Two more top prospects might commit to Providence basketball this month. Who are they?
Bill KochThe end of this month could see Providence College already well down the road with respect to building its next men’s basketball recruiting class.
The Friars already hold a commitment from a 2025 prospect and could see two more before the calendar flips to June. The first could come as soon as Sunday afternoon.
More:Providence basketball has already sold 99% of its season tickets for next season.
Jamier Jones will announce his decision live on Instagram, and he was scheduled to start a final visit to Providence over the weekend. Jaylen Harrell is set to pledge May 27, and the Friars are also among his last six schools under consideration.
Jones is the type of national prospect who would move the needle. Harrell was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts and the sort of local talent Providence must keep home regularly. Both have taken official visits here, and combining the two would be a powerful statement for Friars coach Kim English after barely a year in his new job.
Jones was in for a November win over Milwaukee and cut his list in late April to the Friars, Ohio State, Houston, LSU, South Carolina and Kansas. He’s an athletic small forward from Florida and a consensus top-35 national talent. Jones also counted offers from Michigan, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Illinois, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas, Ole Miss and Indiana — none of those programs made his final cut.
More:Providence basketball coach Kim English has message for teams trying to lure his players away.
Harrell attended at least two games last season, watching losses to Villanova and Connecticut that helped keep Providence out of the March Madness field. He’s a consensus top-105 national talent with grassroots ties to Expressions Elite, the prominent local Nike circuit entry. Harrell is also considering Rutgers, Wake Forest, Alabama, Virginia Tech and Xavier — he's cut the likes of Washington, Georgetown and Massachusetts from his final list.
Being able to consistently land four-year talent like this has been the long-term goal since the Friars started putting real administrative muscle behind former coach Ed Cooley. His record in freshman recruiting was a bit more challenged than you might have expected from a program that reached seven NCAA Tournaments and completed the collection of Big East regular season and tournament titles on his watch. Providence enjoyed some elite hits and some major misses before Cooley — who later scored a handful of major additions via the transfer portal such as Bryce Hopkins, Devin Carter, Jared Bynum, Al Durham and Justin Minaya — made his stunning departure for the Hoyas.
Kris Dunn and city native Ricky Ledo, who ultimately never suited up in college, were a pair of quick lightning bolts in the early 2010s. Brandon Austin was a top-50 pledge the following year who never saw the floor, suspended by school administrators amid off-court sexual assault allegations before he left for Oregon. Providence waited a period of years before welcoming similar talent — Makai Ashton-Langford, city native David Duke and AJ Reeves made up the next wave of top-60 players in the late 2010s.
Jones would represent a third top-50 commit for English in just 14 months — 2023 guard Garwey Dual and 2025 big man Oswin Erhunmwunse were the first two. Dual initially pledged to Cooley, reopened his recruitment and committed again to English before an inconsistent 2023-24 college debut. Erhunmwunse could wind up a candidate to join the 2024 class and take the final remaining scholarship the Friars hold this cycle.
Providence made a noticeable shift toward the 2025 group after a few misses in 2024. Massachusetts wing Ryan Mela was an early pledge who will enroll with the Friars in the fall. Baltimore point guard Daquan Davis committed, reopened his recruitment and will suit up with Florida State next season.
That was it in terms of potential first-year players. Coveted shooting guard and Fall River native Joson Sanon committed to Arizona after a lengthy pursuit that included Providence among the finalists. Frontcourt players Somto Cyril (Kentucky, then Georgia after John Calipari left the Wildcats), Patrick Ngongba II (Duke) and Isaiah Abraham (Connecticut) were all on campus for visits before moving in other directions.
The Friars leaned on their staff, facilities and crackling, game-night atmosphere at Amica Mutual Pavilion to host no less than a dozen different prospects behind their bench throughout the 2023-24 season. Jones and Harrell were joined by fellow frontcourt players Tee Bartlett, Bryson Tiller and Efeosa Oliogu. Backcourt targets Nigel James, Mikel Brown Jr. and Lino Mark were among recruits spotted during a 21-14 campaign that resulted in an NIT berth.
Providence will have no shortage of holes to fill after next season. Hopkins and incoming transfers Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Wesley Cardet Jr. and Bensley Joseph are all set to exhaust their eligibility. Jones and Harrell both profile as players who would compete immediately for minutes left behind by Hopkins, Abdur-Rahim and Cardet.
English made a splash at George Mason when he landed Justyn Fernandez, a top-100 recruit who stayed in his native Virginia and should debut with the Friars in 2024-25. He was involved with some other high-profile targets with the Patriots, but it’s a different playing field moving from the middle of the Atlantic 10 to a conference that has captured four of the last eight national championships. Providence hoped English’s reputation as a relationship builder, his ability to assemble some top bench lieutenants and his open playing style would create an attractive destination for prep players.
There has certainly been a fair amount of success on that front thus far. We’ll see if there’s more to come soon.
On X: @BillKoch25