The hunt for top end guard play persists.
Kim English did a fantastic job securing his “guard of the future” by getting Daquan Davis back in the fold this offseason. If you recall, Davis was a one time Friar commit who ended up playing his freshman year at Florida State. Davis transferred to Providence at the end of the 2024-2025 season and has three more years of eligibility.
Recruiting never ends, and it is never too early to think about who will get the baton passed to them from Daquan. Ideally, English can land a guard or two in the 2026 class to succeed Davis as lead guard for the Friars. Jermel Thomas is one name in the 2026 class we’ve heard quite frequently associated with Providence, alongside Amir Jenkins. It would appear those two are the co-leaders for next guard out of the prep ranks for The Friars. We highlight his game and fit below.
It isn’t obvious (to me at least) if it is “first come, first serve” between Amir and Jermel or if Providence would gladly take both in one class. Personally, I’m of the belief you can never have enough ball handlers with plus size at the position (which they both possess), so I’d be an advocate for both of these two donning the black and white and not having to choose between the two.
In the world of transfer portal and NIL, you stack talent and hope you can retain your recruits year over year. If either of them don’t pan out, they can move on elsewhere. It’s a sad reality of college sports these days, but a true reality at that. Adding two increases your likelihood that one “hits” or sticks for multiple years.
Thomas has plus size at the lead guard spot at 6’3. The NYC guard will bring a toughness and grittiness with him that we’ve seen from so many other NYC guards in the Big East.
At this point, I do see Thomas as more of a scoring guard that peppers into his game assists. That is not to say he can’t be a pass first point guard, exemplified by his recent 12 assist game, but more so his strength at this juncture of his career is scoring. He has the size to finish at the rim and through contact and appears able to finish at all 3 levels offensively. He’s a well built guard already and uses that to his advantage.
I see him as a potential “complete guard” because he has a very tight handle. He’s not loose with the rock and seems in total control. Ball pressure shouldn’t be an issue for him, and I could very easily see him running the show for Providence. I don’t have concerns there.
Currently, Thomas is ranked as the 15th best point guard in his class. A 3 star coming in at 155th nationally, he’d be a quality land for Providence coming from playing in the Bronx. I’m always a fan of landing kids from the Northeast because they know what it means to play in the Big East, and it’d be rewarding to steal a kid right from Pitino and Holloway’s backyard.
For perspective, Amir Jenkins is the 11th ranked point guard and 94th overall.
The fit with the Friars is pretty self-explanatory. Providence doesn’t have a successor on the roster to Daquan Davis. After the 2025-2026 season, Davis will be the only lead guard on the roster. That’s concerning.
I’m certain they’ll add somebody via the transfer portal after the 25-26 season to play alongside Davis (or find that extra year for Jason Edwards due to the JuCo ruling with Diego Pavia being the case study), but the appeal to Jenkins and Thomas for playing for Providence is glaringly obvious.
They will, in all likelihood, be given the opportunity to earn time Day 1 and can be a full time starter by the time they are a junior once Davis is out of eligibility. In theory, due to their size, either Thomas or Jenkins could play alongside Davis and form a good tandem. They can be eased in if they need time to develop, but early minutes are absolutely there for the taking.
With no commitments in the 2026 class, it’ll be interesting to see how everything shakes out this summer. PG is absolutely a priority for this 2026 high school class, and I’m hopeful that English and staff put the pressure on Thomas and Jenkins to join the fold and be the face of the 2026 class. Pair one (or both) of them with a bona fide center, and this roster continues to improve itself.
Go Friars!
Providence Crier Recruiting Article
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/
2025 Portal Primer: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/24/the-providence-crier-2025-portal-primer-1-0/
Retention Attention: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/22/retention-attention-whos-in-whos-out-in-providence/
What Went Wrong: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/12/what-went-wrong-this-season/
Amir Jenkins: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/04/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-pg-amir-jenkins/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Abdou Toure: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/03/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-connecticut-wing-abdou-toure/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Marcis Ponder: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/02/26/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-center-marcis-big-show-ponder/
2026 Recruiting Primer:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2024/05/08/the-providence-crier-2026-recruiting-primer-version-1-0/