The Providence Crier

Devin Vanterpool is a 6-4 guard who really broke on the scene this past year in his sophomore season at Florida Atlantic.

Vanterpool in his freshman season at FAU didn’t get a ton of time, as is expected for most freshman. He only averaged 8 minutes per game and 2 points per contest. This past season he took on a larger role and seized the opportunity. He started in all 24 games he was available to play, leading the Owls in scoring at 15.8 PPG. He would end up winning AAC Most Improved award this past season.

We break down his game below in more detail and how he’d fit with the Friars.

Providence is looking to replenish the frontcourt after the graduation of Cole Hargrove, departure of Oswin Erhunmwunse to Creighton, and presumed transfer of Peteris Pinnis. Hodgson is likely going to have to nab 3 frontcourt bodies to fill out the 4/5 position on the roster, and word has come that there is a Zoom meeting being set up with SFA frontcourt player Jerald Colonel early this week.

The Providence Crier will detail his game below and how he’d fit into the plans for the 2026-2027 Friars.

We’ve been speculating about when we’d see a few USF guys that played under Coach Hodgson follow him north to Providence. We have our first domino to fall, as freshman 6’1 point guard Gavin Hightower is transferring to Providence College.

We detail the commitment below and highlight all facets of his game.

The Shark is looking to land a 5 man to anchor his frontcourt, and Sherrell has made the short list on players Hodgson is pursuing for the 2026-2027 Friars. Sherrell played his first two seasons for Hodgson’s mentor in Nate Oats. The 6’10, 250lb big only played 9 minutes/game his freshman year, but exploded onto the scene as a sophomore.

We break down his game below.

The Friars had a great Thursday when they landed arguably the best on ball defender in the portal in Miles Byrd from San Diego State, but The Shark wasn’t quite done. Bryan Hodgson tweeted out another shark gif at 8:34 in the evening, and the speculation was off to the races. Lucky for Friar fans they didn’t have to wait long as 27 minutes later it was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello that Hodgson and staff landed a commitment from Dink Pate in a stunner of all stunners.

The 6’7/6’8 big body shooting guard/wing from Texas is a Friar. We recap the commitment below.

The Hodgson era is off to a stellar start, with San Diego State grad transfer wing Miles Byrd committing to join Providence for his fifth and final year of college basketball. Bird chose the Friars over the likes of Kentucky, Baylor, Texas and Louisville. Hodgson has the reputation of being a Shark on the recruiting trail, and landing Byrd over the likes of the above schools only back that up reputation.

We break down the commitment and fit with Providence below.

The junior to be from South Florida has entered into the transfer portal. After two successful seasons as the starting lead guard for the Bulls, Brown is testing the open market to gauge his market value. Presumably, Providence is on the short list of schools to consider, as Brown stuck around when Hodgson was hired and had a successful season under him. In his sole year under Hodgson, he started all 34 games, averaging 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.

CJ Brown was a highly touted recruit for USF. 247 had him as a 4 star, #11 point guard in the class, and 114 overall in his class. The Peach State native chose the Bulls over offers from in-state Georgia, Georgia Tech, and SEC member Mississippi State.

We recap his career to date, detail his playstyle, and what he’d bring to the Friar program.

With the departure of Kim English, who recruited Mela to Providence, there was some concern that the “hometown kid” from Natick may look elsewhere with uncertainty around Bryan Hodgson and how he’d fit in his system. Those concerns have been assuaged, as Mela has decided to return to Providence for his junior year.

With the departure of Kim English and hiring of South Florida head coach Bryan Hodgson, Providence is expected to be heavily involved in the transfer portal. At The Providence Crier, we’re going to tackle more detailed articles on portal candidates who are seriously considering a transfer to Providence.

Even if Kim English were retained, Providence would have had to retool the roster in the portal as Sellers, Edwards, Powell, Hargrove, and Floyd Jr. are all out of eligibility. There was always going to be a wholesale roster change via the portal this offseason, as that is the unfortunate nature of modern college basketball.

Wes Enis has entered the transfer portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag which means he has likely already made his decision on his next college choice. While nothing is a certainty, I’ve been following college basketball long enough to make an educated guess that Enis is probably following Hodgson from South Florida to Providence.

We break down Enis, his game, and fit with Providence below.

It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks for both Providence College athletic director Steve Napolillo and Bryan Hodgson. On Tuesday afternoon in front of a full crowd at Alumni Hall Steve introduced Coach Hodgson as the 17th head coach in program history. Bryan, his wife Jordan, and son Jett entered Alumni Hall and received a loud ovation.

As much as the discussion is around the portal and who Coach Hodgson will be targeting to bring to Providence via South Florida or the open portal market, the discussion should equally be around who will Coach Hodgson be looking to retain from last year’s Providence team.

Coach Hodgson spoke last night on the Kevin McNamara show about there being a few guys on the PC roster who could be potential fits into his system.

We can all confidently say that the failures of last year’s team was not due to a team that lacked talent. There was an abundance of raw talent that just didn’t seem to click under Coach Kim English and his system. Thus, Coach Hodgson will be analyzing this past year’s roster and seeing who would be a good fit for him in his system as well as help plug any holes as he evaluates the roster for the 2026-2027 season.

We’ll evaluate each player on the Friar roster who has eligibility remaining and dissect how they may fit within the Hodgson roster construction.