Villanova Picks Up 7-Foot Tall Transfer Center

Villanova Men’s Basketball received the commitment of transfer center Braden Pierce, formerly of the Maryland Terrapins, on Thursday, April 17. The seven foot tall, 245 pound center decided to follow his former head coach at Maryland, Kevin Willard, to the Main Line.

A former three star recruit out of the prestigious IMG Academy, Pierce announced his commitment via Instagram, saying “Let’s work Nova nation”.

Pierce played just five games under Willard during his redshirt freshman campaign last season, averaging 2.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.4 blocks and 1.8 fouls across 7.2 minutes per contest. He suffered an eye injury in late November that kept him out for the rest of the season, and is thus expected to receive a medical redshirt waiver. With four seasons of eligibility remaining, he has plenty of time to figure out how to take advantage of his size at the Division I level.

Pierce’s arrival leaves the Wildcats with at least six spots to fill on their roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. Even if no other Villanova players transfer, they’ll retain just three athletes who appeared in a game last season, so there could be plenty of room for players like Pierce to carve out a niche for themselves.

Other Wildcats’ transfer targets include Maryland’s Rodney Rice and Tafara Gapare, Grand Canyon forward Duke Brennan, Washington State transfer Nate Calmese and Middle Tennessee State product Jlynn Counter.