Flagg Taylor ’27

by Flagg Taylor ’27 on November 20, 2025

The Providence College basketball program has never had a Big East Freshman of the Year winner for themselves. This year, No. 7 Stefan Vaaks ’29 is in a good position to make a real impact for the Friars and is set to become one of the top freshmen in the conference. Vaaks stands at 6’7” and weighs in at 205 pounds. From Estonia, Vaaks played for BC Kalev in the professional Latvia-Estonia Basketball League. In the regular season he averaged 15 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. Vaaks and BC Kalev also went to the ’24 Fiba Europe Cup where he averaged 14.8 points per game, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals. 

In the first week of the season, Vaaks performed excellently. Against Holy Cross, he tallied 19 points, one rebound, two assists, and two steals in just 20 minutes. Vaaks was 5/9 from the field and a perfect 6/6 at the line. In a tough loss to Virginia Tech, Vaaks recorded 17 points, three rebounds, and one block. Vaaks was 5/13 from the field and, once again, perfect at the stripe going 3/3. At the end of regulation, Vaak’s game-winning three attempt went in and out of the basket again in a heartbreaking miss. 

Vaaks was awarded Big East Freshman of the Week for the first week of the season, averaging 18 points per game, two rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. As Vaaks improves as the season continues, the Friars may very well have their first ever Big East Freshman of the Year.

There are many other talented freshmen all around the Big East this season, including Providence’s Jamier Jones ’29, UConn’s Braylon Mullins and Eric Riebe, St. John’s Kelvin Odih, and Butler’s Efeosa Oliogu. The non-Friar that sticks out the most is Villanova’s No. 55 freshman Acaden Lewis. Lewis is a 6’2”, 180-pound guard from Washington D.C. with loads of talent. Kevin Willard will be relying on this talent heavily during the first season of  his tenure as Villanova University’s head coach. Lewis will play a huge role for the team, which gives him an easy platform to display his immense talent, making him a favorite to win Big East Freshman of the Year. 

Lewis played his senior season with the Sidewell Friends School in D.C. During his senior season, he put up 12.6 points per game, 3.9 assists per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, and 1.7 steals per game. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 48 overall player nationally in the 24/25 class and ranked him as the No. 5 point guard in the class. Lewis was rated a 94 overall four-star player by 247Sports, a top tier floor general from his class. 

In Villanova’s season opener against No. 8 Brigham Young University, Lewis struggled. He played 22 minutes, only scoring five points and recording just two rebounds and three assists. Lewis shot 1/4 from the three-point line and 1/6 total from the field. Villanova fell 66–71 in a close loss to BYU in their first game. However, in the second game of the season, Lewis bounced right back. Willard did not lose any trust in his star freshman, playing him for 34 minutes. Lewis did not disappoint, recording 21 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Lewis shot a much-improved 9/13 from the field. This game was much more emblematic of Lewis’s potential for stardom on Villanova this season. Watch out for him to continue balling out and being a real favorite to win Big East Freshman of the Year. Looking at the upcoming season of Big East play, both Vaaks and Lewis seem likely to become the Big East Freshman of the Year.