Villanova Transfers Boosting Wildcats’ National Reputation

Villanova Men’s Basketball filled two starting spots for the 2026-27 season on Monday, April 13, bringing in transfers Kwame Evans Jr. and Devin Royal, rising seniors who started at Oregon and Ohio State, respectively, this past year. Both ranked among the top 100 in their recruiting class and have all-conference upside… and as a result, the Wildcats surged up CBS college basketball insider Jon Rothstein’s most recent power rankings.

When the offseason first began, Rothstein listed the Wildcats at No. 43: now they’re all the way up to No. 22. With eight spots still open on their roster, Villanova has an excellent choice of entering next season with a spot in the AP Poll if the voters agree with Rothstein’s assessment: they haven’t appeared in the top 25 since December 2023. Rothstein lists the Wildcats’ projected starting lineup as guards Malachi Palmer and Tyler Perkins alongside Royal, Evans and Matt Hodge at forward.

Finding the Right Fit

That’s an assessment of their best five players rather than their actual fit, however, as Villanova still needs a starting point guard at minimum… and likely a starting center if they want to go from a participant in the Big Dance to a legitimate contender.

Recent additions mean the Wildcats have a logjam at both small forward and shooting guard: Hodge, Perkins, Evans, Palmer and incoming recruit Adam Oumiddoch all fit best at the wing. Chris Jeffrey, additionally, played point guard in high school but probably shouldn’t try to run a college offense at this point in his career.

Finding players that augment their current roster construction will help Villanova enter next season as a major threat in the Big East. Camden native and former Arkansas starting point guard D.J. Wagner will visit the Main Line later this week, giving head coach Kevin Willard and his staff another chance to flesh out their roster with an experienced power conference starter, one who held a top five ranking as a recruit.