The hunt for the next lead guard for Providence is on, with Hodgson and Staff offering a plethora of lead guards in the 2027 and 2028 class. One lead guard, Canadian Javion Tyndale, has set up a visit to Providence in late August to see the campus.
We profile his game, skillset, and recruitment below.
Continue reading “Crier Recruiting Corner: Introducing 2027 Point Guard Javion Tyndale”Coach Bryan Hodgson has seemingly put the finishing touches on his Providence roster for 2026-2027, and he is aiming to begin building out his 2027 high school recruiting class. Gabe Nesmith, a five star wing playing for Overtime Elite, is taking a visit to Friartown today. The 18th overall player in his class, Nesmith was teammates with current Friar Clyde Walters at OTE.
Nesmith is being courted by a slew of schools geographically located in the southeast. Nesmith has taken visits to Vanderbilt, Kansas, and Louisville already and already holds offers from Auburn and Florida State, amongst others. I mentioned in the 2027 Recruiting Primer (linked below) that we shouldn’t be surprised to see Providence target kids in SEC-country. Hodgson and staff have spent most of their time coaching in the Southeast, so the majority of their relationships should be embedded in that region.
I long complained about Cooley wasting his time in the Carolinas recruiting, as that is clearly ACC territory, but with the emergence of NIL, recruiting and geographic allegiances have become secondary to financial commitments made by schools.
Nesmith is every bit of his measured 6’5 frame. If anything, he appears to play a bit longer and taller than the listed 6’5. He grew up playing point guard, and you can see that with his handle.
Offensively, he can knock down the deep ball and has a smooth mid-range game. His length allows him to finish at and above the rim, and I particularly like that he has a floater in his arsenal when he gets into the paint. He is a true three level scorer.
At the risk of inflating his stock to unfair levels, I do see shades of Dybanasta in his game in that he is a big bodied wing that can manipulate the defense to get to where he wants on the court on offense. He’s methodical in his approach to offense.
Nesmith plays for the prestigious Nightrydas Elite AAU Team. That club has some pretty famous alums: Boozer twins, Caleb Wilson, and Scottie Barnes, to name a few. If you can play for this squad, chances are you are going to be playing high level college basketball. Nesmith is playing alongside a slew of elite recruits on this AAU team. One the Friars should be familiar with is big man Lewis Uvwo, who the Friars have offered.
Having a familiar face in Clyde Walters on the Providence roster will be beneficial in this recruitment, but I get the sense this recruitment has a few more chapters in it. Nesmith has blown up on the AAU scene and in select invite camps, like the NBPA Top 100 camp. Hodgson getting him to visit merely two weeks after an offer is a good start, and a successful season in Providence will bolster the chances for the Friars to score an upset on the recruiting trail by landing Nesmith.
Success this season by Dink Pate, Devin Vanterpool, and Ryan Mela will help Hodgson sell the vision on how he can develop wings at the collegiate level. I do think the scoring guards and wings are the strength of this 2026-2027 roster for Providence, and they will be showcased in a positive light.
Stay tuned in to The Providence Crier for updates on 2027 and 2028 recruiting, as well as all things Providence Friar basketball.
Go Friars!
While Oswin Erhunmwunse is only a sophomore, the hunt for his successor is already on. Theo Edema, a 6’11 big man in the 2027 class, may be the recruit who could potentially fill that role for the Friars. Edema is taking an official visit this upcoming weekend from December 19 – 21st, and Providence will get a feel for where they stand in this recruitment post visit.
Edema is a bona-fide blue chip recruit and would be another feather in the cap of Providence head coach Kim English, who has shown himself to be one of the best recruiters in Providence in quite some time. Edema is considered a consensus Top 50 recruit in the 2027 class. The 247Composite ranking has him 42 overall in the 2027 class, the #6 overall Center, and #1 player in Massachusetts.
If you recall, I was particularly bullish on Providence pushing for Ryan Moesch, a 2026 4 star point guard who ultimately signed with Siena over the Friars, and him being teammates with Edema was a big reason for that. I was thinking the long game here, but regardless, Edema has to see the fit, immediate playing time, and learning under a veteran in Oswin as huge selling points.
There are rumors of potential reclassification with Edema, and I think Providence would absolutely be open to taking Edema in the 2026 or 2027 class. You don’t pass up on talent like Edema, so if he is able to enroll early, you welcome that.
Providence after this year does have depth with Oswin and Peteris Pinnis in the frontcourt, but as we saw this past offseason with the departures of Bonke and Essandoko, a roster can rapidly turn over. I also would like another body at the 5 position, as going into the 2026 season with just Pinnis as your one alternate to Oswin is a potential recipe for disaster. He’s still such an unknown despite showing spurts of quality play in limited minutes this season. It is in the best interest of coaching staffs these days to recruit like there won’t be continuity, and you worry about playing time and rotations after signing these recruits.
Below we breakdown Edema’s game and how he would fit with the Providence Friars.
Providence continues to get elite 2026 talent on campus for visits, and the next in line is Garden State shooting guard Aiden Derkack. Derkack hails from Colonia, NJ, but is playing his senior season for SPIRE Academy under the old St. Patrick (NJ) and Monteverde Academy head coach Kevin Boyle. Wherever Boyle goes, he attracts top end talent and consistently has Top 5 nationally ranked prep programs. Thus, Derkack going to SPIRE should alone speak volumes of his skill level.
Derkack is Colonia’s all time leading scorer despite only playing there three years and is looking to fast track his development before college by playing upper echelon teams his senior year. While I’m sure the decision wasn’t an easy one, I applaud the decision for his long term basketball future.
We break down his game, recruitment, and fit with the Friars below.
Providence had a litany of news drop all in one day this past Wednesday: the Maui Invitational formally announced, the Big East schedule getting prematurely leaked, and then Caleb Holt announcing he is officially visiting on September 19th. That was the proverbial cherry on top.
Holt is a legitimate 5 star, one and done candidate. He may be considered the best shooting guard in his class. Providence getting him to visit shouldn’t be diminished. PC isn’t a blue blood that gets these type of kids on campus often. He is a program changing recruit and has an extremely legitimate case to be the #1 draft pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
We break down his recruitment, his game, and what the impact of a commitment would be to the team, program, and school.
The pursuit for a 2026 high school point guard to succeed Daquan Davis marches on. Providence was in hot pursuit of Amir Jenkins before Jenkins reclassified to the 2025 class and committed to West Virginia. There was legitimate interest in New York guard Jermel Thomas initially, but Thomas ended up landing with St. Louis. I got the sense of recent (and this is strictly my opinion) that the interest in Thomas subsided due to the emergence of another 2026 guard that Providence began to hone in on as “their guy”.
That guy is Ryan Moesch.
The crafty 6 foot point guard from New York, who plays for Cushing Academy and Middlesex Magic, burst onto the scene this summer with eye opening performances and statistics. While his AAU performances have made him more of a national recruit, he has been a scoring dynamo his entire high school career.
Moesch is planning on visiting Providence on August 30th, and most Friar fans are hoping Moesch becomes the first 2026 high school commitment. For those who don’t know Moesch’s game, this article will serve as a means to become familiar with his game and what he’d bring to the Friar program.
Kim English and staff continue to tap into the New England pipeline on the recruiting trail, particularly in the 2026 recruiting class. We’ve already seen them host a few New England guys like Ryan Moesch and Abdou Toure on official visits, and Alex Egbuonu is the next on the list.
Alex Egbuonu is a 6-6 forward from Nashua, New Hampshire by way of Nigeria and currently plays for Lawrence Academy in Lawrence, MA. Egbuonu plays AAU for BABC and has seen his stock skyrocket over the Summer of 2026. Egbuonu is ranked as the 74th overall prospect in the 2026 class according to the 247 Composite, but I’d expect that ranking to (potentially dramatically) improve after a stellar AAU showcase at the Adidas All American Camp where he was named Offensive MVP. He is a relatively new name in the 2026 class for PC fans to know, which is surprising given his proximity to Providence, but I’d expect the interest in Egbuonu to ramp up as his official visit to Friartown approaches at month’s end.
Egbuonu unofficially visited June 26th and has his official visit on September 26th. There are a bevy of schools pursuing him, notably Auburn and Marquette.
We detail his game and recruitment below.
Continue reading “Crier Recruiting Corner- 26′ F Alex Egbuonu”A meteoric rise. That’s how you can describe Costello’s recruitment over the past few weeks after a stellar few showings at high level AAU camps like the Pangos All American Camp and NBAPA Top 100 Camp. After showing his versatility, schools have come knocking on his door to land the athletic stretch 4 out of Massachusetts.
Providence was one of those schools to recently offer and jump into the fray of his recruitment. Costello is being courted by top schools throughout the country, but Providence is hoping being the “local school” coupled with having a former teammate on the roster in Ryan Mela will seal the deal.
We break down his game, recruitment, and what he’d bring to the program.
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.
The Friars are reshaping their roster in a significant way. Since April, the Friars have brought in Jason Edwards, Jaylin Sellers, DaQuan Davis, Cole Hargrove and Stefan Vaaks, but they aren’t done yet. They are looking at a slew of players in the portal to come in and be their starting 4-man. One of those players is a 6-9 sophomore from Robert Morris Alvaro Folgueiras.
We detail his game and how he’d be the fit as the starting four man for the Providence Friars.
Providence had a tall task facing it at the start of the offseason. PC had a multitude of players enter the portal (Pierre, Fernandez, Essandoko, DeLaurier, Bonke…and Hopkins), as well as a handful lose their eligiblity (Cardet, Joseph, Abdur Rahim). At one point in the offseason, Providence only had three scholarship players on the roster in Oswin Erhunmwunse, Ryan Mela, and Corey Floyd Jr.
Fast forward a few days, and the composition of the Providence roster looks quite different. PC needed to replenish and reload its entire roster, to be frank. Oswin, Mela, and Corey are quite a trio to serve as the foundation for the 2025-2026 Friars, but help was needed to get them in a position to compete for an NCAA tournament. Kim English took note and acted accordingly. They’ve added four supreme talents to the backcourt and wing in Jason Edwards, Jaylin Sellers, Stefan Vaaks, and Daquan Davis. They have also added a rugged, high energy frontcourt player in Cole Hargrove.
What’s next? A high level starting four man. Providence is hunting for a player that is presumably the final piece to its roster rebuild, and they have narrowed in on a few candidates that will likely be the starting four man for the Providence Friars. Providence has a lot to offer for this final spot: the chance to be in a starting line-up that should compete for the top position in the Big East and guaranteed minutes whether in the starting line-up or first big off the bench.
The Providence Crier will highlight a few four men the Friars are interested in. For this article, I’m focusing on one of my favorite candidates for the starting four spot. He may not have the flashiest of numbers when box-score watching, but I personally think he would be the best “fit” to round out the roster and its remaining needs.
Mouhamed Dioubate is a 6’7 forward entering his junior year of college. The New York native, who played at Putnam Science, has played his first two years of college ball for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide of Alabama. While never a focal point for the Tide during his two years (part of the reason for the transfer), he was absolutely a key rotational piece for a program that is considered a Top 10 program nationally. The Top 100 recruit had plenty of suitors coming out of high school and is looking to find a home for the next two years of college.
I’ll detail below his college production to date and why I think he’s such a great fit for the Friars, even over some other candidates that may have more eye-popping stats at the collegiate level.
Providence needs some more offensive firepower across the board after an abysmal 2024-2025. Kim English and staff are apparently going big game hunting this portal offseason with a healthy NIL figure and are targeting Vanderbilt transfer guard Jason Edwards.
Edwards was the tip of the spear for the Commodores, the leading scorer for an NCAA tournament team that played in the gauntlet of the SEC. Being the lead scorer of an SEC team is no small feat. Leading said school to its first NCAA tournament since 2016-2017 while being the leading scorer is all the more impressive. The kid can play, even if he doesn’t have prototypical size at the 1 spot.
Edwards was named Third Team All-SEC in his first season in the conference after previously playing for North Texas and being First Team All Conference there.
We break down the game of Edwards and how he would fit within the current framework of the 2025-2026 Friars.
Continue reading “Crier Recruiting Corner: Introducing Vanderbilt Guard Jason Edwards”
