Multi-year Connecticut starter Solo Ball Jr. will miss the entirety of the 2026-27 season to recover from a wrist injury he played through in 2025-26, the school announced Monday, April 19. He'll take a medical redshirt to return to action in 2027-28.
"Solo is a true husky and a champion that would do anything to be out on the court," UConn coach Dan Hurley said in the announcement. "This guy has shown throughout his career what a warrior he is. Solo is going to use the season the get his wrist fully healthy and then come back next year as one of the best guards in America while cementing his legacy as an all-time great at UConn."
The 6-foot-4 junior averaged 12.8 points per game last season while starting all 39 games he appeared in, although his shooting numbers took a hit, likely due to the injury. He shot 41.4% from 3-point range as a sophomore on 6.8 attempts per game, but that measure dropped to 30% on 6.6 attempts per game last season.
The rising senior has 84 starts in his career, and scored in double figures in UConn's final four NCAA Tournament games despite the injury. While he played in UConn's national championship loss to Michigan, his status for the game was in doubt due to "some type of foot sprain," Hurley said.
Thankfully for the Huskies, they return a pair of backcourt starters in Braylon Mullins and Silas Demary Jr., and added a pair of likely starters via the transfer portal in former Duke forward Nikolas Khamenia and former Seton Hall center Najai Hines. Ball, however, would've been the longest-tenured Huskie in the rotation next season with Alex Karaban out of eligibility.
Ball was a second-team All-Big East selection in 2024-25 after leading the team averaging 14.4 points per game. He scored a career-high 26 points against Butler last season.
Here are Ball's season-by-season per-game averages in college:
2023-24 (freshman): 3.3 points with one rebound and 0.3 assists per game (38.5% shooting)
2024-25 (sophomore): 14.4 points with 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game (43.9% shooting)
2025-26 (junior): 12.8 points with three rebounds and 1.5 assists per game (39.2% shooting)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Solo Ball to miss 2026-27 season for UConn basketball with wrist injury