Bryan Hodgson and his family are welcoming the challenge of winning at Providence College (Photo: PC Athletics)
By KEVIN McNAMARA
As Bryan Hodgson waited in a doorway leading into Mullaney Gym on Tuesday afternoon, he held the hand of his young son, Jett, turned to his wife, Jordan, and said ‘this is unbelievable.’
With that the new coach of the Providence College Friars took a giant step into his future, striding into the old gym as the PC band played ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’, the cheerleaders waving their pom poms as over 1,000 fans stood and cheered.
An introductory press conference? That’s what Bryan Hodgson and his young family were expecting. Instead they walked onto a red carpet of cheers, Providence style.
“This is absolutely phenomenal,” Hodgson said to the crowd.
For the next 20 minutes the coach regaled the PC faithful with reasons for his excitement at leaving the University of South Florida for a chance to battle the beasts of the Big East. He mentioned the Friars’ history, his childhood memories of the Big East, the dogged passion of athletic director Steve Napolillo who would call him “and if you don’t answer he’ll call you back 11 times within 60 seconds.”
Hodgson, 38, didn’t go into great detail about his childhood story, but it’s been well-told. He was raised by a foster family in Jamestown, N.Y., sharing a home with dozens of other foster kids. He came up through the hard-scrabble junior college ranks without some sugar-daddy mentor/coach who’d deliver him to some elite Division One job. But with his gravely voice and stern disposition, he did want to tie that background with the Providence Friar reputation of being a plucky underdog, one that honors the chip on its shoulder.
“As you get a chance to meet me,” he said, “all the things that make Providence special, Providence College special and Providence basketball special are the things that my foundation is built on and that my family instilled in me.”
There were other important items that Hodgson addressed in his remarks, and with the local media afterwards. But when all the pomp and circumstance ended, anyone familiar with the challenge of coaching at Providence knows that ultimately none of that stuff really matters. And you left all the noise, cheers and back-slaps with the feeling that Hodgson embraces that fact as well.
Because what does really matter is that this is a rebuilding job. Yes, there are several important pieces in place. The facilities, the passion and money of the fan base, the commitment (re: Revenue Share/NIL) from the school and its biggest boosters. Napolillo and his team continue to do a fabulous job in that department. But there are dozens of other high-level programs in the country with similar basketball weapons of mass disposal. How Hodgson and his staff can deploy them on the recruiting trail – really in the transfer portal – in the next six weeks is what will define this program’s initial success.
Without players, after all, introductory pep rallies are just a bunch of hot air.
On that front, we’ll get an early read on what Hodgson is thinking with roster construction. Any coach worth his salt will try to keep a core, albeit small, of players from the current roster. Sophomores Ryan Mela and Oswin Erhunmwunse both have proven they are legitimate Big East players. Mela can help any team, at any level, win games. Erhunmwunse is a very good frontcourt piece in a world where big men who can rebound and block shots are an expensive commodity. Freshmen Jamier Jones, Stefan Vaaks and (perhaps) Jaylen Harrell are also real building blocks. Jones is a plus-athlete who could thrive in the uptempo, end-to-end style South Florida flashed in its 25-9 season. Vaaks is a blessed offensive talent who, like Jones, was one of the five best freshmen in the Big East. Harrell sat out this season with an injury but remains a prospect with significant upside.
In a perfect world, those five players would fall under Hodgson’s recruiting spell and form the core of this rebuild. There is next to zero chance that happens, however. Vaaks has already announced plans to explore his options in the transfer portal and will attract attention from coast-to-coast. Who knows which of the other four will follow, or if Hodgson feels any will fit into his plans.
Hodgson said he plans to build a roster filled with ‘relentless competitors,’ and also said in an interview on the KevinMcSports Hour that he appreciates a balanced roster where players know their roles and all don’t expect to be stars. While he said that “we’re going to re-recruit these young men, we’re going to build a program around several of them,” that challenge will be a pointed one. He also had this to say to the PC community, a directive he said he also delivered to the players a day earlier.
“I said this in the locker room (Tuesday): if you leave Providence basketball, I promise you that in about four or five months you’re going to regret that decision. For a lot of reasons,” he said. “We’re going to be on the national stage and we’re going to compete to win the Big East right away. We’re going to compete to win more than the Big East right away. We’re going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament and we’re going to compete at the highest level. More importantly we’re going to develop pros.”
Then there are the players from South Florida who, like their coach, feel they are ready for a jump to the Big East. Junior guard Wes Enis is the big catch there. He was a 1’st team All-American Conference pick after averaging a team-high 16.4 points. He made 107 threes after attempting 68 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line. At 6-foot-2 he’s small for a wing guard but he’s a willfull passer (78 assists) and rebounder (3.6). Sophomore guard C.J. Brown (4.7 assists) and freshman guard Gavin Hightower also will get a long look.
Many of those answers will come once the transfer portal opens on April 7.
South Florida junior guard Wes Enis was a 1’st team American Conference selection in 2025-26
Hodgson apparently believes his staff is ready to battle with the best in the country. He said that associate head coach Tee Butters will serve as the program’s general manager as well but that all of the personnel decisions ultimately rest with the head coach. The rest of the staff will also be moving from Tampa.
“They are all coming with me from the University of South Florida and here’s why,” Hodgson said. “That’s very important to me. Nothing bothers me more that when people make a jump like this they leave the people behind that are working just as hard, or harder, than they are. You’ll realize that I have an amazing staff. Everywhere we’ve been we’ve set new standards, we’ve broken record and we’ve elevated every single program. That’s what’s going to happen here.”
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There were other items that Hodgson discussed that are critical for basketball success. He said he had “interviewed” for other jobs in the past few weeks and “offered jobs” at other power conference schools but chose Providence because of its fan base, history and prospects for success. Top among those reasons are money, specifically available Rev Share/NIL to pay the roster.
“You got to know if you’re going to take a job that there’s strong financial backing and make sure that we’re competitive,” he said. “I’ll tell everybody here- we’re never going to be the highest bidder, for anybody. I don’t want to be. I don’t relate to those people. I grew up poor. I understand the value of a dollar but more importantly I understand commitment and the ‘want to’ that a young man has to have to be here. We’re going to find the right players and use our financial resources wisely.”
Providence President Rev. Kenneth Sicard with new hoop coach Bryan Hodgson
For the next several months, really until the ball is tipped in the first week of November, the question will come fast and furious: ‘So what do you think of the new Coach at Providence?’
The answer is a big, fat incomplete. Today, anyways.
Show me the roster, show me the talent that fits the dollar signs, let’s see the vision that the coaching staff owns for fitting players into a winning system.
That’s where the rubber meets the road, that’s where the pomp and circumstance ends and the path towards a return to the NCAA Tournament begins for the Friars.
