The 2025-26 college basketball season has begun, with nine Big East teams tipping off on Monday. Thanks to the transfer portal, a slew of new faces take over the conference. Nine players picked for the Preseason All-Big East teams transferred into the conference this past spring. All eleven teams have intriguing players who could make the difference in making a push for the NCAA Tournament. With that, we have a potential breakout player for each Big East team for the 2025-26 season.
Potential Big East Breakout Players for 2025-26
Jamie Kaiser, Butler
In reality, just about anyone could “breakout” for Butler. The team returns just one rotation player and four guys from last year’s roster. One of those four, Jamie Kaiser, did not see any game action after undergoing ankle surgery before the season. A former top-75 prospect, he started five games at Maryland his freshman year, two of which were in the Big Ten Tournament. The one big advantage he has over the four incoming freshmen and five transfers is he spent the second half of last season practicing with returning starter Finley Bizjack.
Jaylin Stewart, Connecticut
With star freshman Braylon Mullins, out for at least six weeks with an ankle injury, junior Jaylin Stewart should benefit the most with plenty of minutes to begin the season. His shooting will be an asset the team needs. He improved his consistency behind the three-point line, hitting 36% from deep. He made 54% of his field goal attempts, suggesting he wasn’t forcing shots when the team had plenty of scoring options on the floor. Listed at 6-7, he can be a versatile player on defense and fit into a variety of lineups.
Jasen Green, Creighton
After Pop Isaacs‘ injury took him out for the season, Creighton moved Jasen Green into the starting lineup for the final 24 games of the season. While sophomore Jackson McAndrew should also make a jump, he’s flying a little less under the radar after getting named to the Preseason All-Big East Third Team. While scoring wasn’t always his strong suit, Green scored as season-high 19 points on 8-10 shooting against the Huskies in the Big East Tournament.
Ilija Milijasevic, DePaul
This might be as under-the-radar as they come, but schools are slowly looking towards the Balkans as well of talent. Ilija Milijasevic arrives from Serbia after shooting 44.3% from three for Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League. Already 21 years old, the guard averaged 12.4 points and 3.7 assists per game for Serbia’s U20 National Team last summer. With not a ton of guard depth, don’t be surprised if he breaks into the starting lineup.
Isaiah Abraham, Georgetown
UConn mostly leaned on its upper-classmen last season, outside of Liam McNeeley, leaving Isaiah Abraham sitting at the end of the bench. Now with a fresh start with the Hoyas, the former top-80 prospect has way more opportunity to earn playing time. Head coach Ed Cooley won’t rely on him to score, but it would go a long way he can shut down opponent’s best wing players on defense.
Royce Parham, Marquette
With no incoming transfers, head coach Shaka Smart provided his underclassmen the opportunity to step into new roles this year. After averaging 14 minutes of the bench, Royce Parham should compete for one of the starting spots this year. While shooting 28% from three is mediocre, once Big East play started, that number went to a more respectable clip of 31%. If he can become an interior threat on both sides of the court, he should make a nice tandem with Ben Gold.
Oswin Erhunmwunse, Providence
I’ve stayed mostly away from guys who are on the preseason teams, but Oswin Erhunmwunse is poised to make a leap in year two at PC. His 1.6 blocks per game trail only Ryan Kalkbrenner in the Big East. After working his way into the starting lineup, he posted a 16 point-11 rebound double-double in the Friars’ last game of the year. After an intense offseason, he added about 15 pounds of muscle and is now listed a 235 lbs.
Najai Hines, Seton Hall
The Pirates lost a lot of their talent from its seven-win season. While head coach Shaheen Holloway brought in 10 transfers, the one true freshman he signed, Najai Hines, has potential to be a building block for Seton Hall. Hines is a big dude, listed at 6-10, 265 pounds on the team website. He is the program’s third highest-rank recruit this century, right behind Angel Delgado, who Hines is getting comparisons to.
Dylan Darling, St. John’s
When you have the conference preseason play of the year, plus four guys on the All-Big East teams, plus a coach who isn’t afraid to play a six-man rotation, finding that breakout guy isn’t the easiest. UNC transfer Ian Jackson might be the star transfer, Big Sky Player of the Year and Idaho State transfer Dylan Darling looks to prove he can produce against the best. The junior scored 19.8 points a game last season and show over 35% behind the arc, an area the Red Storm struggled. While head coach Rick Pitino said his team won’t roll out with a traditional point guard, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Darling improve on his 5.7 assists per game.
Tyler Perkins, Villanova
The sole returning rotation player for the Wildcats, Tyler Perkins will benefit from an increased role on an unproven roster. Expectations are so high for Acaden Lewis that anything other than contending for Big East Freshman of Year would be a disappointment. Perkins averaged over six points per game, but has started and scored in the double-digits in both of Villanova’s preseason matches. He flashed his potential with a 20 point game against Xavier last season.
All Wright, Xavier
If nothing else, this guy will be known around the league for having a top-tier name. But All Wright arrives from Valparaiso after scoring 15.5 points per game. He earned himself the conference’s Rookie of the Year and got onto the All-Freshman team. He proved he can score against tough competition by dropping 22 points against Ohio State. If he can shoot over 38% from three, the Musketeers will have no issue getting him the ball,
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