After winning back-to-back National Championships in college hoops in 2023 and 2024, the UConn basketball program is looking to return to the top of the Big East in men’s hoops this upcoming season in the 2025-26 campaign. UConn gets key players on the projected roster for this upcoming season back in the core part of the rotation, like senior forward Alex Karaban and junior guard Solo Ball.

Among the roughly half dozen departures for the Huskies and head coach Dan Hurley early this offseason, four of the players left the program via the spring transfer portal window.

Youssouf Singare, C

Sophomore big man and former four-star recruit from Mali, Youssof Singare, won a National Championship with the Huskies during his true freshman campaign in 2023-24. He was a reserve big man who got limited minutes on the floor coming off the bench in the past couple of seasons at UConn.

Singare averaged 0.3 points per game and 0.7 rebounds in 39 games played in the past two seasons for Hurley and the Huskies.

Committed to High Point

Isaiah Abraham, F

True freshman forward Isaiah Abraham was the first UConn player to enter the spring portal window early this offseason. Abraham, a former blue-chip recruit from Gainesville, VA, and Paul VI Catholic School, was a reserve forward for the Huskies this past season in the Big East.

Abraham scored a career-high six points and one rebound off the bench in a blowout win over Maryland Eastern Shore in non-conference play this past November for the Huskies.

Committed to Georgetown

Ahmad Nowell, G

Former high-four-star recruit from Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep Institute, freshman guard Ahmad Nowell entered the spring transfer portal after spending one season with the Huskies in the 2024-25 campaign. Nowell was a reserve guard developing for the Huskies coming off the bench in 18 games this past season in the Big East. He averaged 1.5 points per game, 0.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists for the Huskies.

Nowell was one of two top-50-ranked high school recruits in the nation in the 2024 class in the 247Sports Composite that signed with UConn last offseason.

Committed to VCU

Aidan Mahaney, G

California native and former three-star recruit Aidan Mahaney was a key contributor coming off the bench in UConn’s backcourt rotation this past season in 2024-25. Mahaney scored in double figures in six games for the Huskies last season, including a season-high 15 points off the bench in a clutch 87-84 Big East win over Providence at home in early January.

After playing one season at UConn this past campaign in the Big East, Mahaney is returning back home to the West Coast to play the final year of his eligibility in college at UCSB.

Committed to UCSB

This month, the world of collegiate athletics began a new era, as schools are now legally able to directly pay their athletes.

Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement in House v. NCAA on June 6, ending three separate federal antitrust lawsuits aimed at ending the NCAA’s limitations of compensating college athletes. The ruling allows schools to directly pay athletes, creating new dynamics in college athletics that are expected to bring changes to the NCAA.

Starting July 1, schools have a $20.5 million cap that they can pay their athletes, representing 22% of “average annual revenue that FBS-level schools get from ticket sales, broadcast rights and a few other items,” according to ESPN’s Dan Murphy.

Schools are not required to meet the maximum amount to use on their athletes, and the $20.5 million figure is expected to have a gradual rise as the contract expands, with estimates of the cap booming to over $30 million in the next decade.

The ruling also finalizes a proposal to pay eligible athletes a combined total of $2.8 billion, giving former athletes a chance to be compensated for their services. All athletes dating back to 2016 are eligible for a stab at the $2.8 billion pool to be compensated for their work that resulted in profit for their schools.

Despite the finalization of a case that has gone on since June 2020, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the new dawn of the NCAA, and ultimately, Gonzaga University as well.

“Players and administrators said they view it as a fresh starting point for the future of college sports, not a finish line,” Murphy said in the report.

With questions looming about the future of the NCAA, The Gonzaga Bulletin has anticipated and answered frequently asked questions about how the historic settlements could affect GU athletics.

Does GU meet the criteria to be eligible for the $20.5 million figure to pay its athletes?

GU does meet the eligibility criteria, as the NCAA’s Power 5 conferences (SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC and the new-look Pac-12) are all automatically enrolled in the settlement. Schools outside of the Power 5 have a new June 30 deadline to opt in to the House settlement.

Another note is that the new-look Pac-12, which GU is set to join in July 2026, still needs another football school to be considered an “FBS-level” conference. The conference consists of eight schools (including GU), but GU’s non-football athletic program disqualifies the conference from the NCAA’s guidelines. Texas State is the current frontrunner to become the missing piece for the Pac-12.

How will this $20.5 million salary pool be reimbursed to GU’s athletes?

How each Division I school will disburse the salary cap will be left up to the program, but reports from some major schools estimate that up to 90% of the money will go to football and men’s basketball athletes. Since GU does not have a football program, this will create an advantage, as GU can provide a larger reimbursement for other athletic programs. Of course, this may result in a larger pool for men’s and women’s basketball, but other programs such as men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and baseball, among others, could benefit from the absence of football payments.

GU Athletic Director Chris Standiford also told sources that without football, it would be hard for GU to reach the $20.5 million figure.

Will this settlement create parity in Division I and protect GU from falling behind the payments of other larger Division I schools?

Although the salary cap sounds good for the issue of parity, third-party name, image and likeness collectives, which have been financing athletes since 2021, could still be of legal issue. Following the settlement in House v. NCAA, the College Sports Commission was created, headed by MLB executive Bryan Seeley.

According to an ESPN report by Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan, the commission and Seeley’s job is to create investigative and enforcement teams in the organization.

“[They will be] responsible for enforcement of the new rules around revenue sharing, student-athlete third-party name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, and roster limits,” Thamel and Passan said in the report.

Essentially, the commission will investigate all deals made with players to ensure legality and to keep large name, image and likeness collectives and boosters from using it as additional salary for players. Every third-party deal between athletes and boosters worth at least $600 will be reviewed.

What’s next for athletes?

With new salaries and contracts for athletes, a new line of lawsuits may soon erupt, focused on the prospect of considering student-athletes as employees and giving them collective bargaining rights.

The NCAA and member schools are insistent on the fact that college athletes are not employees because they are students. In fact, these schools have lobbied Congress to pass legislation to shut down collective bargaining efforts. Numerous sports lawyers believe that the House settlement will transform into more lawsuits, with the NCAA fighting over a dozen lawsuits challenging how long athletes can remain in college sports, according to ESPN.

If college athletes were to become employees, they could unionize, negotiate for better compensation and benefits and potentially bargain for minimum wage and overtime pay. This could also be a possible segue into the NCAA becoming something bigger than an amateur sports league, which would spur additional questions of pay and endorsement deals.

The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective VC Connect filed a joint lawsuit on Friday against the University of Miami alleging it knowingly induced one of the Badgers’ football players to abandon a lucrative name, image and likeness contract to play for the Florida school this upcoming season.

Allegations of tampering rarely get to this level and the 23-page lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Wisconsin and obtained by The Associated Press, is unusual. Depending on its resolution, it could have a a wider impact on future NIL deals across college athletics.

The player in question in the filing is referred to only as “Student-Athlete A.” But the case summary describes facts that line up with the situation involving cornerback Xavier Lucas, who last December announced his plans to enter the transfer portal.

Shortly afterward, Darren Heitner, who has been representing Lucas, indicated that Wisconsin was refusing to put Lucas’ name in the portal and that it was hindering his ability to talk with other schools. In January, Heitner announced that Lucas would be playing for Miami this fall.

The situation is fallout from the rapid changes engulfing college athletics, specifically a combination of two things: Athletes went to court and won the ability to transfer with much more freedom and the 2021 NCAA decision clearing the way for them to strike NIL endorsement deals now worth millions of dollars. That has changed the recruiting landscape and forced the issue of contracts and signed commitments to the fore.

“Indeed, student-athletes’ newfound NIL rights will be rendered meaningless if third parties are allowed to induce student-athletes to abandon their contractual commitments,” a portion of the lawsuit reads.

Wisconsin said in January that it had credible information that Miami and Lucas made impermissible contact with each other before the former Badgers cornerback decided to transfer.

Wisconsin and VC Connect allege that the inducement for Lucas to attend Miami happened within days of him entering his NIL agreement to play for the Badgers, and that they incurred substantial monetary and reputational harm. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and “a declaration that Miami’s conduct directed towards Student-Athlete A constituted tampering.”

A message left with the University of Miami seeking comment was not immediately returned. In a text message Friday, Heitner declined to comment on the lawsuit but he said that Lucas still plans to attend Miami and play football.

Wisconsin said it had the support of its leadership and the Big Ten Conference in filing the lawsuit, noting its commitment to “ensuring integrity and fundamental fairness in the evolving landscape of college athletics.”

“While we reluctantly bring this case, we stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” the statement said. “In addition to our legal action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.

Lucas, who is from Pompano Beach, Florida, had 12 tackles, an interception and a sack as a freshman for Wisconsin last season.

Heitner said that Lucas hasn’t received any money from Wisconsin and therefore owes no money to the school. Heitner also argued that Wisconsin had violated an NCAA bylaw by not entering Lucas into the transfer database within two business days of the player’s request.

Wisconsin issued a statement at the time saying it hadn’t put Lucas’ name in the portal because he had entered a two-year binding NIL agreement.

In April, the surprise transfers of brothers Nico and Madden Iamaleava from Tennessee to UCLA prompted fresh questions about contracts and buyouts.

Nico Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, walked away from a reported $2.4 million NIL contract. Arkansas freshman quarterback Madden Iamaleava entered the portal after spring practices wrapped up.

Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek released a statement indicating he would support efforts by the Razorbacks’ NIL collective to enforce buyout clauses in athlete contracts. Iamaleava reportedly had a contract valued at $500,000 upon signing with Arkansas.

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LEARFIELD Executive Vice President for NIL Growth and Development Solly Fulp sits down with Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, Memphis Senior Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Ed Scott and LEARFIELD NIL Partnerships & Operations Coordinator and Alabama student-athlete alumna Jenna Johnson to discuss real NIL in the post-House era and how both the Tigers and Crimson Tide are embracing the concept of “transformational” versus “transactional” NIL opportunities by prioritizing academics, life skills and institutional values into the deal-making process.

Johnson provides insight into how Alabama’s Advantage Center and Crimson Tide Sports Marketing are connecting student-athletes with marketing partners that best align with their interests, talents and personalities while Byrne and Scott discuss the impact of the House settlement on budgets and how they’re educating coaches on the need for discipline and accountability. Byrne: “The House settlement gives us our best opportunity to [sustain 21 sports long-term] and hopefully continue those legitimate NIL opportunities for the young men and young women, balancing that with their academic and athletic responsibilities… I’m optimistic about what’s ahead.”

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).