St. Joseph’s Transfer Recap: Hawks Avoid Mid-Major Madness

With the initial transfer portal period closed as of April 22, St. Joseph’s University Men’s Basketball managed to retain nine of the 14 players on their roster last season, a rare feat for a mid-major program in the free-wheeling era of the transfer portal.

The Hawks lost Shawn Simmons II and Xzayvier Brown to the transfer portal; Rasheer Fleming Jr. will enter the NBA Draft, while Erik Reynolds II and Justice Ajogbor are both out of eligibility.

Brown, a rising junior who attended Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High School, led St. Joseph’s in scoring during the 2024-25 season, averaging 17.6 points and 4.3 assists per game; next season, he’ll suit up for Oklahoma. Simmons has yet to choose a new school, while Fleming is projected to land somewhere in the final ten picks of the first round.

The Hawks already have five of those spots filled, but as they carried just 14 players on their roster last season, they still have space to add at least one more player.

Who’s In

Incoming transfers include Jaiden Glover, who won a Big East Championship with St. John’s last season, Marquette’s Al Amadou and La Salle’s Deuce Jones. Glover, a rising sophomore, worked his way in for an average of 6.4 minutes a night in 22 games, putting up 2.2 points in his true freshman season. A 6-foot-6 guard and former four-star recruit, Glover could turn into a major coup for the Hawks.

Amadou, a redshirt sophomore, didn’t play a game for the Golden Eagles last season — taking time to develop rather than because of an injury — after appearing in 14 contests during the 2023-24 campaign. Another Philadelphia native, Amadou stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 210 pounds. Jones, meanwhile, led the Explorers in assists (2.8) and steals (1.6) during his freshman season, finishing second on the team with 12.5 points per game, another solid scoring option for the Hawks with plenty of time to improve.

Rounding out St. Joseph’s acquisitions so far are incoming freshman Owen Verna and Austin Williford. Verna, a 6-foot-3 combo guard out of Southern California’s prestigious Mater Dei High School, ranks as a three-star recruit. Williford, a 6-foot-5 wing, played alongside former Villanova target Chance Mallory at St Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville, Va.

Other returning Hawks and their remaining eligibility include guards Derek Simpson (senior), Khaafiq Myers (redshirt freshman), DaSear Haskins (redshirt sophomore), Billy Rayer (sophomore), Mekai Johnson (sophomore) and Will Lange (junior); forwards Kevin Kearney (redshirt freshman) and Anthony Finkley (junior), as well as sophomore center Steven Solano.