Villanova Film Room: Matthew Hodge’s Positionless Potential

One of the most intriguing newcomers to the 2025-26 Villanova Men’s Basketball team is Matthew Hodge, a player who spent all of last season on the Wildcats’ roster but couldn’t suit up due to an eligibility issue. He’ll have four seasons of eligibility remaining.

A 6-foot-8, 220 pound forward, he’s the son of Odell Hodge, a 17 year pro who spent time playing in both the NBA and overseas.

A fluid athlete for a player of his height, Hodge’s ability to get vertical — whether rearing up for a swatting block or throwing down a dunk — leaps off the page. He’s a hard worker, as evidenced by his defensive commitment. Hodge stays moving and maintains a low, wide defensive stance, sliding well and keeping his arms out, using his length in order to close off passing lanes or keep ball-handlers away from the net.

While listed at power forward in high school, Hodge displayed the willingness and ability to guard a variety of positions when St. Rose played man-to-man defense, having the lateral speed to track guards as they tried to come free off the screen as well as the physicality to lurk in the paint, using his length to swat down shots with furious intent.

Shadowing a Division I guard will provide another layer of difficulty, obviously, but the versatility that he showed in high school also bodes well for his ability to guard the unicorn forwards — think Villanova star Eric Dixon — one might find in college.

Offensive Contributions

Hodge possesses strong handles for a player of his size, able to drive into the paint and finish with authority (his highlights show plenty of authoritative slam dunks) or fight through contact for a layup. He isn’t afraid to shoot threes, doing so to mixed results: shooting upside exists, but he’ll need to keep working at it in order to really stand out.

Of course, with a year in the lab after the NCAA declared him academically ineligible owing to a transcript issue — Hodge spent the first two years of his high school career in Belgium, and some of the credits he earned didn’t transfer smoothly to St. Rose — the next time we see Hodge on the court will be more than 18 months after his last in-game appearance: he could’ve improved his shooting dramatically in that time.

All in all, Hodge probably could’ve earned significant playing time at Villanova last season. With another year of maturity to aid him  — he’ll turn 21 close to the start of next season — Wildcats fans should look forward to his long-anticipated debut. Hodge is one of just three players (out of nine) with eligibility remaining who elected to return to Villanova instead of transferring: here’s next season’s full roster.