UConn men’s basketball star Alex Karaban was one of 20 players named to the watch list for the 2026 NABC Division I Player of the Year Award, the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced on Thursday.
The senior wing is in a position to reach historic milestones as he looks to compete for his third national championship in his final year with the Huskies. The four-year starter from Southborough, Mass. has led UConn to a 92-22 record (.807) during his time with the program and is one of the top-30 scorers in program history.
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Karaban is 25 starts away from tying the program’s all-time record, set at 135 games by Jake Voskhul from 1996-2000. He has the fifth-highest career free throw percentage in program history (84.1%), is 61 made 3-pointers shy of Rashad Anderson’s record (276, 2002-06), and 569 points away from surpassing Ray Allen (1,922) and moving into the program’s top-five all-time in scoring.
“He represents what’s great about sports,” coach Dan Hurley said at Big East Media Day. “This guy should have so many campaigns leading into the year, this guy is legitimately attempting to be the most accomplished college basketball player since the players that played at UCLA in the 60s and 70s.”
Karaban was named Preseason First Team All-Big East earlier this month after a junior season where he averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 blocks. He averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds to lead the way in UConn’s two preseason exhibition wins over Boston College and Michigan State.
The NABC Player of the Year, selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches at the conclusion of the regular season, will be announced the week of the Final Four.
