UCONN Star Praises Jesus After National Championship Loss

Published: April 9, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

Throughout his entire time in the March Madness tournament, UCONN’s Tarris Reed Jr. shared about his faith every chance he got.

Sunday night was no different when UCONN lost the National Championship to Michigan 63-69.

“It wasn’t easy choosing UCONN the first time and just choosing UCONN to come back again out the portal. So I give all thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Reed declared after the game, per a video shared by sports analyst Jon Root.

“I thank the Lord for [these last two seasons] every day… I give all thanks to my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ… At the top of my head is Ecclesiastes 7:8, ‘Better is the ending than the beginning’”
– UCONN C Tarris Reed Jr. after losing the National Championship vs Michigan pic.twitter.com/iMwPknTrIa

— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) April 7, 2026

The athlete then referenced Ecclesiastes 7:8, which reads, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”

“So just looking back at the whole journey, I mean, I’m gonna miss it. So like I said, the Lord does things in mysterious ways. And I got all my tears out and just blessed me in the position I am in today. And I love these guys for life. They’re my brothers for life,” Reed concluded.

Before the game on Sunday, Reed expressed what Easter means to him.

“The resurrection is literally everything,” he told Relevant Magazine. “That’s like the staple of Christianity. So, without the resurrection, there is no Christian, there is no Jesus.”

“Jesus just literally changed my mind. He changed everything about me,” Reed said of the impact Christ has made in his life.

Faith changed the way he thinks, speaks and acts.

“My whole mind is different. The way I talk, the way I act, changed the way I treat other people,” the center said. “It’s like more not to get, but more to serve. I feel like I’m here to really serve and serve others.”

Two days after UCONN lost the National Championship, Reed took to social media to share what has been on his heart.

“I’ve been wrestling with God about this all day, really the past 24 hours. It’s been one of the hardest, yet most peaceful and freeing stretches of my life,” he wrote on Instagram. “Coming to terms with the fact that the college basketball journey I’ve been chasing since I was a little kid is over hurts. Losing the biggest game of my entire basketball career hurts. Knowing how hard I worked and the sacrifices I made just to be in that position, and still coming up short, it hurts.”

“At the same time, I’m reminded to be content in every situation. Looking back at the game, I know I gave it my all, but I still see the mistakes I made. I want to be better. I tend to be a perfectionist, but only Jesus was perfect. So it’s been tough wrestling with that,” he continued.

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After UCONN returned to campus after the game, Reed felt led by the Holy Spirit to go to an Athletes in Action meeting to speak about what the Lord had put on his heart.

“I didn’t want to speak. We got back late, around 5 PM, and the meeting was at 7, so I barely had time to prepare anything. But I told myself I would let the Holy Spirit speak through me,” Reed shared. “And I’m so glad I went. That night, two of the women’s basketball players (AZZI AND KK) got baptized. It was truly a blessing. Even after that, I’ve still been wrestling with God about whether I should post this video. But it’s not my will, it’s His.”

Though the National Championship didn’t go the way Reed hoped, he holds on to God’s faithfulness throughout his life.

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