Guard Ernest Shelton announced his commitment to Boston College early Thursday night. The former Merrimack Warrior became the fourth transfer to commit to head coach Luke Murray and the Eagles, joining Zak Smrekar, Money Williams and JB Frankel. Shelton was named to the 2025-26 All-MAAC first team while helping lead the Warriors to a MAAC regular-season championship.

Shelton played two seasons at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, on the opposite side of the state from his hometown of Philadelphia, before transferring to Merrimack last offseason. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting 34.6% from behind the 3-point line.

“[Shelton]’s a shooter,” Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo said. “Every time it comes out of his hand, you think it’s going in.”

Shelton knocked down 99 3-pointers for Merrimack last season and was among the top 40 in the country in 3-pointers made per game (2.9). He set a career high last season with nine 3-pointers in a game against Boston University and made five or more 3-pointers in six games.

The sharpshooter is a breath of fresh air for a Boston College program that finished last in the ACC in 3-point percentage last season.

Boston College received its first three transfer commitments of the 2026 transfer portal cycle on Thursday in Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel. Smrekar, Williams, and Frankel are the first three players to commit to BC since Luke Murray was named head coach on March 26 and join Jack Bailey as the only three players currently on the Eagles’ roster.

Smrekar is a 19-year-old, 6-foot-7 guard from Slovenia and was the first to commit to Murray. He played for the club Krka Novo Mesto in the Slovenian ABA for three seasons and averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15 games in the 2025-26 season. Smrekar also played for Slovenia in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup and averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in seven games.

Williams is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-4 guard who played the last three seasons for Montana. The Oakland, California, native was named to the 2025-26 All-Big Sky First Team after averaging 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game on 49.8% shooting from the field. Williams scored a career-high 40 points against Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Tournament, along with tallying six other 30-point games last season.

“I can’t come up with enough words to praise Money Williams properly,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said in October 2025. “When you talk about the young man that he is off the court, the young man he is when you bring him in the office, and you have real conversations with him and look him in the eye and talk about things that are hard to talk about.”

Frankel is a 21-year-old, 6-foot-3 guard who is not moving far, as he played the last three years at Northeastern. He started 13 of 30 games for the Huskies last season and averaged 5.9 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. The New York City native scored a season-high 13 points in a road win against Harvard.

Coach Murray will have to continue to build up the Eagles roster, but with three guards being picked up, look for the Eagles to hone in on finding their starting forwards and big men.

Boston College basketball enters a defining offseason under new head coach Lucas Murray, with the roster undergoing a complete reset. As of this update, 11 players have entered the transfer portal, while 11 incoming transfers have been added as Murray continues to reshape the program.

For a program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2008, the urgency is clear. “We have to change the narrative of the way BC Basketball is viewed around the county,” Murray said. He arrives with championship pedigree from UConn, having coached in three of the last four national title games under Dan Hurley.

Hurley offered a strong endorsement of Murray’s hire, saying, “Boston College is about to have a renaissance in college basketball.”

Early returns suggest Boston College is making real progress. Murray and his staff have assembled a strong first portal class, highlighted by scoring, rebounding, and versatility:

• Montana transfer Money Williams — 20.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG
• Fairfield transfer Brandon Benjamin — 14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 56.5 FG%
• Merrimack transfer Ernest Shelton — 15.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG
• Ball State transfer Armoni Zeigler — 12.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.3 APG
• UT Martin transfer Andrija Bukumirovic — 13.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 35% 3PT (First Team All-OVC)
• Charleston transfer Colby Duggan — 9.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.3 APG
• George Washington transfer Luke Hunger — 8.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.9 APG
• Arkansas State transfer Aly Tounkara — 4.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG
• Northeastern transfer JB Frankel — 5.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.9 APG
• UConn transfer Jacob Furphy — 4-star recruit, high-upside wing

Below is the current live tracker of Boston College basketball transfer portal activity.

Live Tracker: Outgoing Transfers (11)

Live Tracker: Incoming Transfers (11)

Additional Recruiting Notes:

Zak Smrekar is a 2026 class international commit.

Jack Bailey, Redshirt Freshman Forward (6-10, 210), from New York, N.Y. (Blair Academy), is currently the last remaining player from the 2025/26 Boston College roster.

Last updated: May 8, 2026 at 1:46 PM

Mac Hutchinson, a columnist in Boston, is the Director of Digital Media for Eagles Daily, co-host of Eagles Weekly Podcast, and the founder of @BCFootballFans. He may be reached at mac@thinklyn.com