Big East Roundup: Providence Trying to Prove Last Year a Fluke

This is one in a series of stories covering roster changes around the Big East heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season.

The Providence Friars lost a good chunk of their starting lineup from last season upon the graduation of players like Bensley Joseph (who led the team in points, assists and steals) and Jayden Pierre. 

In another blow, forward Bryce Hopkins, who averaged over 15 points per game in each of the last three seasons but struggled to stay healthy, transferred to St. John’s for his final season of college basketball. Injuries meant that Friars head coach Kim English managed to trot out a series of different starting lineups last season, so Providence did retain some experience.

6-foot-4 junior guard Corey Floyd Jr. put up 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season, starting 25 contests, and 6-foot-10 forward Oswin Erhunmwense led the team in rebounds (5.6) and blocks (1.6) per game despite an average of 20 minutes per night. 

Forwards like junior Rich Barron (6-foot-5) and sophomore Ryan Mela (6-foot-6) also rotated into the starting lineup and could see a larger share of playing time during the 2025-26 season. Guard Nilavan Daniels played sparingly during his true freshman season and rounds out the returning class.

Flood of Four-Stars

Providence brought in five transfers in order to replace talent lost, including a quartet of four-stars. Graduate guard Jason Edwards scored 17 points per game in the SEC last season with Vanderbilt, making him an immediate plug-and-play option.

 6-foot-4 guard Jaylin Sellers missed most of last season to a back injury after putting up 15.9 points per game with UCF during the 2023-24 season, and rising sophomore Daquan Davis made 20 starts for Florida State during his first season in college, averaging 8.8 points per game. 

Duncan Powell, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 12.2 points per game at Georgia Tech last season despite coming off the bench, while Norristown native and three-star transfer Cole Hargrove, also 6-foot-8, put up close to a double-double with 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at Drexel last season. Graduate student Jack Williams, a 6-foot-4 point guard and former student manager at UCLA, rounds out the transfer class.

The Friars also brought in a four member freshman class that included overseas prospects Stafan Vaaks, a 6-foot-7 guard from Estonia, and Peteris Pinnis, a seven foot tall forward from neighboring Latvia. 

Closer to home, Providence picked up four-star wing Jaylen Harrell, a 6-foot-5 prospect who dominated to the tune of 22.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game during his senior season, and fellow four-star Jamier Jones, the No. 44 player in his class per ESPN, who put up 20.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season.

The Friars brought in a good deal of talent after a disappointing 12-20 finish in English’s second season… one that came on the heels of a six year contract extension. Now it’s time for him to show that last year was an aberration.