The NCAA basketball world is buzzing right now as the men’s national championship game gets closer. UConn is set to face Michigan on Monday night, April 7, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. One name that has been popping up a lot is Jaylin Stewart. Interestingly, the reason people are searching his name is not what you would expect.
It is not about his stats or his highlights. It is because people genuinely think he might be related to NBA player Isaiah Stewart. So let us clear that up and also take a closer look at who he actually is.
Who Is Jaylin Stewart? A Look at the Young UConn Forward
Stewart was born on February 6, 2005, in Seattle, Washington. He is the son of Sherrill Jones and Lodrick Stewart. His love for basketball clearly comes from his dad, who played college basketball at USC and went on to play professionally in the NBA D-League and overseas.
But it does not stop there. His family has a strong athletic background across the board. His grandfather, Andrew Stewart, is a hall-of-fame powerlifter.
Moreover, his uncle Rodrick, who happens to be his father’s twin brother, was a two-time state champion in high school, scored over 2,000 points during his four years at Rainier Beach, and went on to play at both USC and the University of Kansas.
Stewart committed to UConn men’s basketball in 2022 as a four-star recruit from Garfield High School in Seattle, part of the Class of 2023.
He chose the Huskies over offers from USC, Alabama, Washington, and several others after taking an official visit. During his junior year of high school, he was one of the better players in his state, earning First Team All-State and All-Metro honors.
Now a junior in the 2025-26 season, Stewart has been a solid contributor off the bench for the Huskies. He has averaged 4.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in about 16.5 minutes per game this season. Those contributions on the defensive end have been a big part of why UConn punched its ticket to the national title game with a 71-62 win over Illinois in the Final Four semifinal.
Is Jaylin Stewart Related to Isaiah Stewart?
No, Jaylin Stewart is not related to NBA player Isaiah Stewart. Isaiah Stewart was born in Rochester, New York, to Jamaican father Dela Stewart and mother Shameka Holloway.
The two players grew up in completely different parts of the country and come from entirely different families. The confusion simply comes down to the shared last name, which is “Stewart,” and the fact that both are notable basketball players. That is really all there is to it.
What might actually surprise people is who Jaylin is connected to in the basketball world. He is the cousin of UConn legend Donyell Marshall through his mother’s family.
Stewart heads into the national championship game as one of the key bench players for UConn as the Huskies take on Michigan. He already has championship experience, having been on the UConn team that won the title in the 2023-24 season. So now, it remains to be seen how he performs on the big stage again.
