by Pippa Jones ‘28 on October 23, 2025

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The renowned soccer player, Son Heung-Min, 33, from South Korea has recently made his debut in the U.S. by signing with Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). As an extremely talented player, Son has proven his skillset with nine goals and three assists in just ten league outings. He has been dominating MLS and rapidly making his way into the hearts of American soccer fanatics. 

Son’s father, Son Woong-Jung, is a retired soccer manager who played on South Korea’s B team. Building on his father’s success, Son has had an impactful influence on the sport. Son now plays for South Korea’s national team and is the captain. Son has remarkable technical skills, thus the coined nickname “Silky Son.” His quick feet and ball control stem from his proficiency at using both feet rather than being dominant in just one.

Son started his professional soccer career in the Bundesliga, the German soccer league. At the age of 16, he began playing for Amburger SV in 2010. He then transferred to Bayer Leverkusen. Son is trilingual, fluent in Korean, English, and German. He became fluent in German during his time there to show his dedication to his career. After the Bundesliga, Son signed with the North London Premier League team, Tottenham Hotspur FC. Spurs fans immediately adored him with his technicality on the pitch and his compassion off the pitch. Son helped Tottenham become the runner-up in Champions League in the 2018–19 season. Son later became the first Asian to be awarded the Golden Boot in the 2021–22 season, scoring 23 goals. Finally, Son gained his captaincy in 2023 and went on to be a strong leader for the Spurs throughout his remaining seasons. In his final season with the club in 2025, Son led the team to win the European League Title. This was Son’s last gift to the club before leaving for Los Angeles. 

As a winger, Son was skilled both at scoring and assisting others to score. Son and his former teammate Harry Kane, a striker, worked very well together with the blend of their technical skills. Son had a very impressive career with​​ Tottenham with his goals and assists. In the 2016–2017 season, he had 14 goals and six assists. In the 2020–21 and the 2023–24 seasons, he had 17 goals each. In the 2021–22 season, he had reached 23 goals and seven assists. In his entire career with the Premier League, he had 127 goals and 71 assists.  

Considering the lack of many South Korean professional soccer players, Son is viewed as a national pride in South Korea for his immense success and contributions to his country. Son also increased South Korean Spurs views and has created new attention to soccer in South Korea. Tottenham fans have speculated (and are hoping) that he may return to the club for a short loan. Although this has been mentioned in the soccer community, it is also highly unlikely considering his commitment to the MLS and his demanding schedule. Although fans are upset about his absence, the Spurs fans are following his success from afar. It will be interesting to observe the next page for Son and watch him continue his amazing career in the U.S.

by Dorothée Durivage ’28 on October 9, 2025

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Bruno Rosa ’26, the 6’2” forward from Cascais, Portugal, is currently playing in his third season with the Friars. Prior to his transferring to Providence, Rosa played NJCAA soccer for Monroe College in New York for two years. There, he finished top six in assists for NJCAA DI and helped lead his team to both a Regional Championship and a NJCAA DI National Championship in 2022. He went to Monroe College after playing for FC Porto Academy, Boavista FC Academy, and A.D. Oeiras Academy in Portugal.

On Friday, Oct. 3, the Friars went up against Villanova’s Wildcats to kick off Homecoming weekend. During the game, Rosa scored two goals and had one assist which marks his season high so far. He led the team in points on Friday and tied with his high of two goals from last season. Having played 700 minutes over 10 games so far this season, Rosa has had more minutes this season than last season, showing he is on track to an even better season than his already great season in 2024. In 2024, he played and started 22 games for the Friars and led the team in points as well as assists with 16 points and six assists. Rosa finished the season with a career high of five goals and 1,533 minutes, allowing him to be named to All-Big East Second Team.

The Friars’ men’s soccer team is off to a good start with a 4–5–1 overall record and a 2–1–0 Big East record so far. Rosa has played in all 10 games, showing that he is a key player to drive the team forward. Providence has had a total of 133 shots in total thus far, 20 of those belonging to Rosa, and 59 shots on goal, 13 of which belong to Rosa. This means that Rosa has 15 percent of the team’s overall shots and 22 percent of the team’s shots on goal. The Friars are in a great position to continue to have a good season, having a lot of experienced players on their team. 

Having secured the win against the Wildcats, the Friars are off to a great start in the Big East. With only three games played in conference so far, everything is still at play for the team, and they have everything they need to have a great rest of their season, especially in the Big East. 

With head coach Craig Stewart, the Friars are in good hands. Stewart enters his 14th season as the head coach of the Providence College men’s soccer team as the fourth head coach in school history. In his 16 seasons as a head coach, 13 of which have been at Providence and three at Franklin Pierce University, Stewart has led his teams to a 178–90–39 record, including nine trips to the NCAA Tournament. He has led the team to the semifinals in 2014 and the quarterfinals in 2016. Most recently, the Friars made the tournament last season where they fell to Clemson University in the second round.

by Emilia Farrell ‘28 on October 9, 2025

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Men’s Hockey

The men’s hockey team opened their season with two exhibition games at Schneider Arena. On Oct. 3, the Friars beat Simon Fraser University, 7–1. Starting goalie Philip Svedebäck ’26 had a shutout with 11 saves during his time on the ice. On Oct. 5, the Friars also won a close game against Quinnipiac University, 2–1. While the Bobcats struck first, goals by Aleksi Kivioja ’28 and Logan Sawyer ’28 provided the offense necessary to come up with the win. Looking ahead, the team will play the University of Michigan on Oct. 10 and 11 at home. This will be the Wolverines’ first trip to Schneider Arena and the sixth and seventh meetings all-time between the schools.

Field Hockey

The field hockey team is currently 7–4 for the season and 1–2 in conference play. The team fell to the University of Connecticut on Oct. 3 in Storrs with a score of 1–3. Their most recent win came against the University of Vermont on Sunday in overtime. After being tied 1–1, Carly van Benten ’29 came through with an assist from Martu Torre Festa ’28. This was van Benten’s fourth goal this season. The team faces Quinnipiac University on Friday, Oct. 10 and Sacred Heart University on the following Sunday, both at Lennon Family Field.

Women’s Cross Country

The women’s cross country team recently competed in the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational, hosted by Loyola University Chicago, on Oct. 3. The Friars, who are ranked No. 7in the NCAA, scored 224 points and placed No. 10 overall in the invitational. Gabby Schmidt ’28 led the team, placing No. 26 in the women’s 6k, finishing with a time of 20:19.21. Schmidt was the Big East female co-athlete of the week from Sept. 1–7 after winning the Friar Invitational in Attleboro, MA.  Following Schmidt in the meet, Cara Laverty ’26 came in No. 37 with a time of 20:28.95. The Friars’ next appearance will be on Friday, Oct. 10, for the New England Championship.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team is currently 4–5–1 for the season and 2–1 in Big East conference play. This includes a huge 5–0 win against Villanova on Oct. 3 at Chapey Field. Bruno Rosa ’26 led the offense with two goals that night. The team’s goaltending resulted in a shutout with a joint effort from Ryan Carney ’29 and Julian Ballester ’29. The team looks for additional Big East wins as they face St. John’s University on Oct.11 and Marquette University on Oct. 17.

by Izzy Mignardi ‘27 on October 9, 2025

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Walking across campus on Wednesday, Oct. 1, you might have seen a proud, beaming fan wearing a Red Sox hoodie, laughing with their friend on the way to Ryan Business School. Twenty feet later, you might have seen a girl with downcast eyes wearing a “New York or Nowhere” trucker hat. Nothing can divide a group of college-age students like playoff baseball.

After the Yankees lost the first game of the series to the Red Sox, some baseball enthusiasts thought the Red Sox had secured the series, since no team has lost Game One and gone on to advance to the ALDS or NLDS since the three-game format was introduced in 2022. Nonetheless, the Yankees won Game Two and Game Three, becoming the first team to break this streak.

Game One started with the Yankees taking the lead in the second inning with a solo home run by Anthony Volpe. An RBI by Masataka Yoshida at the top of the seventh gave Boston the 2–1 lead, which was solidified by Alex Bregman with an RBI double, ending the game with a 3–1 win by Boston. Boston’s Garrett Crochet dominated, allowing only one run and pitching a career high of 117 pitches. Chapman loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but the Yankees failed to score. Max Fried pitched well but was replaced by Luke Weaver, who gave up a two-run single, double, and a walk.

Both Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm didn’t start in Game One, but are credited with helping the Yankees win Game Two. Rice hit a two-run home run early in the game. Trevor Story tied the game 2–2 in the third inning, and later in the sixth hit a solo home run to tie the game again at 3–3 (after Trent Grisham scored on an RBI single by Aaron Judge, which dropped out of Jarren Duran’s glove). In the eighth, Austin Wells hit an RBI single, allowing Jazz Chisholm to score, giving the Yankees the final 4–3 lead.

The stakes were high in Game Three: win or go home. Rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler pitched a historic game: eight shutout innings, 12 strikeouts, no walks. Although from Massachusetts, he’s proven to be a true Yankee. He said, “I woke up and I was locked in. I knew exactly what I needed to do and go out there, especially against my hometown team. As I told Andy [Pettitte] yesterday, I wasn’t going to let them beat me.”

All four of New York’s runs came in the fourth inning; Amed Rosario and Anthony Volpe each with an RBI single, and Austin Wells hit a grounder to first base, where Nathaniel Lowe errored, which allowed the two more runs. The Yankees thrived on the defensive end, too, particularly with Ryan McMahon’s incredible catch as he flipped over into the Sox dugout.

So, Friday morning rolls around, and the girl in the “New York or Nowhere” hat has more pep in her step despite the hangover from last night’s celebration. The kid in the Red Sox hoodie says, “Good luck in Toronto,” and laughs.

The Yankees will need it. They now face the Blue Jays, and again lost the first game of the series with a devastating score of 10–1.

This article was written prior to the games on Oct. 4 and 6.

by Chris Sama ’27 on October 9, 2025

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The 45th Ryder Cup matches, held from Sept. 26–28 in Farmingdale, New York were eventful; team Europe won the Ryder Cup on U.S. greens, and the crowd’s conduct was very controversial. The Ryder Cup is a highly prestigious golf tournament that takes place every two years, with the best players from America and Europe facing off on their respective continents. This year, the Ryder Cup was held on Long Island, giving Team U.S.A. the home advantage. The atmosphere is electric, drawing a wide crowd of golf fans from around the world. Players are chosen for each national team based on rankings and performances. Bethpage Black is regarded as an exceptional golf course and is especially known for its difficulty. The tournament had Team U.S.A., with captain Keegan Bradley, against Team Europe, led by captain Luke Donald. Team Europe had consistently won its matches, with the majority of the matches being close between the two teams, but ultimately won 15–13. Europe had taken the lead early on, with them just barely clinching the tournament after the Singles on Sunday. Players such as Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and Rory McIlroy played exceptionally well to lead Team Europe to victory. This was the closest Ryder Cup victory since 2012, when Europe won by one point. Europe has proven itself in the 2000s, winning five of the last 10 Ryder Cups in America. Although the matches were well played, the crowd’s conduct at Bethpage Black in Long Island was unhinged. Rory McIlroy, a European player, particularly faced numerous accounts of verbal abuse, as well as his wife, regarding personal information and his golf career. The crowd started chants such as “F— you, Rory,” and poured beer on his wife. Even the MC was leading some of these chants, which subjected the PGA to a lot of criticism. The CEO of the PGA later apologized for the crowd’s conduct, since it was extremely impolite. Security had to be increased to the point where state troopers were involved in crowd control. The Ryder Cup is known to be very competitive and energetic. It’s a highly partisan event and a patriotic one for Americans, and it’s common for American fans to heckle the European players. There is always a competitive atmosphere, but this year, the line was drawn; it went past competitiveness and became personal and unprofessional. Fans were ejected from the tournament, and the MC, Heather McMahan, forcibly resigned after leading the aggressive chants. Although most of the spectators were well-behaved and were able to appreciate some of the highest levels of golf globally, the disrespectful behavior of the crowd overshadows the excellent performances of the players.

by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 9, 2025

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This weekend, Friars men’s hockey returned to the ice with two exhibition games against Simon Fraser University (Friday, Oct. 3) and Quinnipiac University (Sunday, Oct. 5). I was able to catch the Friday opener against SFU, where the Friars won emphatically 7–1. This win was impressive to watch in person, especially without the star Roger McQueen ’29. The Friars moved the puck around the ice beautifully, were physically dominant, and created and then finished chances for goals at an impressive rate. Logan Sawyer ’28 scored about four minutes into the game, but it wasn’t until the second period when the Friars completely took over and dominated the game. Graham Gamache ’27 scored twice in the second, as well as goals from Hudson Malinoski ’27 and Tanner Adams ’27. Will Elger ’28 and Aleksi Kivioja ’28 both added goals in the third period to seal a convincing win. Goalies Phillip Svedeback ’26 and Jack Parsons ’29 both kept clean sheets through their respective stints on the ice. 

For their last test run, the Friars faced off against Quinnipiac University, who came in No. 13 in the NCAA D1 rankings. QU took an early lead, scoring roughly five minutes into the first period. However, not long after Kivioja tied it up for the Friars assisted by Clint Levens ’27. Levens scored later in the period, but the goal was called back by the referees. About eight minutes into the second period, Sawyer put the Friars up 2–1 with a power play goal. Svedeback held strong in goal with 29 saves and McQueen totaled four shots looking promising as the Friars held off QU and won the game 2–1. 

Both these performances have made me extremely excited for the upcoming hockey season. The Friars have the potential to be a Frozen Four team this year with a great mix of new talent and returning players. The Friars were picked second in the Hockey East coaches poll, with three first place votes. U.S. College Hockey Online ranked the Friars seventh nationally while the American Hockey Coaches Association ranked the Friars eighth nationally. These pre-season rankings are based off of recent seasons, returning players, and new players added to the roster. 

On top of new talent coming into the program, the Friars have managed to return five of their six leading scorers from last season. Malinoski, Adams, Gamache, Elger, and John Mustard ’28 all will be returning in Friar uniforms to score many more goals this season. McQueen, the tenth overall pick and highest recruit in school history as well as Julius Sumpf  ’29 highlight the freshman class. Head coach Nate Leaman and his staff have added 11 new players this season, all talented and filling various roles and positions while managing to retain a majority of our goal scoring from last season. Providence students should expect an extremely exciting and successful season from Leaman and the Friars. This roster is overflowing with skill and talent, ready to put on display for the school. Next weekend the Friars will play the University of Michigan back-to-back at home on Friday, Oct. 10, and Saturday, Oct. 11. I highly recommend going to support the boys and watching some great hockey. Friartown could be in for a very special season.

by Pippa Jones ‘28 on October 2, 2025

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With women’s rugby rising to fame amongst the sports community, we can largely give credit to two-time Olympic champion Ilona Maher. Known for playing the tough sport with a shade of bright red lipstick on the pitch, Maher promotes body positivity and women in sports with her brand Beast Beauty Brains. Following her win in the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, she began to gain traction as an athlete and an internet personality. After her debut on the popular show Dancing with the Stars, Maher has gained lots of followers on social media and helped to promote the rugby community to a wider audience. Since the show, she has starred in several advertisements, her most recent partnership with Maybelline’s Only in Matte Ink lipstick. She also starred in Sports Illustrated, where she premiered her modeling career. Maher excelled in her rugby career at Quinnipiac University, where she won three NIRA championships. She now plays for the U.S. Sevens team and recently signed with the Bristol Bears club team.

Maher’s teammate, Sarah Bern, is another internet personality who has promoted the women’s rugby community with her platform. Both playing for the Bristol Bears, Bern and Maher have advertised the positive atmosphere of the community. Bern is a 28-year-old front-row prop for England’s women’s rugby team, the Red Roses. Bern started her career as a back-row forward with England’s U20 team. She has a record of 30 tries and 150 career points. Bern has a strong internet presence that accompanies Maher’s empowering brand.

Both Bern and Maher starred in this year’s 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. This year, the Women’s Rugby World Cup had a notable following with 42,473 viewers just on the opening game, which featured the U.S. vs. England. The World Cup will wrap up with the final and bronze matches in London on Sept. 27. The final game will feature a showdown of Pool A leader, England, with 15 points, against Pool B leader, Canada, also with 15 points. It is hard to tell who the winner of the final match will be, considering both teams lead their individual pools with identical point totals. England’s Red Roses have been crowned the favorites of the match with their record of 32 successive matches, according to BBC Sport. Team USA stands at No. 3 in Pool A with a record of one win, one draw, and one loss. Pool C leader, New Zealand, with 15 points, and Pool D leader France, with 14 points, will play each other for bronze. I would put New Zealand as the favorite with 382 points scored this season vs. France’s 195. Although this proves to be a large gap, New Zealand only has seven wins against France’s five, making this a closer matchup than expected.

Contrary to the leaderboard, the top scorer for the World Cup is New Zealand’s Braxton Sorensen-McGee with 11 tries and 69 points. At only 18 years old, Braxton was newly named to the Black Ferns as of this July. Braxton was named player of the match in New Zealand’s match against Japan. Following the World Cup, the next main events for women’s rugby will be HSBC SVNS and the Pacific Four Series, both in 2026. If interested in getting involved with rugby locally, join PC’s Club Women’s Rugby! Practice is every Tuesday, 5–7 p.m., and every Thursday, 6–8 p.m., on Hendricken Field. For inquiries to play, reach out to President Christina Andruss at (203) 832-9400.

by Connor Whalen ‘28 on October 2, 2025

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Kim English’s recruiting ability has proven to be elite over his three years at Providence, each year seeming increasingly impressive. In his first year, Garwey Dual—initially recruited by former head coach Ed Cooley—chose to recommit to Providence College, ultimately deciding to play for English despite the abrupt coaching change. Dual’s tenure at Providence was short-lived and certainly disappointing, averaging a meager 3.3 points per game, which resulted in his transferring out after his freshman year. Dual was, however, the third-highest rated commit in Providence’s history, behind only Ricky Ledo (a top-ten national recruit in 2011 who never actually played due to academic ineligibility) and Kris Dunn ’16, a name Friars fans are more than familiar with.

In 2024, English made another big splash with the recruitment of Oswin Erhunmwumse ’28, ranking just outside the top ten in Friars history. He also recruited Ryan Mela ’28, a three-star forward who was unranked nationally and has impressively carved out a role for himself in the upcoming season. English’s increased aggressiveness in the transfer portal was also evident, despite a few of the transfers posting underwhelming seasons. This past offseason showed exponential improvement in English’s recruitment; he landed Jamier Jones ’29, ranked ninth in his position, and another top-100 recruit in Jaylen Harrell ’29. The transfer portal also brought in proven talents like Jason Edwards ’G26, Jaylin Sellers ’G26, and Duncan Powell ’G26, showing even further improvement from last year’s portal.

Huge news struck PC’s campus this month when five-star high-school prospect Caleb Holt went on an official visit to Friartown. Holt is a top-five national prospect, a legitimate one-and-done college player, and on track to be an early 2027 NBA first-round pick. This is absolutely groundbreaking news for Friars basketball, and by no means does Holt even have to commit to the Friars to make it so. To put this into perspective: imagine Jaylen Brown visiting PC a decade ago, or Jayson Tatum in 2016, or VJ Edgecombe or Dylan Harper a year ago. Providence’s basketball program is certainly storied and prestigious, but not of the caliber to attract immense talent like this.

It has been speculated that Providence is among a select few schools that Holt is considering for a decision. Now, some of the other schools in that group are powerhouses like Alabama, Kentucky, and Auburn, meaning it is probably not likely that he commits to PC, but the very fact that Providence is on the list with top-tier programs like those is massive news.

In August, coach English and his staff also hosted Abdou Toure, a top-40 national prospect from Connecticut. Toure recently announced he is down to his final three schools: UConn, Arkansas, and Providence. Another massive offer for the Friars, Toure would be the highest-rated freshman to ever play for PC outside of Dunn. English joins elite company in making Toure’s final list among Arkansas’ John Calipari and UConn’s Dan Hurley, two of the most well-respected coaches in college basketball. Toure’s decision announcement will come this Friday, Oct. 3.

If Toure were to commit to PC, the 2026 season would start to look even more exciting for Friars fans. Whether Holt and/or Toure commit to PC—and realistically, they very well may not—the fact that English is drawing massive talent to Providence, and that these players are truly considering his offers, shows huge potential for this program with him at the helm. While the results have yet to be seen, it takes time to build a program as a new and largely unproven head coach, and the future, starting with this season, looks very bright in Friartown.

by Dorothée Durivage ‘28 and Emilia Farrell ‘28 on October 2, 2025

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Providence College Investigates: WNBA

Lynx

One win away from the WNBA finals, the Las Vegas Aces are likely to come out on top in the championship. This win would be their third title in the last four seasons, after wins in 2022 and 2023 that demonstrate that the team has what it takes to win. The core players on the Aces have not really changed, except for the addition of All-Star guard Kelsey Plum in February.

As the No. 2 seed, the Aces have been able to secure wins even with injuries among the team and some players not playing their best games. To combat that, Las Vegas’s guards have stepped up, with Chelsea Gray at 7.3 assists per game for the postseason, compared to 5.4 during the regular season. Another important player for the Aces is NaLyssa Smith, who was traded from the Dallas Wings back in June and contributed to a 30–14 record for Las Vegas since joining the team.

At first, the trade raised some questions and left people confused, but it has become clear that it was the right move for the Aces. It is hard to imagine where the team would be without her at this time; she has been a major upgrade over former starting center Kiah Stokes, who opponents generally pretended did not exist on the offensive end. With Smith engaged on both ends, she is able to take away the scoring burden from A’ja Wilson, making the team harder to beat.

The Aces’ strength lies in their players, and Wilson was named this season’s WNBA MVP, earning the top individual honor in the league. She has become the league’s first four-time MVP, after receiving the title in 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025, which goes to show just how strong a player she is.

The finals are scheduled to start on Friday, Oct. 3, and will be the first WNBA finals to be played as a best-of-seven series, where the higher seed would host games one, two, five, and seven.

Aces

Up until earlier this week, it looked like the Minnesota Lynx were going to run away with the WNBA title. However, the Phoenix Mercury were not about to just let it happen. The Mercury were riding high on the emotions of a first-round series win against the defending champions, the New York Liberty.

The No. 4-seeded Mercury overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat the No. 1-seeded Lynx in game two of the WNBA semifinals, proving that they have what it takes to overcome any team in their path. On Sept. 26, in game three of the semifinals, the Mercury dominated the Lynx yet again with an 84–76 statement win.

The Mercury are more than just their wins; they have the versatility and focus to win the entire tournament, mainly through their “Big 3” trio of star players. Kahleah Copper has been the driving force behind the offense, using her speed and dexterity to create crucial scoring opportunities for both herself and her fellow teammates. Satou Sabally makes opposing teams’ defenses work through her impressive scoring ability. Alyssa Thomas does a little bit of everything, from scoring to rebounding to facilitating plays.

In game two of the semifinals, Thomas had a commanding 13 assists and a total of 19 points, showcasing her grit and determination for the win. In game three, the trio combined for a total of 65 points, leaving only 19 points to be scored by other teammates. The “Big 3” is one of the most dynamic groups in the WNBA and works together to keep the Mercury balanced.

Phoenix has shown that they can adjust to any challenge and will make big moves this season, which proves all the more important now in the postseason. The Phoenix Mercury are just one game away from a trip to the WNBA finals, where they have a huge chance to win the whole tournament.

by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 2, 2025

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Rich Barron ’27 is entering his third year of college basketball, and during the past two transitional and challenging seasons for the Friars, he has remained loyal to the team and head coach Kim English. With last season being one of the worst seasons the team has faced in recent history, fans are eager to put it in the past, especially with the assistance of several new and exciting faces being added to the team. It is great to see excitement and support for new transfers and incoming freshmen, but it’s important to recognize and appreciate players like Barron who have shown dedication to the program over many seasons in this new dynamic NIL landscape.

Barron joined the Friars for the 2023–24 season. He was one of English’s first recruits, originally committing to play for George Mason University, English’s previous school, before decommitting and following English to Providence. Barron was born on March 5, 2005, and grew up in Chicago, IL, with his parents Richard and Cory and sister Dylan. He played for St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, graduating in 2023. In his senior season, Barron averaged 16.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and three assists per game. He received first-team all-state honors in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association 3A division, as well as first-team in the Chicago Catholic League. The 6’5”, 220-pound forward will be entering his junior year season still boasting the No. 10.

In the 2024–25 season, like the team as a whole, Barron experienced some struggles. Before the season began, he had shoulder surgery for a nagging injury from the previous 2023–24 season. This likely affected his game at the beginning of the season. Throughout the 2024–25 season, Barron also struggled with concussions and a groin injury, leading to rocky and inconsistent play for the sophomore. Although it was generally a disappointing season for Barron, on Feb. 8, he lit up Hinkle Arena with seven three-pointers and 23 points in a heartbreaking one-point loss at Butler. This game proved he still had the potential he had shown during his freshman season.

With all these exciting new players joining the team, it is easy to forget about the improvements returning players will be making. Barron has been grinding during the off-season, and coming into this season healthy, fans will see improvements and performances like his freshman-year potential alluded to. In Barron’s freshman season, he shot three-pointers at 42.9 percent and scored eight or more points on nine different occasions for the Friars, providing an important offensive spark off the bench. Barron was named Big East Freshman of the Week on Jan. 22, 2024, after lighting up DePaul with four three-pointers. In my opinion, his best performance as a Friar came in the 2024 Big East Tournament against Creighton. Taking a bigger role after Bryce Hopkins ’25 injury, he stepped up when needed that season.

The Friars needed to start the second half off strong and keep the momentum, which Barron did, draining back-to-back threes, sparking a scoring run and creating a ton of momentum. Barron also hit an impressive swooping reverse layup against the four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Friars won this game, and Barron was a huge part of the momentum. Last season, plagued by injuries, Barron could not showcase his potential. This year, with a new and improved team around him, a more confident coach, and a refreshed coaching staff, Barron will be able to continue improving and put his talents on display at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. I’m certainly excited to watch guys like third-team All-SEC Jason Edwards ’26G take the court as promising transfers, but I’ll always be most excited to watch loyal Friars like Barron get back on the court, giving it their all for the hope of going dancing in March with a Providence jersey on.