On March 12th, the Friars season ended with a 75-69 loss to Butler at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament.Twelve days later, the NCAA portal season began, a most vital time for schools like Providence who have so much to replace.The first week of the portal consisted of player meetings with the staff, where decisions were made about which players would be a part of the 2025-26 Friar roster. In this new era, these decisions are a two-way street, and both sides have to be in agreement for the player to return.
At the end of the season, I felt it was imperative that Coach English and the staff needed to keep three players no matter what else happened. The three were Corey Floyd, Oswin Erhunmwunse, and Ryan Mela. The other player I was hoping to see return was Richard Barron, Coach English’s first recruit to commit to Providence. These players all represented more than solely their production on the floor, which also justified bringing them back. In this article, I will discuss the reasons I believed it was essential to keep these players as the initial and primary building blocks for next season. Five players from this year’s team, Christ Essandoko, Bryce Hopkins, Jayden Pierre, Eli DeLaurier, and Justyn Fernandez have committed to new schools, while Jaylin Sellers, Cole Hargrove, Daquan Davis, Jason Edwards, Duncan Powell and Estonian player Stefan Vaaks have all committed to next year’s team, joining highly rated freshmen Jamier Jones and Jaylin Harrell.
Ryan Mela was a player that was receiving interest mainly to lower-level Division 1 schools until Dennis Felton was at a tournament scouting another Friar recruit (oddly enough Daquan Davis) when he said he could not take his eyes off Mela. He relayed this to Coach English who then came to see Mela, set up a meeting, and offered him a scholarship to Friartown, which Mela accepted. Mela then had a strong senior season, but his transition to college basketball was impacted by a back injurythat limited his practice time. This led to limited minutes forMela early in the season. Even in these short stints, Mela showed he could rebound and pass. His play improved to a new level beginning with the St. Bonaventure game, where he averaged 8 points and 8 rebounds per game over the next seven games. After a bit of a slump once teams began to game plan for him, Mela readjusted and finished strong, averaging 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists over the final eight games, including hitting 5 of 12 three-point attempts.
Mela added a new dimension to the Friar offense when he was in the game, often playing as a form of point forwardinitiating the offense from the point of his rebounding. He needs to improve his shooting and defense for next year but left no doubt that he is a quality Big East talent, and an example of the importance of the eye test in high school recruiting. If he was not retained, it would have taken away one of the biggest positive surprises for the team this year. Instead, we have Mela returning and being able to get a full off-season of staff training, and hopefully a healthy summer to work on his game.
While Ryan Mela was a surprise recruit who had no expectations, Oswin Erhunmwunse was the highly anticipated recruit who reclassified to join the Friars a year early. Oswin came to Friartown from Putnam Science Academy, one of the top prep programs in the country. While rumors were prevalent about him joining the Friars for the 23-24 season, the official announcement did not happen until June, which shortened his time with the staff in preparation for the new year. This did little to tamper expectations for Oswin.
Early in the season, he showed raw talent and promise, but was limited, especially on the offensive side of the court. He basically scored all of his points at the rim, either on dunks or layups, and shot 33% from the line in the first half of the season. His growth over the second half was very impressive. He averaged 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game over the second half of the season and shot 76% from the field and 53% from the free throw line. More importantly, his offensive skills were clearly better. Fouls became a concern as the season progressed, but it was often the result of trying to do too much. I have a TV streaming service that allows me to record every Friar game (and most every other college game). I have actually gone back and watched a number of early games for the Friars to see how much Oswin’s game has improved over the course of the season. It was like watching two different players, and the growth was more pronounced when looking at a game in November followed by one in March than seeing incremental improvement over four months. I have no doubt that we will see similar improvements as he works with Coach Felton and the staff between now and next November.
To lose the highest rated Friar recruit to the portal had the potential to be devastating for Coach English and the program. Coach English has brought in three all-freshman recruits in two years as coach and has two more highly rated prospects coming in for next year. In order for that to matter, the staff needs to be able to keep these promising players, and Oswin was the player who is the most important representation of that hope. When he (and Mela) announced that they were returning to the team and school for next season, Friar fans felt a giant sigh of relief. Keeping Oswin was a sign that the staff can recruit and maintain elite prospects. This is especially relevant with the team bringing in Jaylen Harrell and Jamier Jones for the fall.
Richard Barron was the first high school recruit for the Friars under Coach English, who originally recruited Barron to George Mason. He made the Big East all-freshman team in 2023-24 despite playing much of the season with an injured shoulder. In his freshman year, he scored double figures five times and shot 43% from three. After that season Barron had shoulder surgery, which affected his off-season training and appeared to be an issue for most of the 2024-25 season. He had an up and down season that also saw him miss time with a concussion. There were positive signs toward the end of the season. In the final nine games, Barron averaged 9 points and 3 rebounds per game while shooting 37% from three. Included in this stretch was a 23-point game in a one-point loss at Butler.Barron has shown the ability to play in the Big East, but with a full offseason of health and practice time, he can reach his full potential in the coming season.
The final necessity for the staff to retain was Corey Floyd, Jr. I have made clear that Corey is my favorite Friar, as I have followed his career since high school. Being the first second generation Friar is worth celebrating and having him here for four years is something that will happen with less frequency going forward. I also loved the fact that when he first met Coach English, he saved the coach the time to re-recruit him by telling him immediately that he was staying at Providence. He has also passed up the opportunity to enter the portal the past two seasons, as he would have had a significant number of teams interested in his services.
While this season clearly had its ups and downs for the Friars, Corey’s growth was one of the bright spots. He averaged 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game in conference play. He was also averaging under one turnover per game until he was the victim of a hit and run accident. Additionally, he was the Friars top defender, rotating among opposing team’s guards and forwards as needed. From the start of Big East play through the final home game of the season against DePaul, Floyd shot 35% from three and 87% from the free throw line.
The other reason why retaining Corey was vital for the Friars is that he is the clear leader of the team, a person who is liked and respected by the other members of the team and the coaching staff alike. In addition to his contributions on the court, he has been working constantly on his own and with his teammates to develop skills and teamwork. As we need to incorporate as many as eight new players into next season’s roster, having a leader of Corey’s stature able to connect the returnees and the new players and allow them to understand and appreciate what makes Providence College special will be a necessity for our success.
Throughout the off-season, I will discuss the new Friars that will be on the floor next November, and how we stack up, both nationally and in the Big East. For now, however, it is a moment to celebrate the team members that are returning for another season. Go Friars.
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