Braylon Mullins is dating Kylee Beranek, a fellow Indiana native who played soccer and basketball at New Palestine High School before following him to UConn in August 2025. Their relationship started across rival school lines in small-town Indiana and landed on a national stage when Mullins drilled a 35-foot buzzer-beater to beat Duke in the 2026 Elite Eight.
Beranek’s viral TikTok celebration after that shot put their relationship in front of millions overnight. Here is everything confirmed about who she is, Mullins’ family, his path from Greenfield to Storrs, and what comes next for the couple headed into the Final Four.
Who Is Braylon Mullins’ Girlfriend?
Braylon Mullins’ girlfriend is Kylee Beranek, who attended New Palestine High School in Indiana, roughly 11 miles from Mullins’ Greenfield-Central. She was a multi-sport athlete in high school, playing both soccer and basketball, before enrolling at the University of Connecticut in August 2025.
Kylee Beranek’s Background and High School Years
Beranek grew up in New Palestine, a town just east of Indianapolis in Hancock County. She competed on both the soccer pitch and the basketball court at New Palestine High School, graduating in May 2025. Her high school sat in the same conference footprint as Mullins’ Greenfield-Central, making them natural rivals before they were anything else together.
Beranek’s social media presence exploded after the Duke game. Her Instagram post captioned “Back to Indiana!!” and a TikTok set to The Jackson 5’s “Goin’ Back To Indiana” collectively racked up hundreds of thousands of views within hours of the buzzer-beater. Before March 29, 2026, she had a relatively low-key online footprint typical of a college freshman.
From High School Rivals to College Partners
The couple started dating while attending rival high schools in Indiana. When Mullins committed to UConn in October 2024, the pair faced a decision familiar to young athletes in serious relationships. Beranek enrolled at UConn the following August, keeping them on the same campus in Storrs, Connecticut.
That dynamic mirrors other college basketball couples navigating the spotlight together. Sam Hoiberg and girlfriend Bella Gregg dealt with similar attention at Nebraska, where basketball stardom and personal relationships run on parallel timelines. For Mullins and Beranek, the jump from Hancock County, Indiana, to a Big East powerhouse compressed that transition into a single summer.
According to Heavy.com (August 2025), Beranek’s presence at UConn was described as a stabilizing force during Mullins’ adjustment to college life. Her major at the university has not been publicly disclosed.
Braylon Mullins Family: Parents, Brothers, and Indiana Roots
Braylon Mullins grew up in Greenfield, Indiana, with father Josh Mullins (a former college basketball player turned high school assistant coach), mother Katie Mullins, and twin younger brothers Cole and Clay. Basketball ran through the family long before Braylon became a household name.
Josh Mullins: From IUPUI Basketball to Coaching His Son
Josh Mullins played college basketball at Lincoln Trail College before transferring to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. At IUPUI, he averaged 10.7 points across 62 career games and put up 12.2 points per game as a senior when the Jaguars reached the NCAA Tournament. Basketball was never a spectator sport in the Mullins household.
After his playing days ended, Josh spent four years as an assistant varsity coach and JV head coach at Greenfield-Central High School while Braylon starred there. He stepped down from coaching after Braylon’s graduation to focus on supporting his son’s college career. Josh now works as a school resource officer at Greenfield-Central, according to People magazine (March 2026).
Katie Mullins, Braylon’s mother, has been alongside Josh since childhood. The two met in second grade and married in 2005. Their twin sons Cole and Clay round out a family that has orbited around gymnasiums and hardwood floors for decades. According to UConn’s official roster, Braylon lists Greenfield as his hometown and his father as his primary basketball influence.
Growing Up in Greenfield, Indiana
Greenfield sits about 25 miles east of Indianapolis, a town of roughly 24,000 people where everyone knows the high school basketball score on Friday nights. Braylon dominated at Greenfield-Central, averaging 32.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.7 steals per game as a senior. He won the 2025 Indiana Mr. Basketball award and earned McDonald’s All-American honors.
No player from Greenfield has ever reached the NBA. If Mullins declares for the 2026 draft as expected, he would be the first. That fact carries weight in a state where high school basketball is practically a religion, and where local kids who make it big become permanent fixtures in the town’s identity.
Braylon Mullins at Kentucky? The Recruiting Story
Kentucky offered Mullins a scholarship in June 2024, and the Wildcats were widely considered frontrunners for his commitment. He cut Kentucky from his list in late September 2024, narrowed his finalists to UConn, Indiana, and North Carolina, and committed to UConn on October 23, 2024.
Why He Chose UConn Over Kentucky and Indiana
Mullins finished as the No. 15 overall recruit in the 2025 class per 247Sports Composite, the No. 4 shooting guard nationally, and the No. 1 prospect in Indiana. His Rivals profile rated him at 98.04 with a five-star designation. He had options. Kentucky, Indiana, and North Carolina all made hard pushes.
The Kentucky cut surprised some recruiting analysts. Mark Pope’s program had hosted Mullins on an official visit and appeared to be in strong position. But Dan Hurley’s UConn offered something the others could not match at the time: back-to-back national championships and a proven track record of developing guards for the NBA.
Indiana’s recruitment of Mullins became a cautionary tale in Hoosier basketball circles. One story that went viral on Reddit involved then-coach Mike Woodson making his own root beer float at a recruiting dinner.
“Woody making his own root beer float at a recruiting dinner is peak main character energy and probably the exact moment the Mullins realized they were dealing with someone completely detached from reality.”
— r/CollegeBasketball, March 2026 (120 upvotes)
Whether that dinner actually cost Indiana the recruitment is debatable. What is not debatable: Mullins ended up at UConn, and the Huskies are now in the Final Four because of it.
The Shot That Changed Everything: Duke Elite Eight 2026
Mullins drilled a 35-foot three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to beat No. 1 Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight on March 29, 2026, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. UConn had trailed by 19 points. Mullins had gone 0-for-4 from three before that final attempt.
The sequence that produced the shot was chaos compressed into a single second. Duke’s Cayden Boozer was running out the clock near midcourt when UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. deflected his pass. Mullins grabbed the loose ball, found Alex Karaban, got it back, and launched from well beyond the arc. The ball went through with 0.4 seconds on the clock. The arena went silent on one side and erupted on the other.
UConn had been 1-for-18 from three-point range before Mullins’ shot. The 19,502 fans in attendance witnessed what multiple outlets have called the deepest game-winning shot in the final seconds of an NCAA Tournament game by a team trailing. As one Reddit user on r/sports, a community of over 30 million subscribers, put it:
“From the fucking logo to send your team to the final four.”
— r/sports, March 2026 (534 upvotes)
Sports journalist Jake Marsh compared the moment to Christian Laettner’s 1992 shot against Kentucky and Kris Jenkins’ 2016 title winner for Villanova. ESPN framed it with the headline: “This is what dreams are made of. Braylon Mullins, the kid from Indy, sends UConn to his hometown for the Final Four.” According to CBS Sports’ postgame coverage, Mullins said he never doubted the shot was going in.
Kylee Beranek’s Viral Reaction
Hours after the final buzzer, Beranek posted a TikTok from their hotel room dancing and embracing Mullins. The video was set to “Goin’ Back To Indiana” by The Jackson 5, with the caption “HOMECOMING BABY!!” She wore jeans with “Mullins” stitched down the leg and a UConn T-shirt that read “We’re Not Done.”
Her Instagram post carried the caption “Back to Indiana!!” referencing the Final Four’s location at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Both posts circulated widely across sports media accounts within hours. For a couple that had kept a relatively private profile through Mullins’ freshman season, the Duke game permanently changed their level of public visibility.
Josh Mullins Called It
Josh Mullins watched the final play unfold from the stands. According to HoopsHQ’s postgame report (March 2026), he turned to his wife Katie and said two words before the ball dropped through the net: “It’s good.” Four years of coaching his son in a Greenfield-Central gymnasium had apparently given him enough evidence to call a 35-footer from the logo with total confidence.
What Comes Next: Final Four, NBA Draft, and Beyond
UConn faces No. 3 Illinois in the Final Four on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. For Mullins, that means playing the biggest game of his life roughly 50 miles from Greenfield. His UConn teammates are chasing a third Final Four in four years. He is chasing a homecoming.
Mullins averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game during the 2025-26 regular season, shooting 43.5% from the floor and 33.2% from three. Those numbers, combined with his 6-foot-6 frame, defensive instincts, and now a signature March Madness moment, have cemented his status as a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
| Source | Projected Pick | Team |
|---|---|---|
| ESPN (Jeremy Woo) | No. 14 | Golden State Warriors |
| Bleacher Report | No. 15 | Golden State Warriors |
| Pro Football Network | No. 13 | TBD |
| Tankathon | No. 14 | TBD |
The consensus across r/CollegeBasketball and r/NBA_Draft has been clear for months: Mullins is one-and-done. An NBA career will mean relocating again, and for young athletes navigating both professional sports and personal relationships, that transition is never simple. Players like Tyriq Withers have faced similar scrutiny as their public profiles expanded beyond the court. For Mullins and Beranek, the move from Indiana to Connecticut was the first test. The draft will be the next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Old Is Braylon Mullins?
Braylon Mullins was born on April 18, 2006, making him 19 years old as of March 2026. His birthday falls just three weeks after his Elite Eight buzzer-beater, meaning he turns 20 on April 18, 2026, right before the championship game window.
Does Braylon Mullins Have a Girlfriend?
Yes, Braylon Mullins is in a relationship with Kylee Beranek. They began dating while attending rival high schools in Indiana and both enrolled at UConn in 2025. Beranek attended New Palestine High School, about 11 miles from Mullins’ Greenfield-Central.
What Are Braylon Mullins’ Stats at UConn?
In 30 games (26 starts) during the 2025-26 season, Mullins averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He shot 43.5% from the field, 33.2% from three, and 88.2% from the free throw line. He was UConn’s fourth-leading scorer as a freshman.
Where Is Braylon Mullins From?
Mullins is from Greenfield, Indiana, a small town east of Indianapolis with a population of about 24,000. He attended Greenfield-Central High School, where his father Josh served as assistant varsity coach. If drafted, Braylon would be the first NBA player from Greenfield.
Was Braylon Mullins a Kentucky Recruit?
Kentucky coach Mark Pope offered Mullins a scholarship in June 2024, and the Wildcats were considered frontrunners. Mullins cut Kentucky from his list in September 2024 and committed to UConn on October 23, 2024. He was ranked No. 15 nationally by 247Sports Composite and No. 1 in Indiana by Rivals.
What Was Braylon Mullins’ Game-Winning Shot?
Mullins hit a 35-foot three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to beat No. 1 Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight on March 29, 2026. UConn had trailed by 19 points earlier in the game. He was 0-for-4 from three before the winner. The shot has been compared to Christian Laettner’s 1992 buzzer-beater and Kris Jenkins’ 2016 championship winner.
