy Gay (2005), Khalid El-Amin (1998), Doron Sheffer (1994), Nadav Henefeld (1990) and Earl Kelley (1983). The seven all-time honorees for Connecticut are tied with Georgetown for the league record. It is the third time in league history a team has gone back-to-back for Freshman of the Year and first since 2013.
UConn opens play at the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament as the three-seed with Quarterfinal action on Thursday night against No. 6 Villanova or No. 11 Seton Hall.
Players Mentioned
- F
- 6' 7"
- Freshman
Players Mentioned
- 6' 7"
- Freshman
- F
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