From now until Villanova’s first game in Rome on November 1 against Notre Dame, WBR’s Andrew Kresin will run down the 10 other Big East programs as a MISE EN PLACE series. You can check out the rest of the series here.
General Information
- Head Coach: Bryan Hodgson (First season at Providence, formerly the head coach at South Florida and Arkansas State, 70-37 record overall)
- 2025-26 Record: 15-18 (7-13)
- 2025-26 Postseason: Lost to St. John’s in Big East Tournament Quarterfinals, no other postseason
- Coaches’ Poll Placement: Fifth (59 points)
- Media Day All-Big East Members: Second Team All-Big East member Miles Byrd
- 2026-27 Scoring Retention: ~11.6 percent of scoring across one player
Key Returners
Coach Hodgson inherited a mostly empty roster for the 2026 Offseason. Junior guard Ryan Mela is the only Friar to appear in any game last season and return to play under Hodgson. Mela played in all 33 games, starting in 22 games, and accrued the third most minutes of any player for Providence last season at 853 minutes. He operated as a do-it-all player for Coach Kim English, finishing the season fifth in points (326), second in rebounds (175) and third in assists (66). He also shot over 50 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three on the season.
As the season was winding down for Providence, Mela saw an expanded role and made the most of it. Across his team’s final 10 games, Mela made eight starts and averaged 31.0 minutes scoring 13.0 points per game. He took 96 shots in this span, accounting for 16.6 percent of Providence’s total shots, and finished in double-figures seven times. This scoring burst was facilitated by 52.1 percent shooting from the field and over 40 percent shooting from three. He also added 62 rebounds during these final 10 games, 50 of which were defensive. His defensive rebounding rate for the season was already a top-10 mark in the Big East Conference, but it improved as the season wore on.
In Providence’s only public exhibition to date against Pittsburgh, Mela logged 27 minutes and scored 15 points. He would have tied his career high in three pointers if the game counted, shooting 3-of-4 from distance, and was third on Providence in scoring for the day.
Key Transfers
Providence went hard in the transfer portal acquiring talent to build up a roster alongside Mela. Coach Hodgson grabbed eight players with Division One experience to join Mela in Rhode Island, including several players ready to make an immediate impact this season.
I think the best of these transfers, at least defensively, is graduate guard Miles Byrd from San Diego State. Byrd was a serviceable offensive player in his time with the Aztecs, averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting just above 40 percent from the field, but his defense is the skillset he used to transfer into the Big East. He totaled 138 defensive rebounds, 63 steals and 41 blocks last season, just one of two players in the country with at least 130 DRB/60 STL/40 BLK over the course of the season. As a result, his defensive box plus/minus—the number of points per 100 possessions a player would have saved defensively compared to an average NCAA player—led the Mountain West Conference at around 6.0 points saved.
In spearheading Brian Dutcher’s San Diego State defense, Byrd led the Aztecs to a top 20 defensive mark on KenPom and finished fourth in the Mountain West in points allowed. He had five games with at least four steals and three games with four blocks; none of those games overlapped. Byrd also won the MWC Defensive Player of the Year award, an award that the Aztecs have won every year since the 2021-22 season. Being the best defensive player is impressive, but being the best defensive player on a team like San Diego State comes with more acclaim.
Offensively, Coach Hodgson obtained a proven Big East talent in the form of senior guard Malik Mack, formerly of Georgetown. Mack played for two years at Georgetown under Ed Cooley in addition to a year at Harvard before that, establishing himself as a strong playmaking guard across ~3,000 minutes played and 90 games. In his time with the Hoyas, Mack accrued 277 assists and 877 points. However, the efficiency for Mack had not been there while at Georgetown, as he shot 38.1 percent from the field during his two seasons in DC.
What impresses me about Mack is that he is a known talent. Mack has been extremely consistent over his three seasons despite a jump to the Big East as just a sophomore and has been productive both at Harvard and Georgetown. He saw a drop in three-point percentage last year, but at the same time has lowered his turnovers year-over-year. Coach Hodgson is getting a player who could very likely average around 13.0 points and 4.0 assists per game unless Hodgson changes Mack’s game significantly, whether that be for better or worse.
In Providence’s exhibition against Pittsburgh, the three of Byrd/Mack/Mela combined for 42 points on 33 shots, with Byrd logging five steals and Mack dishing out seven assists. The other double-digit scorer for Providence was also a transfer, senior forward Arrinten Page from Northwestern. Now at his fourth school in four years, Page saw the most production of his career last season for the Wildcats across ~660 minutes and 29 games. He blocked 34 shots and grabbed 95 defensive rebounds, doubling both marks from his sophomore season at Cincinnati. He also shot above 50 percent for the first time in his career, in large part to a two-point shooting percentage at 62.6 percent.
His production and playing time fell off as the season continued. In his final 10 games, Page made just two starts, averaged 6.7 points per game and was not effective as a rebounder compared to his early season. He did not play in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. If Coach Hodgson can figure out how to unlock Page’s productivity from the early part of the season, where Page was averaging 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, Providence will likely have their starting center for this season.
The competitor for that starting center spot is likely graduate center Samson Aletan. Aletan played for three years at Yale where he established himself as both a productive offensive rebounder and shot blocker. In his second season with Yale, Aletan led the Ivy League in total blocks with 48, then led the league in offensive rebounds with 70 in his third season with the Bulldogs. He plays much like a traditional big man, with one three pointer attempted in his time with Yale, but scored almost 500 points with the Bulldogs while shooting 58.8 percent for his career. Between Page and Aletan, Aletan got the start in the exhibition but only played nine minutes, while Page scored 16 points with four three pointers and grabbed four rebounds.
Redshirt junior guard Devin Vanterpool did not play in the exhibition against Pittsburgh but was Florida Atlantic’s leading scorer by per game average over 24 games/starts for the Owls last season. He was one of the more prolific scorers in all of the American Conference last season, attempting nearly 300 shots and 150 three pointers in his time with the Owls for a total of 380 points. His performance in his sophomore season was a stark difference than his 60-point total in his freshman season, winning himself the American Conference Most Improved Player award in the process. He also was a big rebounding presence at guard, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game with a defensive rebounding rate at 18.5 percent over the course of the season.
Another player not to play in that Pittsburgh exhibition was senior guard Ryan Sabol, who transferred from Buffalo. Sabol led the Mid-American Conference in three pointers made (122) and attempted (306) last season, taking just under 10 three-point attempts per game. His 306 attempts from three placed him among a list of just 10 players nationally with 300+ three-point attempts. He also shot from range at a 39.9 percent clip, just an absurd percentage for someone with as many attempts as Sabol. As a result of his strong perimeter shooting, Sabol led the Buffalo Bulls in total scoring with 603 points last season.
Key College Newcomers
Despite three listed true freshmen, none of the three have super traditional high school experiences. Forward Javon Bardwell was a late addition to Providence after decommitting from Kansas in the high school class of 2027 for the Friars in 2026. He’s a high four-star recruit with a strong season on Overtime Elite RWE last year, averaging 17.9 points per game. He started in the exhibition against Pittsburgh alongside Byrd, Mela, Mack and Aletan, playing for 17 minutes and scoring six points.
Forward Clyde Walters was on that same Overtime Elite RWE team that Bardwell played on during last season. Walters was perhaps not as productive but still scored 6.8 points and grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game. Walters also shot 37.5 percent from three and made 13 starts over 18 games. Overtime Elite went 12-6 with Bardwell and Walters on the team.
Forward Leonardo Marangon is an international prospect from Italy, having played in 36 games last season for UEB Gesteco Cividale in Italy. He averaged just under 10 points per game while snatching 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He appeared in the Pittsburgh exhibition as well, playing for 13 minutes and scoring eight points.
Others
Providence has two transfers that very well could be key transfers but may not be as significant as the other additions. Sophomore guard Gavin Hightower, a Hodgson player at South Florida, appeared in 26 games and played just 262 minutes last season for the Bulls. He showed a lot of promise, averaging 4.1 points and 1.7 assists per game in just 10.1 minutes per night, which helped propel him to an assist rate above 30 percent. He logged 32 minutes in the exhibition against Pittsburgh, where he had six points and seven assists.
Redshirt junior forward Jacob Bannarbie from UNLV had six points and six rebounds in his Providence debut in that exhibition. He saw an increased role in Las Vegas last season, playing 30 games and starting 15 after just 19 games and three starts in 2024-25. He did not play significant minutes per game but still averaged 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Bannarbie was effective in a limited role and looks to springboard that success into a larger role in Rhode Island.
Redshirt freshman guard John Jackson also returns. He did not see action last season but set the Ridgewood High School record for points scored in a career at 2,187 points before his time at Providence.
Outlook
Coach Hodgson has a lot of talent on the roster, certainly enough to be on the bubble and likely enough to be in the tournament field. I do worry about Providence’s cohesiveness given that the roster is basically brand new, but in Hodgson’s short head coaching career he’s had nothing but winning seasons. The step up from Arkansas State to South Florida and the ensuing success in Tampa helps reassure me that his first season at Providence will be successful. I think the middle of the pack in the Big East is pretty open, but I would be shocked to see Providence fall too far out of a first round bye in the Big East Tournament.
Credits
Providence player information (demographics, player stats from high school, et cetera) found on Providence’s athletics webpage. Player stats from other schools found on Sports-Reference. Lists made with Stathead. Player rankings from high school found on 247Sports. Charts made in Microsoft Excel.