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| VMI rising junior point guard Tan Yildizoglu vs. Furman |
7. VMI (15-19, 7-11/7th in SoCon)--If there was a breakthrough team in the Southern Conference last season, it was VMI. The improvement head coach Andrew Wilson's club and the commitment VMI's athletic department has made to basketball was evident from the outset of the season, and despite having one of the youngest teams in the nation once again in Wilson's third season, the Keydets also had one of the most improved teams, as the Red and Gold went from just four wins two years ago to 15 last season and a trip to the SoCon Tournament semifinals, upsetting No. 2 seed UNC Greensboro en route to getting to the semifinals of the tournament after winning through from the opening round of the tournament.
One of the major commitments to the program and to its improvement was being able to admit transfers, and that was something that not only helped the Keydets be competitive, but be competitive near the top of the league and in the mix for a top six seed all the way until the final day of the season. In mid-February, VMI sat in sixth place ahead of Furman in the running for a top six seed and a bye in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament.
Although the Keydets struggled down the stretch, they did enough to finish in seventh and headed to Asheville as perhaps the most dangerous play-in day teams in league tournament history. No one really wanted to tangle with the Keydets in Asheville, which was the task that eventually fell to Mike Jones' UNCG Spartans, who had beaten the Keydets twice in the regular-season, but anything can and usually does happen in Asheville.
After dispatching The Citadel, 73-62, in the second game of the tournament, the Keydets posted an outstanding defensive performance, utilizing a matchup zone along with mixing in other defenses to keep the Spartans off-balance en route to a 64-57 win in the quarterfinals of the tournament. VMI would eventually run out of gas against in the semifinals of the tournament against eventual tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant Wofford, dropping an 85-65, contest to close out a successful 2024-25 season.
There was a definite intention to go out and find guys that would not only fit Wilson's system, but also guys that might also be willing to stick around instead of immediately checking out to the transfer portal as soon as the season ended. For the first time as head coach for VMI the strategy, except for one or two departures, appears to have worked.
The Keydets went across the pond to look for talent and they ended up procuring two of the better young players in the league, in Tan Yildizoglu and Augustinas Kiudulas. Originally, Yildizoglu hailed from Turkey and played at a high level internationally as a point guard, and despite his overall youth, he proved wise beyond his years on the court and in basketball acumen. Kiudulas, who was Lithuanian, had already made his way to the United States and after attending Indiana State for one season, which saw him rarely see the floor, he decided to transfer in to VMI. Both would end up developing into all-league caliber players in the 2024-25 season.
The other main piece to the puzzle outside of the talent brought in from overseas were two players that were brought in from solid mid-major programs, in TJ Johnson from Lipscomb and Rickey Bradley Jr. from Georgia State. For Bradley, the decision was easy, as he had already been at VMI, garnering SoCon All-Freshman Team accolades in the 2022-23 season and after things didn't go according to plan in his new destination, he would become the first and only one of Wilson's players to return to where he started and with the success he had this past season, he might not be the last.
Now what can Wilson and company do for an encore in his fourth year. Obviously, VMI has had trouble keeping the talent around due to the strenuous military regimen, as well as the lack of having a full graduate school program. But accepting transfers and finding loopholes to take classes at VMI through other local schools like James Madison that would count towards a graduate degree at VMI would be a start in the right direction, and would allow the Keydets to be able to keep some of that talent around for at least a year longer after they have already graduated in their major and have hardwood eligibility remaining.
This spring was important for VMI, and making sure that retaining as much talent as he possibly could for the foreseeable future was as important as what he could bring in from the portal for Wilson.
Wilson has to endure really one major loss, with Augustinas Kiudulas () moving on, as he transferred out of the VMI program for his final season to play at Colorado State. It appeared that Tan Yildizoglu was going to also leave for perceived greener pastures but thought better of it after entering the portal and decided to return to VMI. That was huge.
Despite losing Kiudulas, the Keydets bring back six of their top seven leading scorers from a year ago and return the most scoring production of any team in the SoCon and the 12th most scoring production of any team in college basketball.
Headlining the returning talent for the 2025-26 season will be rising senior guard Rickey Bradley Jr., who will likely enter the campaign as an All-SoCon candidate. Bradley Jr. is coming off a 2024-25 season, which saw him named Third-Team All-SoCon last season after ranking fifth overall in the SoCon in scoring average last season, posting 16.5 PPG. Bradley Jr. and also ranked third in the SoCon in minutes per game, averaging 33.6 MPG last season.
His 1.4 steals-per-game ranked Bradley Jr. tied for seventh in the league in that particular category and he comes off a 2024-25 season having started all 34 games for the Keydets last season. He posted his first-career double-double in VMI's upset win in the Southern Conference Tournament against UNCG, as he posted 23 points and 11 boards in the 64-57 win by the Keydets.
Bradley Jr. scored a career-high 30 points in Mercer's early SoCon home contest against Mercer, which resulted in a 70-67 loss at Cameron Hall. In that 30-point effort, Bradley Jr. also tied a career-high with five three-pointers. He also posted 29 points in VMI's 75-70 road win at The Citadel. In VMI's late-January win at Wofford, Bradley Jr. tied a career-high five steals. Bradley Jr. also finished the season shooting 38.0% from long-range, connecting on 57-of-150 from downtown last season.
Joining Bradley Jr. as a key returnee in the backcourt is the aforementioned point guard Tan Yildizoglu, who is a rising junior and comes off a 2024-25 season, which saw him rank third overall in the SoCon in assists-per-game at 3.9 APG, and he comes off an inaugural season with the Keydets basketball program having averaged 8.5 PPG.
Yildizoglu posted 13 double-figure scoring games last season, including each of the final three games of the season, as he had a strong showing in the 2025 Southern Conference Tournament, posting 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the opening night win over The Citadel, while following that up the next day with 11 points, five assists and three rebounds in the upset win over UNCG. In that SoCon quarterfinal win over UNCG, Yildizoglu also posted a crucial late-game block to help the Keydets preserve the 64-57 upset win over the No. 2 Spartans. Yildizoglu finished out his tournament in strong fashion by adding 12 points, four rebounds and two helpers in the 85-65 season-ending loss to Wofford.
The native of Istanbul, Turkey started 31 of 34 games, missing three games due to injury last season for the Keydets. He scored a career-high 23 points in a late-season SoCon home loss to Samford, while posting four steals on two occasions last season, which included an impressive 91-82 win over Furman.
One area that Yildizoglu will hope to see much improvement in his overall game in the 2025-26 season is as a perimeter threat, as he finished the 2024-25 campaign connecting on just 24.8% (31-of-125).
Another key cog returning to the backcourt for the Keydets in 2025-26 is also arguably the league's top returning on-ball defender, in rising 6-4 junior AJ Clark. The Suffolk, VA., native was a SoCon All-Defensive Team selection last season, as well as finishing the season ranking second in steals-per-game, averaging 1.9 SPG, while also ranking fifth overall in blocks-per-game average, posting 0.9 BPG in 2024-25.
The third category in which Clark finished ranking in the Top 10 in the SoCon last season is field goal percentage, completing the 2024-25 campaign ranking 10th in that particular category, knocking down shots at a 54.9% clip.
Clark enjoyed an outstanding performance in an early SoCon home loss to Mercer, recording a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. He also posted a career-high five blocks in a late-season home loss to Samford. He posted five steals on two occasions last season, which came in an early February home loss to East Tennessee State and a Dec. 7 home loss to Queens.
In addition to his defensive numbers, Clark added 4.9 PPG and 4.5 RPG, with 21 starts in 34 games. Clark had off-season foot surgery, however, should be 100% healthy when the 2025-26 season rolls around.
Clark will again be a defensive enforcer for Wilson, and he might actually be the most valuable player returning for VMI for the upcoming campaign because of his ability on that end.
Giving the backcourt even more of a boost this coming season will be the return of Linus Holmstrom, who returns to the fold after a strong first season in the Red and Gold for the Keydets. Holmstrom enjoyed his best game of the season against Regent, posting a season-high 17 points, and he was one of the better young perimeter shooters in the SoCon last season, posting a pair of games in which he connected on four three-pointers last season.
Holmstrom was an effective outside threat throughout the season for the Keydets, finishing out the season by connecting on 33.5% (53-of-158) from long-range and he finished the season by making five starts and saw action all 35 games. Holmstrom hails from Stockholm, Sweden and will add vital depth at guard this coming season.
The return of TJ Johnson is also vitally important to the potential success for the Keydets for the coming 2025-26 season. Johnson was one of the Keydets' most-effective three-point threats last season, and the rising junior from Belton, TX,, by way of Lipscomb finished out the season in ranking third in the SoCon in three-pointers made-per-game (2.8).
Johnson's 32.6 minutes-per-game saw him fifth in the league in minutes-played-per-game, and he logged 33 starts in 35 games for VMI during the 2024-25 season. He finished with a career-high 23 points in VMI's early-season win over Christendom and tied his career-high with nine rebounds in VMI's SoCon Tournament win over The Citadel.
In VMI's final game of the season against Wofford, Johnson was held to seven points to go with six rebounds. Johnson returns as VMI's second-leading scorer and was the team's third-leading scorer last season, averaging 12.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG, which also ranked third on the squad last season.
Johnson finished the 2024-25 season sporting a 40.5% field goal percentage, while ranking second on the team behind only Rickey Bradley Jr. in three-point accuracy, as he connected on 36.5% from downtown, and his 93 triples (93-of-255) led the Keydets in 2024-25. In my opinion, Johnson provided the toughest matchup for the opposition to account for on the defensive end last season because of his versatility, as he was effective shooting the three, as well as possessing the ability to effectively to score from the mid-range, as well as low in the paint around the basket.
Two key returnees that provided support as mostly reserves off the bench for head coach Andrew Wilson last season are both 6-8 forward Kaden Stuckey and 6-5 guard Jaylen Pazon.
Both will be rising sophomores heading into the 2025-26 season. Stuckey saw action in all 34 games for VMI during his freshman season, logging a total of 13 starts and finished averaging 3.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 12.8 minutes-per-game during his rookie season.
Stuckey is a good athlete that will continue to make improvements to his game on the offensive end this season, and when he can stay out of foul trouble, is excellent on the defensive end of the floor. He finished his rookie season with 15 blocks and 10 steals.
Offensively, he recorded his first-career double-double in a win over non-Division I Regent, posting 11 points and 10 boards, while posting a season and career-high 12 points in a late-November game against George Washington. He finished the season with a 53.1% field goal percentage, which ranked 12th overall in the SoCon.
Pazon saw action in 19 games during his rookie campaign, enjoying his best performance of the season in a lopsided loss at Chattanooga, which saw him post a career-high 15 points, while recording a season-high five rebounds in a 75-70 road win at SoCon rival The Citadel. He averaged 10.2 minutes-per-game last season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG, while shooting 49% (24-of-49) from the field and 44.4% (8-of-18) from three-point range.
Robert Peters is a rising junior forward that saw action in 18 games, including making three starts and scored a career-high 12 points in an early-December non-conference loss to Queens. He had a career-high 12 rebounds in the previous game in what was a lopsided win over Virginia University Lynchburg. He will add depth in the paint in 2025-26.
Rounding out the holdovers from last season are rising sophomore forward Cal Liston, who logged action in 23 games with one start, completing the season averaging 1.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG, while rising redshirt sophomore guard Walker Andrews returns after seeing his first action in a VMI uniform last season, logging action in 15 games with one start, which included posting a pair of 20-point scoring efforts for the Keydets in wins over non-Division I Virginia University Lynchburg and Christendom. Andrews also posted a season-high five three-pointers made in the win over VUL. He finished the season averaging 5.5 PPG and 0.5 RPG.
In conclusion, Wilson managed the potential damage from the transfer portal in strong fashion, with the only real detrimental departure being Augustinas Kiudulas, who was VMI's second-leading scorer (15.2 PPG) and finished as the team's leading rebounder (6.3 RPG).
Kiudulas was a SoCon All-Tournament selection and he finished the season with five double-doubles and started 29 games for VMI last season. The biggest impact felt will be rebounding even more than what he gave VMI as an offensive presence, as he ranked fifth in the league in offensive rebounds-per-game (2.4)
The only other players that will not return but did see action last season are sophomore guard Maurice Wright Jr. (3.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG) and 6-11 sophomore center Cyprian Hyde (1.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG), who spent just one season in Lexington and played in only 11 games.
All told, despite all the chaos experienced by Wilson with injuries and early departures by players in his short, but stressful first couple of seasons in charge, things have settled down and that has allowed Wilson to actually establish an identity for his program and show the players that came in and believe that success was not only possible, but could be a reality in the immediate.
He was able to lead VMI to at least 15 wins in a season for just the 12th time in program history. The 11-win improvement from 2023-24 to the 2024-25 season is the biggest turnaround in school history. That was good enough to keep most of the talent around for the future, and it should make VMI a preseason pick in the top half of the league come prediction time for the 2025-26 season.
So what did the Keydets bring in from the transfer portal during the offseason? One of the pickups appeared to have been 7-0 center Dhiakuei "DK" Manyiel Dut, however, six days after his verbal commitment he decided to transfer for to California.
That gives VMI with one scholarship to work with the remainder of the off-season should they choose to use it. comes in as a bit of a project player but will give the Keydets size and athleticism to match, with the latter something they really haven't had much of in a big man under Wilson. Dut would have helped ease the loss of big man Cyprian Hyde, and perhaps a late summer addition in the middle is already in the works.
Freshman Additions:
Head coach Andrew Wilson has added one player from via the high school ranks so far, as the Keydets welcomed in 6-2 guard Mario Tatum out of Edgewood, MD, and the newcomer will likely have an immediate chance to play his way onto the depth chart in the backcourt as a part of the rotation as soon as the 2025-26 season.
Tatum prepped at Mt. Carmel High School and will come in as a point guard to VMI, looking to break into a lineup that will feature plenty of depth entering the 2024-25 season, led by both Tan Yildizoglu and Linus Holmstrom.
Tatum played at Our Lady Mount Carmel HS in Baltimore MD, which is an excellent area to find basketball talent, and he faced off against programs like the famed DeMatha Catholic during his prep career. He is a shifty, athletic point guard that comes to VMI as a pure scorer and elite distributor of the basketball. He helped lead Our Lady of Mount Carmel to a 34-4 record during his senior season and a No. 2 ranking in the state. He rates as a three-star recruit by most recruiting services.
Early 2025-26 Outlook:
VMI and head coach Andrew Wilson haven't had all that much to do during the off-season, and that's a very good thing. For the first time since arriving in Lexington, Wilson hasn't had to scramble to find players to fill out a roster, and that's a great thing.
The Keydets again won't feature a big rotation of players, with probably seven or eight being the limit, but it's something VMI has done a nice job of managing the past couple of seasons. The improvements made on the defensive end of the floor were most notable from the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 campaign.
The Keydets were also a better perimeter shooting team last season than they had been before under Wilson, and that's thanks to bringing in an excellent shooter like TJ Johnson from the transfer portal.
While the departure of Augustinas Kiudulas sees the front court take a bit of a hit, Johnson, Kaden Stuckey and even Cal Liston, who should see his minutes increase this season. During the remainder of the summer, I would look for Wilson and staff to maybe add one more big man, whether that be from the transfer portal or from the high school ranks, but it will most likely be from the portal.
As far as the backcourt is concerned, the Keydets are pretty much locked in for the upcoming season, with the only notable addition made at point guard, with the recruitment of talented freshman guard Mario Tatum into the fold out of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Baltimore.
The Keydets will have two of the top guards in the SoCon entering the 2025-26 season, in assists machine Tan Yildizoglu, who is a key piece to the team's overall success, and his decision to return from the transfer portal brought about a collective sigh of relief in Lexington, and with him at the controls and one of the top scoring guards alongside him, in Rickey Bradley Jr., the Keydets will have one of the better one-two punches at guard in the SoCon in 2025-26.
Linus Holmstrom will be ready to add depth in the backcourt, and he is again a player that offers experience at the international level, which helps offset his youth. He was a solid perimeter threat last season, but I look for him to be one VMI's most-reliable perimeter threats this season alongside TJ Johnson and could be the real breakout player for VMI this season.
Finally, there was one alteration to the coaching staff for VMI, with the addition of Nick Korta, who comes to VMI after one year as Director of Basketball Operations and will join a solid staff that includes associate head coach and offensive coordinator Xavier Silas, assistant coach and defensive coordinator Paul Harrison, and assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Austin Kenon.
Korta replaces Perin Foote on the VMI staff and took a similar route as Foote did to Lexington, as he comes from Missouri and, where he was the director of basketball operations for the Tigers, but before that, similar to also similar Foote in coaching specialization, Korta served as the director of player development from 2021-23 at Bowling Green. Foote moved on to Florida State, as he accepted a spot on Luke Loucks' new staff at Florida State as the Director of Basketball Operations.
Overall, the Keydets appear to be headed for a upper echelon finish an opening round bye for the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament, thanks in large part to being able to retain so much talent from last season's 15-win team and one that had that magical run in Asheville to the semifinals, which included an upset of No. 2 seed UNC Greensboro.
Starters Lost: (1)--F--Augustinas Kiudulas (transferred to Colorado State)
Others Lost: (2)--C--Cyprian Hyde (entered transfer portal/not committed), G-Marcus Wright Jr. (entered the transfer portal/not committed)
Potential Breakout Player in 2025-26: G-Linus Holmstrom
Best Transfer Portal Get:
Best Freshman Addition: G-Mario Tatum
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: B+
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| Mercer rising sophomore wing Brady Shoulders vs. Jacksonville in Ft Myers Classic (Photo courtesy of Mercer athletics) |
8. Mercer (14-19, 6-12/finished 8th in SoCon)--Ryan Ridder's first season in charge of the Mercer basketball program was filled with and ups and downs, and much like the routine for young head coaches taking over at a new place, Ridder had to come in and piece together a roster and try and convince as much talent as he could to stick around for at least one season before entering the transfer portal if they still wanted to transfer, and for the most part, Ridder excelled in being able to navigate both, as well as endure what was a topsy-turvy season, as the young, 40-year old head coach got his first taste of the competitive nature of SoCon basketball in 2024-25.
On some nights, Ridder's Bears looked like they could beat anyone in the league and looked like one of the teams that, if you didn't know better about the situation at hand, looked like a team that could compete for a SoCon regular-season and tournament title.
However, there were other nights that were truly frustrating, and while the Bears were rarely blown out in league play last season, it was also apparent that this uber-talented roster lacked the kind of cohesiveness and belief to win games in the clutch, and that was particularly apparent in the SoCon Tournament when the Bears saw their season end with a 76-61 loss to top overall seed and regular-season league champion Chattanooga in what was the Bears' second game of the tournament.
After knocking off Western Carolina, 67-66, in its opener in the 2025 tournament, the Bears would see a six-point, 34-28, halftime lead quickly disappear in the second half. It was a Chattanooga team that the Bears had defeated 99-94 in a thrilling overtime game to open Southern Conference play and then led the Mocs for most of the way before eventually seeing the wheels come off late in what was a 93-84 loss in early February at McKenzie Arena to the Mocs.
Much of that inconsistency in close games late, and in conference play and in the conference tournament, the Bears were involved in nine games decided by five points or less, finishing 4-5 in those games. Part of the issue was while Ahmad Robinson was no doubt one of the hardest assignments for any opposing defender in the league, it's that his decision-making down the stretch in games was suspect. Sometimes brilliant, while at others he left much to be desired.
Robinson has left the program, joining up with Andy Kennedy and the UAB Blazers at season's end, but as good of a scorer and distributor that the junior point guard could be, he could also be a big liability. His 131 turnovers last season were more than any player ranked in the top 350 in college basketball in assist/turnover ratio, with the next closest in terms of total turnovers being Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who finished the season with 123 miscues.
All that to say is that it might not be such a bad thing that the Bears are starting anew at point guard for the 2025-26 season, and while scoring is always hard to replace, the headache of having to deal with some mind-numbing turnovers at times last season is something that Ryan Ridder and staff hopefully won't have to worry about this season.
Outside of Robinson, the Bears must also essentially replace the rest of the backcourt, with Cam Bryant, Tyler "Chip" Johnson, Jah Quinones, and Jah Nze have all either graduated or entered the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season.
Chip Johnson, who is out of eligibility, was excellent in his one season with the Bears. He was not only a great leader, but his shooting ability was vital in several key wins for Mercer last season. Johnson was one of the best perimeter shooters in the Southern Conference last season and for Mercer, which wasn't a great perimeter shooting team last season, was easily its best shooter, finishing the season by connecting on 38.4% of his shots from downtown, as he connected on 93-of-242 from three-point range and finished as the Bears' second-leading scorer last season at 15.7 PPG.
The lone returnee back for Ridder in the backcourt heading into the 2025-26 season is Brady Shoulders, who was solid in his first season of action as a college basketball player. The 6-6 guard from Eddyville, KY., averaged 5.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 1.2 APG last season for Mercer. He also finished the season with a 42.1% field goal percentage (69-of-164) and was a 33.3% () shooter from long-range.
Shouders had several big games for the Bears last season, including finding his way into double figures on eight occasions last season, including posting a career-high 14 points on two occasions, which came in a loss at Chattanooga, as well as a in a narrow 75-72 loss to Miami of Ohio in the Fort Myers Classic, as he played 29 minutes and connected on 5-of-10 shots from the field, including going 3-for-8 from three-point range in the loss.
Shoulders is not only the leading returning scorer for the Bears entering the upcoming season, but also will be a key piece that could potentially have a breakout season for the Bears in 2025-26 campaign. I look for him to be a much-improved three-point threat, as well as more aggressive as a scorer overall.
One of Shoulders' more memorable performances of the season came the game before scoring his career-high of 14 points for the first time of two times of the season against Miami (OH), as he was instrumental in helping the Bears reach the championship game of the Fort Myers Classic against the Redhawks, as his three-pointer with five seconds remaining helped the Bears force overtime against Jacksonville. Mercer would use the momentum established from Shoulders' key triple to come away with a 90-89 overtime win.
All told, Shoulders finished the 2024-25 season by starting 24 of 33 games for the Bears, averaging 25.2 MPG. Shoulders is joined by Braeden Carlsen as the only other returnee in the backcourt heading into the upcoming season. Carlsen, a 6-4 shooting guard from Wauconda, Ill, redshirted the 2024-25 season.
In the front court, the Bears got some strong play from Alex Holt in the paint over the past couple of seasons after he transferred in from High Point prior to the 2023-24 season as a grad transfer with two years of eligibility. Holt easily had his best season in 2024-25 with the Bears, contributing 11.2 PPG and a team-leading 6.8 RPG. He also ranked fifth overall in the SoCon and led the team in field goal percentage, connecting at a 58.3% clip for the season.
In addition to Holt in the front court, Ridder must find replacements for Angel Montas Jr and Marcus Overstreet, who must also be replaced.
Like the backcourt, there isn't much in terms of production returning, however, the cupboard is not completely bare, with 6-8 small forward Petras Padegimas and walk on center Alex Koch highlight the lone returnees in the front court for the Bears entering the 2025-26 season.
The one major holdover that has put in his time and work in extensive fashion with the Mercer basketball program is TJ Grant, and the 6-5 forward from nearby Warner Robins, GA., logged action in 13 games off the bench last season, averaging 11.9 minutes-per-game in those games in which he saw time. He scored a career-high 13 points in the lopsided season-opening win over VU-Lynchburg, while leading the Bears with 13 rebounds in a loss at South Carolina.
All told, heading into his second season as the head coach of Mercer, Ridder will need to replace seven of the top eight scorers from last season and 71.9 PPG of its 76.1 of scoring from a year ago.
Attacking the portal would be much the same for Ridder as it was when he took over, which is basically he came in last season needing immediate help from the transfer portal, and building depth as well as for the future would involve getting into homes and being a salesman to mom and dad for the Mercer basketball program to talented, overlooked talent from the high school ranks. I call it old school recruiting, as it seems at the power conference level at least, recruiting high school talent seems to be all of the sudden an outdated form of recruiting.
With that said, Mercer fans can rest easy in the knowledge that, Ridder is one of the best recruiters of any coach in the Southern Conference, and that not only goes for high school recruits, but also from the portal. It would be hard to argue the talent that Ridder brought in from the portal in his first season as Macon as Mercer's head basketball coach.
There are several areas that Ridder will also hope to improve in addition to first of all just replacing the sheer amount of scoring and depth lost from a year ago, which is almost an entire roster's worth of players. It will be interesting to see how the Bears make adjustments under Ridder in 2025-26, and two areas the Bears must improve next season are overall on the defensive end of the floor, ranking 273 out of 354 nationally in scoring defense (75.3 PPG) and guarding the three-point line, ranking 236th nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (34.7%). Both paled in comparison, though, from Mercer’s struggles from the charity stripe last season, as the Bears finished ranking 348 of 355 nationally in free throw shooting (65.3%).
In the backcourt, Ridder has secured the commitment of several players that should make an impact immediately having hit both the JUCO ranks, which he knows best, as well as bringing in talent from both the power 6 and mid-major levels.
So far, Ridder has a total of 10 commitments, which includes eight from the portal or JUCO ranks, while the Bears picked a pair of commitments from the high school ranks and are not as of yet when it comes to filling out a roster.
One of the obvious areas of major concern heading into the portal season for Ryan Ridder and staff was the point guard spot, where the Bears must replace both Ahmad Robinson and Jah Quinones have moved on. One of the unique gets is Kyle Cuff Jr., which has the ability to play multiple spots in the backcourt for the Bears.
Ridder, who is one of the best recruiters among the SoCon's head coaches, brought in a player that can make a difference right away, which is much the same the case as it was last season with Robinson.
One of the best "gets" in the transfer is combo guard Kyle Cuff Jr., who comes to Macon from Syracuse. Cuffe Jr. comes to Mercer with one year of eligibility remaining, and Mercer will be the third school in which he will be attending, as he started his career playing for Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. He transferred to Syracuse after spending his freshman and redshirt freshman seasons in Lawrence.
He spent his next two seasons at Syracuse and is coming off a 2024-25 season, which saw him log action in 30 games for the averaging 12.4 MPG. He finished his final season with the Orange averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.1 RPG, while posting 16 assists and turning it over 25 times. He also contributed 13 steals on the defensive end of the floor.
In Syracuse's ACC home opener against Wake Forest, Cuffe Jr. posted 14 points and had six boards, which marked his career-best performance. Cuffe Jr. is versatile and can play either the point or off-guard spots, with a his excellent on-ball defense being a notable attribute for the incoming ACC talent.
Cuffe Jr. isn't the only player with a background that features high-level basketball, however, as 6-3 Baraka Okojie comes to Mercer from Memphis where he spent the 2024-25 season after spending his freshman campaign at George Mason. He will also be in the mix to challenge for the starting point guard spot, which has been vacated by Robinson.
During the 2024-25 season, Okojie didn't see the floor for the Tigers, however, as a freshman in 2023-24 at George Mason, Okojie turned more than a few heads during his time with the Patriots. He saw action in all 32 games with the Green and Gold, garnering All Atlantic 10 Rookie Team accolades after posting 8.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 2.7 APG in his first season of college basketball.
He finished his freshman campaign in 2023-24 ranking ninth overall in the A-10 in steals-per-game (1.4 SPG), showing his tenacity and grit on the defensive end of the floor, which is an area that head coach Ryan Ridder stressed had to be better on more than one occasion during his first season as the Bears' head coach, and that was defending out of the guard spots.
In terms of being an offensive threat, he scored in double figures in nine games in 2023-24, which included posting a career-high 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the regular-season finale of his freshman campaign against Saint Joseph's.
It would appear that, at least on the surface, Okojie is ready to come in and make an impact from the outset of his career in the Orange and Black.
Quinton Perkins II will also be in the mix at point guard this coming season, as he joins the Mercer program from the JUCO ranks, as he comes out of one of the most prestigious JUCO programs in the country, in Indian Hills CC in Ottumwa, IA. It's also the program that produced former Chattanooga Mocs legend and future NBA Lottery Draft pick, Johnny Taylor, way back in 1996.
Perkins II is a 6-1, 180-lb, rising redshirt sophomore that will have three years of eligibility remaining. Prior to going to Indian Hills CC, Perkins II spent one season at Tarleton State, where he did not log any action. In his only season at Indian Hills, the native of Dallas, TX, was an All Region II Second-Team selection after seeing action in 31 of 32 games on the season, making a total of six starts and averaged 21. 5 minutes-per-game.
Additionally, the redshirt freshman guard finished his first season of college basketball posting 8.0 PPG and shooting an impressive 51.5% (86-of-167) from the floor, which included an even more impressive 48.4% (44-of-91) from three-point range.
Perkins II finished out his only season at Indian Hills CC by posting double figures in eight games, with five of those resulting in 20+point performances. He posted a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 from three-point land, as he helped lead Indian Hills to a resounding 85-54 win in the process.
One of the prime contenders to make an impact at off-guard and is expected to compete for a starting job at shooting guard is 6-4 Zaire Williams, who came to Mercer as a graduate transfer from Wagner back on April 1.
The 6-4, 200-lb native of Brooklyn, N.Y., saw action in 26 games in the 2024-25 season for the Seahawks, which included making 24 starts. He finished the season averaging a solid 12.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and dished out 1.9 APG in helping the Seahawks to a 14-16 record and a 6-10 finish in the NEC last season, averaging 30.7 minutes-per-game, which ranked 10th in the league.
In his final season with the Seahawks, Williams would should 38.8% (108-of-278) from the floor and 34.2% (51-of-149) from beyond the three-point line. His 12.1 PPG scoring average was good enough to rank 14th overall in NEC in scoring, while his 1.8 steals-per-game ranked him second in the league. He was a Third-Team All-NEC selection in his final campaign at Wagner.
In his career at Wagner, he started 68 of the 87 total games he played in, averaging 25.4 MPG, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.3 APG, 2.7 RPG and registered an impressive 120 steals across four seasons playing a prominent role for the Seahawks.
Rounding out the guard spots from the portal is Tristan Gross, who makes his way to Macon from Stetson where he spent his first two seasons of his collegiate career.
Gross, a 6-6 wing, who is athletic and rangy, will be a player that figures into mix much like Cam Bryant did in his one season for the Bears, only Gross will have two years of eligibility remaining. During the 2023-24 season with the Hatters, Gross saw action in all 35 games, which included making 14 starts. During his freshman campaign back in 2023-24, he was a part of Stetson history, as he was part of the first and only team in program history to ever make it to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2024-25, the athletic wing ended his campaign averaging 4.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG across 19.6 MPG of floor action. He is a pretty solid threat from the perimeter as well, connecting on 36.4% (56-of-154) from long-range in two seasons with the Hatters.
A total of three post players were brought in by Ridder, starting with a big one...literally, in 6-10, 220-lb center Armanii Mighty, who comes to middle Georgia after spending two seasons at Boston College and one at Central Michigan. His most recent campaign was spent in Muskegon, MI, for the Chippewas, however, did not see any action for CMU, earning a medical redshirt.
He will have two years of eligibility remaining when he arrives at Mercer. As a sophomore at BC in the 2023-24 season, Mighty saw time in 35 games, averaging 5.6 MPG, while posting 0.8 PPG and 1.2 RPG. He shot 41% (9-of-22) on the season, while grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and blocking nine shots.
As a true freshman at BC, he saw limited action in 16 contests, averaging 0.7 PPG and 0.9 RPG. He has the potential to add not only size and athleticism in the paint for the Bears, which is something that, outside of Holt and Overstreet, the Bears didn't really have all that much of in Ridder's first season.
More importantly perhaps is the fact that Mighty has a chance to give the Bears a legitimate rim-protector in the paint for the next two seasons. On the offensive side of things, however, Mighty appears to be a bit of a liability.
Forwards Bendji Pierre (San Diego) and Connor Serven (Virginia Tech) round out the recruiting haul for the Bears from the portal, as both will enter the Bears program with one year of eligibility remaining. Pierre, a 6-8, 230-lb power forward comes on board after having spent the past three seasons at San Diego, playing only of those three seasons, as he was sidelined with an injury for a majority of his time there. In fact, he sat out the entire 2023-24 season and only played 15 games in his first season with the Torreros.
The 2024-25 season definitely turned out to be his most productive, finishing out the season by averaging 5.1 PPG and 2.7 RPG, making 11 starts in 29 overall appearances. He averaged 18.9 minutes-per-game for the Torreros last season, with 31 of his 50 field goals for the season coming from beyond the arch. He wasn't terribly efficient in shooting from long range, however, as he connected at just a 25.4% (31-of-122) from long-range.
Serven is a 6-8, 225-lb transfer from Virginia Tech, who has also spent time at both Eastern Michigan (2023-24) and Illinois (2020-23) before detouring to Mercer for his final season of NCAA Division I college basketball.
As a Hokie last season, Serven finished by seeing action only 16 games and totaled just 38 minutes of floor time for the season. He enjoyed his most productive season at EMU, as he averaged 3.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG, and played in 31 games, including 13 starts for the Eagles. He scored a career-high 15 points on a 5-for-10 shooting performance in a 71-69 overtime win vs. Kent State. His most productive performance last season with the Hokies came against North Carolina, knocking down 2-of-3 shots from the field in a 91-59 setback in Blacksburg.
Freshman Additions:
Head coach Ryan Ridder has signed only two freshman performers thus far, with Ridder signing both a combo guard, in Jaydon Cole, as well as a small forward in Njoroge Nganga.
Cole, a 6-3 point guard out of Milton, GA, by way of Milton High School where he established himself as a three-star recruit coming out of high school according to 247Sports. Cole is versatile in that he can play either the point or off-guard spot, and he chose to attend Mercer back in late April, announcing his future college plans and intent to attend Mercer for the 2025-26 season via social media.
Cole chose to attend Mercer over some other solid NCAA Division I offers from both Old Dominion and Radford. He started his prep career at King's Ridge Christian High School where he led the Tigers to the state championship as a sophomore, averaging 9.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 3.2 APG.
He would see his numbers take off in his junior campaign, as Cole nearly doubled his scoring average to post 17.9 PPG, however, despite seeing his Indvidual numbers increase, he was not able to lead his school back to such lofty places in his junior season, as King's Ridge would miss the state playoffs, finishing 16-8.
Cole played his senior season at Milton High School, finishing his career by garnering All-Region First Team honors, and just before the calendar turned from 2024 to '25, surpassed 1,000 points for his career.
One of the things that Cole so enticing to Ridder and staff during the recruiting process was his shooting ability, possessing what is seemingly limitless range.
Njoroge Nganga rounds out the additions for the Bears as far as freshman signees are concerned. The wing originally committed to Nicholls State out of high school, however, since has flipped his commitment to Mercer. The wing guard will give Mercer some added athleticism on the wing, as well as being an above average shooter from long range.
Finally, 6-4 Braden Carlsen could figure into the backcourt plans in 2025-26. He redshirted his first season with the Bears after coming to Mercer from Wauconda, Ill.
Early 2025-26 Outlook:
Potential Breakout Player in 2025-26: G/F--Brady Shoulders
Best Transfer Portal Get: G-Baraka Okojie or G-Kyle Cuffe Jr.
Best Freshman Addition: G-Jaydon Cole
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A
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| WCU forward Marcus Kell (photo courtesy of WCU athletics) |
Freshman Additions:
Head coach Tim Craft and staff ended up bringing in a pair of recruits from the high school ranks to the 2025-26 team--both in the front court--to round out the recruiting efforts and officially fill out the roster heading into the new season.
Samuel Dada (Link Academy/Lagos, Nigeria) and Tayeshaun Smith (Combine Academy/Raleigh, N.C.) round out the signing class, and both will have a chance to break into the rotation this fall.
Dada, who marks the third international addition to the roster and second from the continent of Africa, possesses good athleticism and skill, and the Lagos, Nigeria product showed that both in his time as prep at North Kansas City High school and then at Link Academy. In the 2023-24 season, which he spent at North Kansas City High School, he averaged an impressive 11.4 PPG and 11.2 RPG, while showing his ability as a passer, averaging three assists-per-game.
The 6-9 forward also was active on the defensive end in both stops along his prep journey, with that showing up most glaringly in his final season spent at NCKHS in 2023-24, contributing 33 blocks and 26 steals. Like Kabba, Dada has the potential to give the Catamounts some explosive rim protection.
Tayeshaun Smith is a 6-7 forward from just up the road in the capital city of Raleigh, as he spent time at both the Combine Academy and 1 of 1 Academy. During the 2024-25 season at Combine Academy as a member of the Blue Checks squad, which is affiliated with Overtime Elite, he averaged a solid 10.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG, while being a solid worker on the defensive end of the floor, ranking within the top five of his league in total blocks. Smith ranks as a 3.5-star recruit by verbalcommits.com and is a composite three-star if you total in his rankings from both rivals and 247Sports.
Early 2025-26 Outlook:
Starters Lost: (2)-Chevalier "Ice" Emery (transferred to Cleveland State), Bernard Pelote (out of eligibility)
Others Lost: (2) G-Brandon Morgan (transferred to Hofstra), F-Cinque Lemon (transferred to Tallahassee Community College)
Potential Breakout Player in 2025-26: G-Cord Stansberry
Best Transfer Portal Get: PG-Julien Soumaoro
Best Freshman Addition: F--Tayeshaun Smith
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: B+
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| The Citadel forward Sola Adebisi (photo courtesy of The Citadel athletics) |
The problem is that eventually everyone adjusted, and in the end, the support for the fast-paced style and the backing that was there from the administration seemed to disappear when things started to gon off the rails. But if things were bad at the end of the Baucom era, which ended at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, we only thought they were bad.
It's true that the 2019-20 Bulldogs (6-24, 0-18 SoCon) were pretty bad, becoming the first of two teams in program history to win a league game all year. But as bad as that team and that season was, it would be hard to imagine things getting any worse in Charleston, especially after the Bulldogs brought back a coach, in Ed Conroy, who took the Bulldogs program to only their second 20-win season in program history in 2008-09 and first-ever appearance in the college basketball postseason, garnering an invite to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
The 2024-25 season might have accounted for not only one of the worst in The Citadel's hoops history, but also one of the worst by a single team in Southern Conference basketball history, as the Bulldogs lost their final 22 games to close out the season following a 5-3 start. This is what happens when a team truly does get down on itself and can't find a way back.
It was evident for all to see. The Bulldogs might have played their best game of the season on the road in a late February contest at eventual league champion, and even hit an apparent game-winning shot that was ruled "good" at Chattanooga to win the game, however, after review the shot was just after the buzzer and ruled "no-good". In the next outing at rival Furman on the ensuing Wednesday night, the Bulldogs went from a one-point loss to the Mocs to the league's worst loss in conference play--a 43-point thrashing at the hands of rival Furman--in Greenville and those two games probably summed up the Bulldogs' 2024-25 season best.
The effort to come up only one-point short after belieiving momentarily they had secured their first SoCon win at the best team in the league only to find out it was yet another loss. That deflation was easy to see in the 85-42 loss at Furman.
For Conroy, it was a trying season for him professionally, but also personally. It's tough to recruit to The Citadel, and it's historically even tougher to win at the Military College of South Carolina, which is precisely why so few have done it, and those who have, haven't really won consistently.
Following The Citadel's opening round () loss to VMI at the Southern Conference Tournament, I had a chance to catch up with Ed Conroy, who is one of my favorite people because of the fact that he does things the right way and has throughout his career. He expressed to me on the elevator to the parking garage after the game just how hard it was and how much the sport and literally take out of you, especially when things don't go well. He didn't have to say it, as his body language told the entire story.
Conroy is real and he's not a coach that lets cliches get in the way of what he has to say, and not only is he a tremendous Xs and Os coach, but he's also a transparent coach. He was telling me after the loss to VMI how tough it had been to lose games in league play like the OT home losses to Furman and WCU and then even the loss at UTC...It was a breaking loss to the psyche.
You could also see he still had a passion to do what he does, and that was kind of refreshing after such a tough season both personally and professionally.
The reality is, it wasn't that The Citadel or its staff did anything necessarily wrong in coaching, however, I conclude in my own estimation and nothing in what coach Conroy told me, but my own conclusion is that the Bulldogs missed it when it came to recruiting from the portal. That didn't really show up as much in the previous two seasons, but this season it was pretty evident in terms of talent, that other than maybe two players on the roster, the Bulldogs had been so out-talented most nights that it was tough to overcome that even with good coaching.
For the life of me, it kind of makes me wonder why anyone would coach The Citadel, and that's being brutally honest. Charleston is a great place, and there are a lot of perks to the education you can get at a place like The Citadel, and if you put in the work and allow the discipline to take hold and shape you, it can get your foot in the door for pretty much any job.
But looking at it from purely a hoops perspective, and now with the portal affecting literally everything, there is a sobering reality that begins to set in. Life is different for all mid-majors with the transfer portal, however, for a program that has already never made the NCAA Tournament without the portal, it almost now seems impossible.
It's a tough job and one that you have to get everything right to put yourself in to get a chance to compete for a regular-season title, and after that, a conference title. Nothing is impossible, but the Bulldogs have had some historically great coaches come through like Norm Sloan and Les Robinson, but even legendary names like that haven't been able to get the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament. That brings me back to Conroy, who is a legendary name in Charleston, for both his ability to lead a team like the 2008-09 Bulldogs to win over a Steph Curry-led Davidson team at McAlister Field House to his familial ties to Charleston and The Citadel itself, as Ed not only graduated from the military college of South Carolina, but his cousin--famed author Pat Conroy--literally wrote best-selling books about Charleston and what life was like playing basketball at The Citadel. Some of that didn't go over well with The Citadel's alums, but later was all forgiven in recent years.
And while I think why would you coach at a place like that where the famed Norm Sloan and Les Robinson never got the program to the NCAA Tournament, then I think well if anyone could do it, it's probably Ed Conroy. With all his ties to both The Citadel and Charleston and the fact that he has had success before, makes him the perfect coach to lead the program.
However, he knows as well as anyone that something needs to drastically change in the immediate future for the Bulldogs to just find their way back to some kind of success in the league, and it starts with recruiting in the new portal era and figuring out how to package a product that has never been very successful into one that is attractive to a graduate student looking to finish out his career.
It's not so much about the military aspect of it, as most one or two-year guys aren't going to have to worry about that side of the life, but more how do you get a recruit to come to Charleston to believe he can be a part of "The first" and "the only" to do something. That recruiting pitch could be something to run with if you can just get the recruit to Charleston. It might actually end up being an easier sell in the portal era than it ever has been before. While that might be the reality, something drastically went wrong last season.
The Bulldogs didn't shoot the ball well from any point on the floor last season if we're brutally honest. They didn't have enough shooters to be competitive in most games last season, and that pretty much forced a team that wasn't great defensively to begin with to play near flawlessly on that end of the floor. Add the fact that the Bulldogs spent most of the season as the nation's worst foul shooting team and you have the makings of a 5-25 season.
The Bulldogs finished out the 2024-25 season ranking 332 in scoring offense (66.6 PPG), 317th in field goal percentage (41.9%), 345th in three-point field goal percentage (29.5%) and 354th out of 355 teams ranked in the country in free throw shooting (61.7%). It pretty well spells out that the Bulldogs weren't a very good shooting team last season.
So how can the Bulldogs improve upon the disaster that was the 2024-25 season? Well, it starts with evaluating both the roster returning and the one that has decided to move on. As far as those that have exited Charleston and the Bulldogs' program, the most notable of those is Brody Fox, who was a dynamic scorer from the NCAA Division III level, and he came in and gave the Bulldogs one season--his final season of eligibility--and he would end up finishing out his college career averaging 16.7 PPG, which led the team, while his 5.1 rebounds-per-game ranked second on the team.
Also having moved on are Colby McCalister (transferred to West Florida), as well as others like Cam Glover (out of eligibility), forward Dominic Commisso (transferred to St. Leo), center Graham Eikenberry (transferred to Western Oregon) and guard Paxton Davidson (transferred to Pace) to name a few.
The core of the team will be formed around what returns, and the most productive of those returnees for the 2025-26 season are guys like forwards Sola Adebisi, Kenyan Davis, and Christian Moore, who originally entered the transfer portal, but opted to return to the Bulldogs' program after initially weighing his options in the portal. It will give Conroy a nucleus of players that he retained to both develop and form a leadership council around moving forward into the off-season, as we inch closer to the 2025-26 campaign.
Moore is coming off a season in which he looks like he might be ready to take that next step and become a reliable scoring option for the Bulldogs in the coming season. The 6-6, 225-lb small forward saw action in all 30 games for The Citadel last season, logging 11 starts. He finished the season averaging 8.7 PPG, however, in Southern Conference games, he posted a scoring average of 12.1 PPG.
On a team that didn't shoot the ball well last season, the same couldn't be said for Moore, who posted a solid 36% shooting clip from three-point land in league games last season. He didn't shoot it as well in non-conference play from long-range, as he connected on just 33.3% (48-of-144) for the totality of the season.
The athletic wing from Los Angeles, CA., ended up finishing the season posting a career-high 20 points in a loss at Western Carolina, while also sporting a seven-game streak of scoring 13 or more points in league games last season and finished scoring in double figures in 11 of 18 SoCon games last season. Moore will be a player that Conroy will look to be one of his offensive leaders in the upcoming campaign.
In a season where it was hard to find a lot of positives, one of the few and distinguishable was the play of 6-7 wing forward Sola Adebisi, who was in his first season at The Citadel as a graduate transfer from Florida State. Adebisi would end up finishing out the season as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer and will be the leading returning scorer this season, as he averaged 8.2 PPG and 5.7 RPG last season.
Like Moore, Adebisi is a good athlete and performs exceptionally well on the offensive glass. Forty-seven of his 95 total rebounds last season were on the offensive end of the floor. Adebisi started all 25 games he logged action in last season, and the former Florida State Seminole has one season of eligibility remaining. He enjoyed his best performance of the season in a home loss to Wofford, as he posted a career-high 19 points against the Terriers. Adebisi had another solid performance in a home loss to Samford, as he just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds.
He finished the season with 10 double-digit scoring games for the season, as well as recording eight or more rebounds in nine games in the 2024-25 campaign.
Rounding out the veteran returnees is Kenyan Davis, who has battled injuries and other off-court issues throughout his career in Charleston, however, the 2025-26 season might be the first in which he is locked in and ready to go. The 6-5 guard/forward has big-time potential and was playing a key role before being suspended for the spring semester. He started 12 of the first 13 games in non-conference play, averaging 9.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG prior to being suspended.
The Chicago, IL, product is a cerebral, athletic guard that enjoyed his best game in a Bulldogs uniform against Stetson in what was one of the Bulldogs' five wins last season, as he netted a career-best 18 points in that particular contest. Davis also turned in a solid performance in The Citadel's season-opening loss at Boston College, as he was one of three Bulldogs in double figures in the loss, finishing with 10.
Others returning to the fold that were a part of last season's roster for the Bulldogs include 6-4 forward Dante Kearse, 6-1 guard Eze Wale, as well as 6-2 guard Jack Walter and 6-4 forward Aidan Alexander, who both redshirted the 2024-25 season.
Wale, a 6-1 sophomore guard from Providence, RI, saw action in 26 of 30 games for The Citadel last season, and would actually start the final 10 games of the 2024-25 season for the Bulldogs. In Wale, the Bulldogs might have found some consistency and some reliability at the point guard spot, which is a problem that Conroy and staff spent a majority of the season trying to figure out.
The jet-quick guard enjoyed his best performance of his true freshman season in what would turn out to be the final game of the season in the conference tournament loss against VMI, netting a season and career-high 12 points against the Keydets in a 73-62 loss at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in the play-in round of the tournament. He had two five-assists games last season, recording those in the conference tournament loss to VMI, as well as a mid-February home loss to Wofford.
Kearse, a 6-4 rising sophomore forward, logged action in 22 games for The Citadel last season, posting a season-high nine points in a 94-57 early December win over Toccoa Falls, while seeing a season-high 21 minutes in a 67-63 home overtime loss to Furman in early January.
Conroy and staff have so far assembled incoming talent from both the portal, as well as the high school ranks to round out the roster heading into 2025-26. Three additions from the transfer portal and two from the high school ranks highlight what the Bulldogs have brought in for the 2025-26 season.
The first commitment for the Bulldogs from the portal was made by 5–11-point guard Gabe Hernandez, who comes to the Bulldogs from Barry University, which is the same program that produced Furman shooting guard Nick Anderson last season.
Hernandez will have a chance to come in right away and be the starter at the point for the Bulldogs this season, and much like Fox was last season athletically for The Citadel, his athleticism will be a delight to local fans who come out to watch The Citadel play this fall and winter. In his final season with the Bucs, Hernandez averaged 14.8 PPG, 4 RPG and 3.2 APG in his final season with the Bucs.
He will give the Bulldogs an explosive element at point guard with his athleticism, however, he isn't a great perimeter threat, finishing the 2024-25 season at just 32.5% (25-of-77). In his two seasons with Barry, Hernandez logged action in a total of 60 games, which included making starts in all 29 games last season for the Bucs.
The second addition from the transfer portal came just a few days later, as Valdosta State wing Braxton Williams announced his commitment to the Bulldogs to play for Ed Conroy next season. With Adebisi, Moore and Davis also back, Williams will the Bulldogs yet another athletic, bouncy wing that the staff can rotate in the lineup.
Williams spent the past two seasons playing for the Blazers in the Gulf South Conference, where he was productive, averaging in double figures in each of those campaigns. Prior to finding his way to the NCAA Division II ranks, Williams spent his time plying his trade and developing his overall game in three seasons at Coastal Alabama South of the JUCO ranks.
After averaging 19.9 PPG and 5.0 RPG in his final season there, his game has translated into being a double figure scorer at every level, including last season with the Blazers, as he posted 14.2 PPG and 4.1 RPG, starting 31 out of 32 games.
Williams finished the 2024-25 season connecting on 34.0% (64-of-188) from three-point range and finished the season with 22 double-figure scoring performances, which included six games with 20 or more points. He turned his top game of the season against Mississippi College in a 22-point, 96-74, win, as he posted 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, which included a 6-for-7 shooting effort from three-point range.
Look for Williams to be a starter for the Bulldogs this coming season, and the combination him with either Adebisi or Davis in the lineup will immediately give the Bulldogs more athleticism.
Rounding out the portal additions made by Conroy and staff during the spring is 6-4 shooting guard Carter Kingsbury, who comes to The Citadel from Iowa where he was a walk-on. Kingsbury has taken much the same route to The Citadel as former Bulldogs guard Austin Ash, who came to The Citadel from the University of Iowa two years ago, where he was a walk-on. Ash ended, up paying off in a big way for Conroy and the Bulldogs, as he finished out his only season averaging 15.2 PPG to lead the Bulldogs.
Like Ash, Kingsbury was a preferred walk-on playing for Fran McCaffery at Iowa, and the 6-4 shooting guard is a solid perimeter threat even though he didn't see all that much time during his four years with the Hawkeyes.
The Big Ten All-Academic selection ended up finishing his final season with the Hawkeyes averaging 1.1 PPG and 0.8 RPG, seeing action in a career-best 23 games. Kingsbury hails from Ponca, Nebraska, where he left as Ponca High School's all-time leading scorer (1,771 career points), as well as the record for single-season scoring (595 points as a senior). He also left as the program's all-time leader in three-pointers made, posting 236 made triples during his prep career.
The one other addition to the fold has a European background, in 6-7 junior forward Cassius Bonjasky, who is already enrolled at The Citadel as of this past January. The junior native of Almere, Netherlands comes on board from New Mexico Military Institute (JUCO) where he saw action in 28 games, with 16 starts, averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.4 RPG in the 2023-24 season.
The quartet of players from the portal will have a chance to both contribute and start next season, and I expect it is likely that both Gabe Hernandez and Braxton Williams seem like the most likely of the trio of players to step in and start right away.
Freshman Additions:
The Citadel went out and signed a pair of players from the high school ranks, as Conroy signed a both a shooting guard and a power forward in the fall signing period last November.
Marcos Gonzalez is a 6-3 shooting guard that comes onboard from Brother Rice High School in Chicago and he is coming off a big senior campaign, which saw him named as the Southtown Boys Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 18.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 3.1 APG during his senior season of 2024-25. Gonzales led Brother Rice to a runner-up state title finish last season, and is a good enough perimeter threat that should see him break into the rotation for the Bulldogs in 2025-26.
The other freshman acquisition the Bulldogs made during the off-season is 6-8 power forward Chase Williams, who comes on board for The Citadel out of West Bladen High School out of Elizabethtown, N.C., where he was a three-time all-conference selection, averaging 20.8 PPG in his final season as a prep. He is a three-star recruit and with his ability and efficiency around the basket, along with his leadership qualities, he should find his way into the rotation as soon as the 2025-26 season.
Early 2025-26 Outlook:
Ed Conroy and the Bulldogs have approached the off-season with a little better idea of how to solve their issues it appears and not let things to reach the level of struggle of which they reached last season.
Not only were new players brought in, but also new staff members. Conroy recently welcomed in a couple of new additions to his coaching staff, with the hiring of Andrew Glover and Brady Schuck as assistants earlier this month.
Glover and Schuck are both Charleston natives and will understand the recruiting culture and lifestyle better than anyone. Glover is a graduate of Wando High School and spent this past season as the head coach of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, leading the program to a conference title and an appearance in the Elite Eight in the state playoffs. For his efforts last season, Glover was named conference coach of the year.
Prior to his time spent as head coach at Myers Park, Glover was the first Head Boys' Basketball Coach at Lucy Beckham High School, leading the program to the Elite Eight in 2022-23 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2023-24, garnering Coach of the Year plaudits in the process. During his own prep basketball career at Wando, Glover was the captain of Warriors' State Championship winning team.
Glover also spent time at the collegiate level as an assistant coach honing his craft, spending two seasons at USC Aiken as the Director of Player Development, as serving in assistant coaching role on state championship winning teams at Grey Collegiate Academy in 2018 and '19, respectively.
Schuck brings a winning background as both a coach and player back to the Low Country where he grew up. Schuck spent the past two seasons as an assistant at the NCAA Division II level at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL, as he was part of a pair of winning seasons during his stint with highly-successful Saints basketball program, which included a 2023-24 season that saw the Saints win 20 games and make it to the championship game of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.
Prior to his time at Flagler, Schuck got his start in coaching at James Island Charter School in Charleston, leading the Trojans to the Sweet Sixteen in 2023 and a Region Championship in 2024, garnering Coach of the Year honors in the process.
Schuck brings a wealth of knowledge about Southern Conference basketball to the staff for the Bulldogs, having spent time playing at Furman University for Niko Medved and Bob Richey as a part of the Paladins' highly successful program. He was a part of a 2016-17 Paladins team that shared the Southern Conference regular-season title with UNCG and ETSU, winning 23 games in the process. In the 2018-19 season, Schuck's Furman team garnered its first-ever AP Top 25 ranking, knocking off both Loyola-Chicago and defending national champion Villanova as a part of a historic 12-0 start to that season.
Hiring two guys like Glover and Schuck that have been a part of winning no matter where they have been can only be infectious to others, and that's something The Citadel's basketball needs desperately right now.
As far as what the outlook for the season is, it's hard for one not to think the Bulldogs will not be better in all phases. I think most of the improvement will be seen in the fact this team has better shooters and it should me more athletic, and that should enable them to be a lot better on the defensive end of the floor.
When you look at Conroy's most-successful seasons as the head coach of The Citadel, being not good but great defensively has always been a hallmark of those teams. Even the 2022-23 season, which also saw the Bulldogs struggle, but competitive in a lot of ways, even knocking off eventual league champion Furman, the Bulldogs were solid on the defensive end of the floor at times during that season.
One of the interesting things that stands out about this team on paper is that its tallest player on the roster is 6-8, and so that means the Bulldogs will be one of the smaller teams in the SoCon this coming season and will be placing a premium on that athleticism and length to create havoc and cause issues. As you probably already know, Conroy excels as a tactician in terms of Xs and Os, and he will have his team prepared with a unique defensive game plan each time out in league play, which will no doubt be curtailed to said SoCon foe's personnel on the other side and designed to take away their strengths. There is perhaps no coach better in the SoCon at scouting teams and having his team prepared defensively. That's what made the 2024-25 season so bizarre to see the Bulldogs perform so below form even if under-talented as other teams in the league.
As far as realistic expectations are concerned this season, it's tough to say. However, I think if the Bulldogs can win 5-7 SoCon games this season it would be considered a huge improvement and something to certainly build on for the future. It's going to take some time to get the ship righted so to speak, and some patience will be required by newly installed Director of Athletics Art Chase (once an SID at The Citadel), but I am sure he understands that all too well.
Starters Lost: (3)--G-Brody Fox, F/C (out of eligibility) F/C--John Adams (out of eligibility), G-Cam Glover (out of eligibility)
Others Lost: (6)--C--Graham Eikenberry (transferred to Western Oregon), G--Braylen Smith (Entered transfer portal and has announced a destination), G--Paxton Davidson (transferred to Pace), F--Dominic Commisso (transferred to St. Leo), G--Colby McCalister (transferred to West Florida), F--Cole Alexander (transferred/walked on at Fairleigh Dickinson)
Potential Breakout Player in 2025-26: F-Kenyan Davis or Christian Moore
Best Transfer Portal Get: F-Braxton Williams
Best Freshman Addition: F--Chase Williams
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: B
**--Now that I have successfully completed each team's portal and freshman additions during the recruiting process, evaluated what has been lost, what returns, and given an analysis on all 10 league teams, the final part of this series of articles will be a synthesis of all these, ranking the portal classes, freshman classes, as well as individual rankings of portal additions and freshman additions heading into the season. The final part of the article will be an early look at how I think the league will pan out in 2025-26, and I will give my early prognostications for the upcoming season. I am looking forward to part four and hope you are looking forward to reading it. It's going to be an adventure to write for sure!
