Men’s Hockey Returns

by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 9, 2025

Sports

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.

The Rise of Women’s Rugby

by Pippa Jones ‘28 on October 2, 2025

Sports

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.

Kim English: One of the Best Recruiters in the Country?

by Connor Whalen ‘28 on October 2, 2025

Sports

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.

Who Will Win the WNBA Championship?

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

Sports

Providence College Investigates: WNBA

Lynx

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

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.

Athlete of the Week: Rich Barron

by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 2, 2025

Sports

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.

Who Will Win the WNBA Championship?

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

Sports

Providence College Investigates: WNBA

Lynx: Dorothée Durivage

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’ 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: Emilia Farrell

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.

The Rise of Women’s Rugby

by Pippa Jones ‘28 on October 2, 2025

Sports

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.

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.

Kim English: One of the Best Recruiters in the Country?

by Connor Whalen ‘28 on October 2, 2025

Sports

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 5-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 also the fact that they 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.

Golf is Back

by Sarah Wolff ’28 on October 2, 2025

Sports

The 2025–26 season will mark a revival in Providence College athletics as they have officially reinstated the men’s golf program as an NCAA Division I varsity sport. The Friars had a golf team from 1960–2002 until the sport was dropped, along with other men’s programs, due to Title IX compliance. In revamping the men’s program, Providence is simultaneously creating a women’s varsity golf team. The revived men’s team is operating on a non-scholarship basis, and it is a way to strengthen the school’s overall competitiveness in the Big East and the expansion of all kinds of student athletes. The head coach of the new program is Lou Parente, who was officially named in October of 2024. Parente’s roster could be seen as relatively young or new to this level of competitiveness; however, that can be very promising. He has time to bring up his roster and build on it. The incoming class, announced in July 2025, includes three freshmen, three juniors, and two graduate students. The first graduate student is Logan Jaeger ’25, ’26G, who graduated from PC last year and was on the club golf team. In April 2024, he became a co-individual champion of the National Collegiate Club Golf Association, and in December 2024, he was a part of the team that won the National Collegiate Club Golf Invitational Championship. Jaeger will bring lots of experience and guidance to his team. The second graduate student is Kevin Legnard ’25, ’26G, who was also a part of the team that won the NCCGA Invitational, as well as the president of the Providence club golf team. The freshmen to look out for are Will Spring ’29, Callan Fahey ’29, and Liam O’Grady ’29. Finally, the juniors on the team, Joe Halferty ’27, Evan Buddenhagen ’27, and Campbell Skelly ’27, do bring prior competitive experience that should help the Friars stand out.

Although this is the first time in over 20 years that the program has been active, Providence has wasted no time getting some fall tournaments under its belt. Their first tournament was the Sacred Heart Fall Classic, where they placed No. 8 out of 13 teams. Then, just two weeks later, the Friars had already made great strides as they placed No. 6 out of 15 teams at the Ryan T. Lee Memorial Collegiate Tournament. Up next for them includes the UConn Invitational (Sept. 28–30) in Hampden, MA, the Bash in the Boro (Oct. 13–14) in Statesboro, GA, and the Crusader Invitational (Oct. 20–21) at Worcester Country Club. Reestablishing a varsity program from the ground up is—in just one word—tough. The team must build its chemistry and cohesion, be able to compete at a consistently high level, and with that, have the confidence to perform under pressure. There is no denying that the program entered with a strong momentum. The club team had huge success, including a national championship in 2024, and as that preceded the varsity switch, there is automatically an established team of culture and competitiveness. After more than two decades of inactivity, the Friars are teeing off once again, and expectations and intrigue for this team have not fallen short.

Get to Know Two Key New Friars: Duncan Powell and Daquan Davis

by Connor Whalen ‘28 on September 25, 2025

Sports

On top of adding dynamic scorers in Jason Edwards ’G26 and Jaylin Sellers ’G26, Kim English further bolstered his squad with the additions of forward Duncan Powell ’26 from Georgia Tech and guard Daquan Davis ’28 from Florida State University. One lacking component of last year’s team was their energy; the team seemed to lose their momentum—their offense often stalling and displaying an apparent lack of intensity on the defensive end. Powell and Davis are two key additions that should help the Friars immensely this year on both ends of the floor, both of whom are giving the Friars that desperately needed intensity.

Powell, also known as “The Shagman” (a nickname given to him for his unusual haircut), is a 6’8” power forward known to use emotion on the court and provides the Friars with a tertiary scoring option behind Edwards and Sellers. Powell’s commitment to North Carolina A&T made him the highest recruit in NCAA history ever to commit to an HBCU before transferring to Sacramento State, where he caught the eyes of Georgia Tech’s head coach and accepted his transfer offer. The Friars desperately needed wing shooters with the losses of Wesley Cardet Jr. ’25, Jabri Abdur Rahim ’G25, and Bensley Joseph ’25—and Powell gives the Friars just that. A catch-and-shoot hazard and corner specialist, Powell is not only a threat from behind the arc, but he also possesses solid post work to round out his offensive game. The addition of Powell gives English more versatility, as Powell has enough size to play as a stretch big man, giving the Friars the option to spread the floor more and play with five players behind the arc. Adding Powell to this year’s team makes the Friars more dangerous offensively and gives the team an energetic, aggressive player on the defensive end.

Davis, another key addition to PC’s squad this year, is a 6’1” point guard. Incorporating Davis adds another playmaker to the Friars’ rotation, posting 2.5 assists and showcasing his passing ability in his freshman year at FSU. He also proved to be a great on-ball defender, always a threat to pick an opponent’s pocket and play with an unmatched level of energy. On the offensive side of the ball, Davis’ explosiveness makes him a threat to beat defenders to the rim, and his unselfishness allows him to pick out open shooters and locate big men for a lob. His downfall last year was his shooting, only converting 27.9 percent of his threes and struggling on mid-range attempts. I strongly believe Davis can turn this around; he posted an impressive 82.6 percent free-throw percentage, indicating a solid shooting stroke, and shot 46 percent from behind the arc in high school at Overtime Elite. As a freshman, essentially thrown right into Florida State’s starting point guard role in a competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, low shooting figures and some initial all-around struggle should not come as a surprise. Davis has plenty of time to develop—and he will—with three years of eligibility remaining, potentially providing the Friars with a long-term backcourt solution.

Davis and Powell are two further reasons for Friar fans to be amped about the upcoming season, as they render the Friars an even hungrier, more fiery squad. Last year’s team felt like it had too many pure shooters and not enough pure athletes—Cardet and Abdur-Rahim being prime examples—especially proving costly on the defensive end. At the bare minimum, this year’s team will play a far more exciting brand of basketball. Should this team reach its full potential, the Friars could pose a genuine threat to the Big East.