{"id":165067,"date":"2025-11-06T14:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=165067"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:15:10","slug":"potential-big-east-breakout-players-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/06\/potential-big-east-breakout-players-for-2025-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential Big East Breakout Players for 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Potential Big East Breakout Players for 2025-26<\/h2>\n

Jamie Kaiser, Butler<\/h3>\n

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<\/a>, did not see any game action after undergoing ankle surgery before the season. A former top-75 prospect<\/a>, 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jaylin Stewart, Connecticut<\/h3>\n

With star freshman Braylon Mullins,<\/a> out for at least six weeks with an ankle injury<\/a>, junior Jaylin Stewart<\/a> should benefit the most with plenty of minutes<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Jasen Green, Creighton<\/h3>\n

After Pop Isaacs<\/a>‘ injury took him out for the season, Creighton moved Jasen Green<\/a> into the starting lineup for the final 24 games of the season. While sophomore Jackson McAndrew<\/a> 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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

Ilija Milijasevic, DePaul<\/h3>\n

This might be as under-the-radar as they come, but schools are slowly looking towards the Balkans as well of talent. Ilija Milijasevic<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n