by Connor Whalen ‘28 on September 17, 2026
Sports
Bryan Hodgson, the new Providence College men’s basketball coach, has made splashes in the transfer portal and freshman recruiting, giving this year’s squad an exciting, fresh new look. Two of the biggest threats brought in by “the Shark” were senior wing Miles Byrd ’27 of San Diego State and senior point guard Malik Mack ’27 of Georgetown. The two players represent the diverse set of player profiles Hodgson sought out, as the team features capable isolation scorers, defensive specialists, playmakers, sharpshooters, and rebounders. Byrd would be the most likely of this year’s bunch to get a call in next year’s NBA draft, and Friars fans should be excited to watch him play.
Byrd gives this year’s Friars team something it so glaringly lacked during Kim English’s tenure as head coach: defense. In Byrd, this team is gaining one of the best (at the very least, perimeter) defenders in the entire country. If the former Aztec can continue where he left off the last couple years in San Diego, and improve his offensive numbers, he has a great chance of being selected as a second round pick to an NBA team. A 6’’7” guard, he can defend multiple positions and possesses a versatile skillset on both sides of the ball. Starting with the defense: he averaged an outrageous two steals per game and just over a block per game over the last two seasons, taking home the Mountain West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award last year. Byrd’s athleticism allows him to guard several positions, and he can be a swiss army knife for Hodgson while gameplanning against opponents’ biggest offensive threats. On the offensive side of the ball, he is a skilled finisher and flashes the ability to make difficult passes. He does struggle, however, with a high turnover rate, shot selection, and very streaky shooting from three-point range (sitting at just around 30 percent over the years). His career free throw percentage—just over 80 percent—indicates a solid shooting stroke, and Friars fans can hope he can improve on his shooting as he becomes less of a primary scoring option in a more offensively-talented Friars team.
Mack, a 6’1” point guard, gives the Friars a playmaking-first guard (another archetype the English era lacked), and should be running the point guard position this year. His senior year, in all honesty, leaves a lot to prove, coming off a down year in 2025-26. Mack is a good passer and shifty-ball handler; he creates shots for himself and others and is able to hit on high-difficulty, off-the-dribble looks. Where Mack leaves room for improvement is his consistency. Some nights he looks like the best shooter on the court, while other nights he leaves fans wondering why he still has the green light to shoot. The same can be said about his assist numbers throughout the season—in short, the ability is there, but the consistent production is not. Mack is no doubt a talented offensive player, and—like with Byrd—has proven a solid shooting stroke at 81.8 percent from the free throw line last year. He just needs to prove that, on a better team and with more of a backup role as a scorer, he can produce. If Mack improves on his last few campaigns, he will no doubt be a fan favorite for a reason this article has thus far neglected to mention: he decided to leave backstabbing Georgetown head coach (and former Providence head coach) Ed Cooley’s program to play for Hodgson and the Friars. PC fans hope to reverse last year’s results against Georgetown this year, and a revenge game for Mack is an incredible storyline to watch.