by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 30, 2025
Sports
Before their opening home game against College of the Holy Cross on Nov. 3, head coach Kim English scheduled two preseason exhibition bouts for the Friars as they prepare to bounce back after a disappointing season. Neither of these games will count toward the Friars’ record during the season, but they were still a good test for the team, giving us a preview of what the 2025–2026 Providence College Basketball season might hold for Friar fans.
On Oct. 19, the Friars traveled to the University of Pittsburgh to play the Pitt Panthers in their first outing of the season. The starters included Jason Edwards ’G26, Jaylin Sellers ’G26, Corey Floyd Jr. ’26, Duncan Powell ’G26, and Oswin Erhunmwunse ’28. The opening four minutes of this game should excite all fans of the basketball team, as the Friars quickly jumped to a 16–6 lead over Pitt. Our quick start was very encouraging; it could end up being a preview of a very fast-paced and entertaining offense. However, after the under-four-minute timeout, coach English went with a completely new set of five players. In the press conference post-game, coach English said, “I would have 100 percent. I had a rotation sheet that I really wanted to stick to—we had the minutes allocated,” in response to a question about his quick removal of the starting lineup. After this, Pitt bounced back quickly, bringing the game close. Before halftime, Pitt went on a run and went up 41–31 going into the half. In the second half, Pitt led by as many as 13 points. Throughout the game, English continued to experiment with different lineups and combinations of players. The Friars fought back to only down a few points a couple of times late in the second half, but ended up falling short and losing 81–74 in their first exhibition game. Edwards scored 19 points, showing he will be a dominant scorer as advertised. Powell had a very strong performance with 17 points and 10 rebounds as well.
This previous weekend, the Friars held their second exhibition game against Harvard University, this time in Providence, on Saturday, Oct. 25. Coach English had remarked that the rotations would be more similar to what fans could expect during the regular season. Corey Floyd Jr. did not play in this game due to injury and was replaced by Daquan Davis ’28, getting the nod to start. The Friars had a strong first half, commanding a 45–27 lead at half with only four turnovers recorded. The team struggled to shoot three-pointers, especially in the second half, and also let up on defense a bit in the second. However, the team still hung on to claim an 85–77 victory. Edwards had another strong scoring performance, totaling 16 points, leading the Friars in the category once again. Jamier Jones ’29 and Stefan Vaaks ’29 both had great, promising outings on Saturday. Jones netted an impressive and efficient 14 points in only 15 minutes, putting his physical prowess on display with multiple impressive dunks. Vaaks continued to play confidently with some good drives to the basket, and his three-point shot looked a lot better. Erhunmwunse had an efficient 12 points paired with nine rebounds. Transfer center Cole Hargrove ’26 also had an impressive defensive performance with a couple of blocks and steals.
Both games revealed some things the Friars could work on, defensively and offensively. However, these performances offered some very big, bright spots for the Friars this upcoming season. The trio of Edwards, Sellers, and Powell proved themselves as leaders offensively and defensively. Erhunmwunse looks much improved with a solid backup in Hargrove. The young core of Ryan Mela ’28, Davis, Vaaks, and Jones all showed potential to be key pieces for the offense. Defensively, this team is still a mystery to me, but offensively, Friar fans can expect to be explosive, fast-paced, and fun. As their exhibition games demonstrated, there is a lot of talent on the 2025–2026 Providence basketball roster.