*Note to Reader: Version 8.0 has been updated as of 10/27/2025. Recruits mentioned and positions of need are subject to change*
The 2025-2026 season is upon us, and we’ve had some positive momentum of recent with the commitment of Aiden Derkack, a Top 100 wing out of New Jersey playing for SPIRE Academy. That is the first domino to fall, and we’ll be sure to see some movement during the season as high school recruits descend upon Friartown for official and unofficial visits.
To summarize where things stand, we can objectively say the 2025 summer, in short, was cruel to Providence recruiting before the Derkack commitment. Many of their top 2026 targets committed elsewhere through reclassification. Sebastian Wilkins was always somewhat of a pipe dream, but he reclassed to 2025 and signed with Duke, where he will probably be stuck behind a bevy of blue chip talents. Collins from Newman School was one of my Top 2-3 favorite bigs for Providence in the 2026 class, and he reclassed into 2025 to play for Alabama. Again, I love the fit for Collins long term, but I don’t know how much time he’ll get reclassing early into a Top 15 program. Marcis Ponder committed to Florida State, and that one was a shot to the heart for The Providence Crier faithful. The one that stung the most, however, was The Wolf of Worcester reclassing into 2025 for West Virginia. That decision made little to no sense to me, as it’s not as if West Virginia is a feeder into New England hoops, and I’m still scratching my head about that decision after Providence poured a lot of time and energy into that recruitment. On top of that, Ryan Moesch and Quinn Costello committed to Siena and Michigan, respectively.
This summarization is to point out the number of targets Providence is in on in the 2026 class is small in quantity at this juncture. Providence may look to the 2027 class for reclassification options, but I do think the target pool for the 2026 class will expand as these high school prospects enter into their senior year and have a chance to showcase their game.
As a refresher, the 2025 class has star power with Jamier Jones signed. Even with the additions of Duncan Powell, who I believe will be the starting 4, Cole Hargrove, the swiss army knife in the frontcourt, and Peteris Pinnis, the mystery international frontcourt player, I personally believe Jones will carve out 15-20 minutes of playing time a game due to his elite athleticism. He’ll be the ultimate successor to the 4 spot after Powell and Hargrove are out of eligibility, in my opinion, and I fully expect him to start as a sophomore. Jamier is currently 43 overall on 247 and 40 on the 247 Composite. While I think Jamier Jones is athletic and big enough to start Day 1 for Providence, I’m happy that English found a veteran body in Duncan Powell to ease Jamier Jones into the rotation. If Jones does emerge and play significant minutes, it’ll be not because of an emergency need, but because he has earned minutes over guys with much more experience. This is astute roster building by English, and I cannot explain enough just how massive of a recruiting win this was by Kim. A private Catholic school in the smallest state in the United States went into SEC country and landed a Top 50 talent.
Jaylen Harrell, even though his recruiting rankings have inexplicably dipped on some sites, is in my opinion a tailor made fit for what Kim English ideally wants in his two guard position. He is 78 overall on 247, 105 on the 247 Composite, and the number one player in the state of Massachusetts. Because English has landed borderline 5 star talents in Oswin and Jamier, Jaylen Harrell may get somewhat overlooked. Don’t make that mistake. He’s the 2 guard that English has been hunting for in the portal and in recruiting. Think about if AJ Reeves played under English. Oh, the possibilities. I think Jaylen Harrell will earn spot playing time if he shows he can knock down the deep ball with consistency at the college level. He is behind Floyd Jr., Sellers, and Mela in the pecking order, but English will have to play him if he’s knocking down 3’s at a 40% clip.
Stefan Vaaks, while not a domestic high school recruit, is technically a 2025 enrollee who appears to be a major hit in this class based off exhibition performances and what we’ve heard in practice. Vaaks will likely be playing 15 minutes, give or take, and will be a key cog in the Friar plans for the foreseeable future at the 1 or 2 spot.
If they can land a few 4 star recruits in the 2026 class, English will have three recruiting classes in a row that have both depth and legitimate star power. Stacking elite high school recruiting classes is what gets you into the upper echelon of college basketball. UConn’s last championship teams were built off the backs of elite high school talents like Donovan Clingan, Alex Karaban, Adama Sanogo, Andre Jackson, etc. High school recruiting is as important as ever despite what the Portal Apologists tell you. The optimal route is blending high school recruiting with portal acquisitions.
We break down below the 2026 recruits of interest, their rankings, and provide a prediction on who PC will end up with in the 2026 class.
Roster as of 2026 Season
Theme – If anybody follows me closely, they know I’m a huge proponent of building the majority of the roster through high school recruiting and then augmenting it with 2-3 transfers a year through the transfer portal. Retaining talent is more important than ever when seemingly every player is on a one year contract, and English has done a great job of that in his short time at PC. English said as much during the Big East media day when he stated that he retained everybody from last year that he wanted to keep. Him being able to do that is a testament to the state of NIL at Providence College.
Building and sustaining a culture is tough as is. Trying to do that when you add 4+ new players a year like they did in 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 offseasons becomes an almost impossible task, and English subtly mentioned this in his interview with Providence Athletic Director Steve Napolillo when speaking to the shortcomings of the 2024-2025 season. I wasn’t in the locker room, but there was clearly a rift between the transfers and incumbents. Lessons learned.
I’m hopeful that after this upcoming season, the number of portal adds shrinks to 3 or less each year. Adding 5 or so transfers a year is just not a long term sustainable way to build a program or find consistent success, in my humble opinion.
Roster Composition Moving Forward
If you look at the roster for 2026 as of this writing, PC has an extremely strong nucleus with 8 scholarship players returning (with 4 of those 8 presumed returnees already having starting experience in Barron, Mela, Oswin, and Davis). I counted Daniels as a scholarship player, for what it is worth, because that is what we’ve been hearing about the heady sophomore to be. If Providence retains most of these players and adds 3 or so 2026 high school recruits in the 2026 class, it fits into the blueprint of what I’m looking for when I say to “minor in the portal, not major in it”. Adding 2 or 3 transfers a year to fill any remaining gaps on the roster and put your roster over the top is smart business, in my opinion, to building a consistent winner that maintains the coach’s culture. You shouldn’t have to do a complete roster overhaul every year, especially as you get your footing as a head coach at your current school. Turning over your roster year over year is a negative reflection on your ability to develop and identify talent, but I digress.
Rich Barron – Senior Big
Ryan Mela – Junior Wing
Oswin Erhunmwunse – Junior Big
Daquan Davis – Junior Point Guard
Nilavan Daniels – Junior Guard
Jamier Jones – Sophomore Wing
Jaylen Harrell – Sophomore Wing
Stefan Vaaks – Sophomore Wing
Peteris Pinnis – Sophomore Big
Areas of Need (in order of highest priority to lowest)
- Big Men– This became the most pressing need once Essandoko, DeLaurier, and Bonke flamed out and transferred. As of this writing, the only proven big on the roster is Oswin. Pinnis is a wildcard in the same way that Bonke was. We’re hopeful that Pinnis can be a suitable big in the Big East, but high major basketball is really difficult. We need to see if Pinnis is up to the task of playing at the Big East level. The lack of bodies in the frontcourt is concerning, to say the least. Even with Pinnis and Oswin both having multiple years of eligibility, I think English should bring on 2 frontcourt pieces in the 2026 class with one being a stretch 4 and another being a true 5. PG and frontcourt help are a massive need for this class.
- Point Guard – Besides Davis, there is not a pure point on the roster. Vaaks has been labeled as a ball handler, but I need to see him do it in high level college basketball situations before being comfortable with just him and Davis in 2026. As of a few months ago, I had point guard as the #1 priority for the 2026 class, but the early performances of Vaaks make me think another lead guard isn’t as much of a priority for English and staff as it had been before Vaaks showed up on campus. That’s why I bumped this down to #2 need. With that caveat, I’d like to see English add at a minimum 1 point guard, but I wouldn’t be opposed to adding 2 ball handlers that can run the show. English should stack the cupboard with a high school PG in the 2026 class who can learn under Daquan for two years. I’d look at this as a priority after striking out on a PG in the 2024 and 2025 class and losing both Pierre and Joseph after this past season with Floyd Jr. departing after this season.
- Wing/Combo Guard – I had this as a luxury add, and English acted upon that with the addition of Derkack. If they are to add anybody else that fits this mold, it’d have to be for an elite talent that would absolutely play Day 1, like a Caleb Holt. That’d be massive.
Lead Guard
Caleb Holt – 5 Star, Top 5 Guard from Florida – https://247sports.com/Player/Caleb-Holt-46132621/
If Holt becomes a Friar, I don’t care what else happens with this class. He’s a one and done NBA Lottery talent. We wrote about him below. He already took an official visit, and Kim English has visited him at Prolific Prep a handful of times already. Providence is in this one until the end.
Jalen Grant – Unranked PG from New Jersey – https://247sports.com/player/jalen-grant-46143045/
BOC Commentary: Don’t let the lack of a national ranking fool you. It is still early and he fields offers from PC, Auburn, and KState. He plays at Roselle Catholic, where Corey Floyd Jr. came from. They routinely are a Top 25 nationally ranked squad. We’ll see if the Floyd clan can give us an assist here in this recruitment.
Wing
Aiden Derkack – 4 Star Top 75 Player from New Jersey – COMMITTED https://247sports.com/Player/Aiden-Derkack-46136996/
Huge land for the Friars!
Chidi Nwigwe – 4 Star Top 30 Shooting Guard from New Jersey – https://247sports.com/player/chidi-nwigwe-46135746/
BOC Commentary: I would have said this was a pipe dream a year ago given his ranking, but English and staff have proven me a doubter. This recruit will have every single school after him.
Qayden Samuels – 5 Star Top 20 Guard from Maryland – https://247sports.com/player/qayden-samuels-46142936/
BOC Commentary: English dipping into the DMV well with this offer. Samuels is getting recruited by every blue blood in the nation. I haven’t heard much here, so I would just keep this as a passive name to monitor if we’re being honest.
Adam Oumiddoch – Overtime Elite 4 Star Top 50 Wing – https://247sports.com/player/adam-oumiddoch-46137479/
This was an offer made for the Overtime Elite talent, but I’m not sure how much traction PC has made. I haven’t heard the two connected as much.
Bigs
Daniel Marcellinus – Unranked 6’10 Center from Roselle Catholic, NJ – https://247sports.com/player/daniel-marcellinus-46143157/
BOC Commentary: The Roselle Catholic product visited in the preseason. Corey Floyd Jr. may be able to provide an assist here. This guy is what every big man physically wants to look like. I’m surprised by his lack of ranking and offers, as College of Charleston is his only offer.
Way Too Early Prediction
Current: With Derkack on the board, I’ll say we nab 2 more players: a lead guard/combo guard to pair alongside Derkack on the perimeter and one frontcourt player. This leaves us with the need to land 2 or more portal players. I’ll also make a prediction a 2027 player commits and reclasses into the 2026 class.
Providence Recruiting Articles
Aiden Derkack Commits to Providence – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/15/four-star-g-f-aiden-derkack-picks-friars/
Introducing 2026 G/F Aiden Derkack – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/08/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-shooting-guard-aiden-derkack/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Caleb Holt:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/09/16/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-5-star-2026-shooting-guard-caleb-holt/
2027 High School Recruiting Primer, Version 2 – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/06/17/2027-high-school-recruiting-primer-version-1-0/
Peteris Pinnis Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/05/13/friars-add-latvian-big-pinnis-to-2024-2025/
Duncan Powell Flips to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/21/duncan-powell-flips-commitment-from-georgetown-to-providence/
Jaylin Sellers Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/05/friars-end-historic-day-by-landing-ucf-guard-jaylin-sellers/
Jason Edwards Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/04/friars-land-talented-vanderbilt-guard-jason-edwards/
Stefan Vaaks Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/04/friars-recruiting-overseas-best-kept-international-secret-stefan-vaaks-joins-the-friars-for-2025-season/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Jason Edwards:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/04/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-vanderbilt-guard-jason-edwards/
Daquan Davis Commits to Providence:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/02/second-time-is-the-charm-one-time-friar-commit-daquan-davis-transfers-to-providence/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Cole Hargrove: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/01/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-drexel-forward-cole-hargrove/
Retention Attention: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/22/retention-attention-whos-in-whos-out-in-providence/
What Went Wrong 2024-2025 Season: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/12/what-went-wrong-this-season/
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