Before he led the University of Connecticut Huskies to back-to-back national championship victories and even before he led Rhode Island to two NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons, UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley’s first collegiate head coaching position came in the form of two seasons at Wagner.
Just two years after the Seahawks tied a program-low 26 losses in a season since moving to Division I for the 1976-77 season, Hurley led Wagner to a program-record 25 wins during the 2011-12 season before departing for Rhode Island.
“That’s one of my favorite years I’ve ever had in coaching was year two there,” Hurley said Sunday. “Year one was fun, too, but it almost killed me.”
Now, a reunion of sorts is set for M&T Bank Center at Gampel Pavilion Monday night, as No. 4 UConn (2-0) hosts Wagner (0-2) with Hurley coaching against his former team for the first time.
While Hurley said there isn’t much room to be sentimental when preparing for any opponent, he called the opportunity he took at Wagner life-changing.
“Places that give you the opportunity, you’re definitely grateful,” Hurley said Sunday.
The Seahawks will bring a familiar face with them, as former Huskies center Youssouf Singarè will return to UConn for the first time since entering the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season.
Singarè was part of the five-prospect 2023 recruiting class ranked No. 5 nationally by 247Sports that also included current Huskies Jayden Ross and Solo Ball, one-and-done NBA lottery pick Stephon Castle and current SMU Mustang Jaylin Stewart.
Across two years at Connecticut, Singarè appeared in 39 games, scoring ten points and averaging 2.3 minutes while earning a ring with the 2023-2024 championship team.
After a pit stop at High Point last year, in which he helped the Panthers upset No. 5-seeded Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the senior landed at Wagner this past offseason in his second trip through the portal.
The 6-foot-11 center started each of the Seahawks’ first two contests, playing just over 20 minutes and pulling down three rebounds in each.
He’ll match up with the duo of Na’jai Hines and Oskar Giltay, both of whom are still looking to find their footing in the regular season. In the Huskies’ 85-77 win over No. 16 Michigan on Friday, Hines finished with a minus-1 plus/minus rating, while Giltay attempted just one field goal and pulled down two rebounds while accumulating four personal fouls.
“We’ve got two 19-year-old centers,” Hurley said after the Michigan game. “These are not guys that are playing on a [temporary restraining order] that have played 150 games. These guys, both Oskar and Na’jai, I don’t even think they’ve broken 40 games yet in college. They both have great potential. I just think we just have to be patient with these guys, learn from some of the fouling stuff.”
Freshman Colben Landrew picked up the slack, coming close to a double-double while leading the team with eight rebounds and scoring 14 points in 23 minutes of action. The forward is averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, leaving him third on the team in both categories.
The backcourt also impressed against the Wolverines, with senior point guard Silas Demary Jr. and sophomore shooting guard Braylon Mullins combining for 44 points.
Scoring 20 in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, Mullins has led the Huskies in scoring in both regular-season contests thus far and is shooting 50% from the field.
“I think just trying to get myself back into the fluency of the game,” Mullins said Sunday. “I’ve been using practice to get the reps. Friday, I think you just got to make the most of your opportunity, so just trying to stack those opportunities, stack those days.”
The Seahawks opened their season with a pair of losses to ACC opponents, including an 83-57 loss to No. 14 Miami on Friday.
Dwan McMillan is in his first official season as Wagner’s head coach, though the former Hofstra guard spent the 2025-26 campaign as the interim head coach and led the Seahawks to a Northeast Conference semifinals appearance.
After losing all 13 players from that 2025-26 roster to either graduation or the portal over the offseason, Wagner’s offense has been led by a pair of upperclassman transfers, redshirt senior forward Kareem Watson and guard Cam Estevez.
Watson has averaged a team-leading 11 points while coming off the bench in both of Wagner’s contests, while Estevez leads Seahawks starters with 33.5 minutes per game and 10 points per contest.
Wagner represents the Huskies’ final mid-major opponent before a two week stretch that will see them face three straight high-major opponents, starting with Ohio State (1-1) at home in Hartford on Friday. After that, the Huskies will travel to face No. 5 Arizona (1-1) and No. 2 Duke (2-0) a week apart.
Tipoff for the Huskies’ season debut at Gampel Pavilion is scheduled for 7 p.m. The contest will broadcast live on truTV.