Top 100 Four Star G/F Aiden Derkack of New Jersey Picks Friars

The Friars are on the board in the 2026 high school recruiting game, landing a commitment from Colonia, NJ native Aiden Derkack. The 6-6 G/F visited the Friars this past weekend and made it official today by choosing PC over Dayton and USC with several other high major programs involved. He is playing his senior year of high school basketball at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, OH under former Monteverde Academy coach Kevin Boyle. For the Derkack’s it’s a family reunion of sorts as Aiden’s sister Taylor is currently a freshman playing basketball up the road at UMass.

We break down below the importance of the commitment, where he fits within the program, and what is next in the 2026 recruiting class.

Derkack is a 4-star prospect with 247 Sports composite ranking him the 74th best prospect in the class of 2026, while ESPN’s recruiting services are a bit higher on the player putting him as the 45th best prospect in his class. Derkack has good positional size, possess good athleticism and is defined by his competitiveness and high energy on the court. Derkack is pretty advanced in terms of playing off the ball and cutting for easy looks at the basket. He’s a pretty consistent driver and can use his size and strength to finish around the rim.

Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing 2026 Shooting Guard Aiden Derkack

The biggest question mark for Derkack is his jumper, and it’s something he will have to continue to develop in high school and once he arrives at Providence. He has put in work on his shot with NBA and youth basketball trainer Danny Cooper. Considering Derkack’s other skills it’s his jumper that’s probably held him back from being rated even a higher prospect.

When we previewed his visit on a recent episode of the Providence Crier Podcast BOC gave a great comp for Aiden to Friar sophomore Ryan Mela. You can see the similarities on tape but Derkack definitely edges Mela in the athleticism department. The Crier made the comp to Duke’s and Charlotte Hornets lottery pick Kon Knueppel. While Knueppel’s shooting was far better at this stage than Derkack’s, and we don’t expect Derkack to be a one-and-done lottery pick, if you look at some of the things Knueppel was able to do in college playing off ball and cutting the similarities are there as well.

Summary and What’s Next

For Kim English and staff this is yet another win on the recruiting trail and they’re really starting to put a young core together. Between last year’s freshmen Mela and Oswin, this year’s freshmen of Jamier Jones, Jaylen Harrell, and Stefan Vaaks, along with the portal addition of sophomore Daquan Davis, Providence is building a sustainable roster year over year that doesn’t require a hefty overhaul each offseason. Kim English is slowly building towards cherry picking 1-2 portal players to put the roster over the top. This continuity of the roster is great for establishing and maintaining a culture you want your players and team to play with too.

In terms of where PC looks next in the 2026 class, it is tough to say. Expect the Friars staff to still be all in with the pursuit of 5-star Caleb Holt, albeit the competition will be very stiff. PC also has a few other prospects they’re involved with but time will tell if the interest is fading due to Aiden’s commitment.

If I’m Kim English, I’m turning my attention to trying to land an elite big in the 2026 and 2027 class. That part of the roster needs to be replenished after this year with Hargrove out of eligibility, Pinnis an unknown, and Oswin’s pro potential looming in the background. Theo Edema comes to mind for me in the 2027 class, and I know English is swinging for the fences with Darius Wabbington in the 2026 class.

You would also have to wonder if Derkack can lend a hand in trying to attract some of PC’s targets in the 2026 class. Ultimately, we think the staff will still hone in on the guys they really want, and if they miss on them, they won’t lose sleep considering the young talent they currently have along with the bevy of talent consistently available in the transfer portal.

PC had some misses thus far in the recruiting cycle with some players choosing other schools over them but the addition of Derkack is definitely a slam dunk. The notion of PC’s 2026 recruiting class being a disaster can be easily put to bed. It’s another great day in Friartown.

Go Friars.

Providence Crier Recruiting Articles

Introducing 2026 G/F Aiden Derkack – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/08/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-shooting-guard-aiden-derkack/

Toure’s Commitment to Arkansas: My Perspective – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/03/takeaways-from-toures-commitment-to-arkansas-providence-perspective/

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/

Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing 2026 F Alex Egbuonu – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/06/25/crier-recruiting-corner-26-f-alex-egbuonu/

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/