The Providence Crier

Hodgson and Staff Continue to Add: Yale’s Samson Aletan Latest Commit

Bryan Hodgson and his staff had another surprise in store for Wednesday evening. After learning earlier in the day that Buffalo’s all-time leader in three points made in a season, Ryan Sabol, was committing to Providence it seems that would be all the commitments for the day. After all there were no shark gifs from Bryan Hodgson’s twitter account after Sabol’s commitment.

Well Sabol wasn’t the only commitment to Friartown that’d be announced Wednesday. The shark gif was just a little late.

Yale big man Samson Aletan committed to Providence, and the Friars have their first true big on the roster. We discuss the impact of his commitment and fit with the 2026-2027 Friars below.

Friars Continue to Add in The Portal: Sharpshooter Ryan Sabol the Latest to Commit to PC

Another day, another shark gif, and another commitment for the Providence Friars. Per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello Ryan Sabol, a 6-3 guard from the University of Buffalo committed to Coach Hodgson and staff on Wednesday. Sabol had visited this week and quickly made his decision to join the Friars for his senior season.

We break down the commitment below.

The Shark Lands a (Different) Bird: Florida Atlantic Owl Transfer Devin Vanterpool Commits to Providence

Coach Bryan Hodgson is on a recruiting tear this offseason, flexing his recruiting chops in a way that even the most bullish of Providence fans wouldn’t expect. After retaining do-everything wing Ryan Mela and landing defensive weapon Myles Bird and G-League star Dink Pate, Hodgson and staff added another high level portal player into the wing rotation.

We did an in-depth player preview on Vanterpool below, and we’ll take the time to reflect on how Vanterpool will mesh with the current Providence players on the 2026-2027 roster.

Providence Crier Player Preview- Devin Vanterpool

Providence Crier Portal Player Preview- Ryan Sabol

Ryan Sabol is a 6-3 guard and comes from a program familiar to Bryan Hodgson. Sabol has started 89 games over the past three seasons for the University of Buffalo, where Hodgson spent four years as an assistant under Nate Oats. Through his three seasons at Buffalo Sabol has only gotten better. The Gonzaga College High product earned third team all-MAC averaging 18.8 PPG.

Sabol was rumored to be on campus earlier this week for a visit to Friartown. We break down his game and fit with Providence.

Ryan Sabol has been an outstanding college player. It’ll be interesting to see whether he transfers for his final year of eligibility. He’s averaging 18.4 points per game, shooting 40% from three and an impressive 54.2% on top-of-the-key threes.

pic.twitter.com/ddTjRsuZsA
— JPR (@Scouting_Col) March 5, 2026

Providence Crier Portal Player Preview – Yale C Samson Aletan

Providence is on the hunt for frontcourt replacements, and Aletan has been added to the list of potential next Friars. The 6’10 225lb Samson Aletan from Dallas, Texas was reported to have been on campus on Monday as Coach Hodgson is looking to add bodies to the 4/5 position.

Yale forward Samson Aletan recently completed a visit to Providence, per source.

Friar? pic.twitter.com/FBVO17MsF3
— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) April 14, 2026

We break down Aletan’s game below and how he’d fit with the 2026-2027 Providence Friars.

Providence Crier Player Preview- Devin Vanterpool

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 Crier Player Preview: Stephen F. Austin F/C Jerald Colonel

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.

NEWS: SF Austin’s Jerald Colonel is entering the transfer portal, his agent Larry Hall of @HOFSportsGroup told @LeagueRDY.

The 6-foot-9 big man out of Savannah, Georgia was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year this season.

He averaged 5.0PPG, 7.3RPG,… pic.twitter.com/PcjeNDY9qH
— Sam Kayser (@KayserHoops) April 6, 2026

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

Hodgson Gets First Bull to Migrate North: Gavin Hightower Commits to Providence

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.

Player Portal Preview: Alabama Center Aiden Sherrell

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.

Hodgson and Staff End Thursday’s Big Recruiting Day with a Stunner: Land Westchester Knicks Guard Dink Pate

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.

https://t.co/TVJVM7vgSY pic.twitter.com/g1dQG35Xra
— TheProvidenceCrier (@ProvidenceCrier) April 10, 2026

Defensive Ace Joins Friartown: Miles Byrd Commits to Providence

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.

pic.twitter.com/NRopWUoEpy
— Bryan Hodgson (@CoachBHodgson) April 8, 2026

The Providence Crier 2026 Portal Primer

It’s that time of year again, it’s Portal SZN! Like it or not the transfer portal has changed the game with 2,030 student athletes entering last season and if anything, that number probably goes higher this year.

This year the rules have changed quite a bit. Last season the spring transfer window ran from March 24th to May 1st. This year the portal will open the day after the National Championship game, April 7th, and run until April 21st. It’s important to note that this is the window players have to enter, not when they have to pick a school.