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BC Hoops on the Horizon! A Preview of the Backcourt

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Chas Kelley III and Donald Hand Jr. at ACC Media Day

With Boston College Football in full swing, what better time to talk about BC Basketball than right now? After all, opening night in Conte is less than three weeks away. While I was unable to attend last week’s basketball media day event at Boston College, I still have quite a few thoughts to get through regarding this roster, specifically the backcourt. With last season’s three most prolific guards – Jaeden Zackery, Claudell Harris Jr., and Mason Madsen – all leaving for the transfer portal, Conte Forum will be home to a completely revamped roster, especially at the guard position. 

Let’s start with the guards that were actually part of last season’s roster: Chas Kelley III, Donald Hand Jr., and Fred Payne. While Fred Payne played just 24 minutes before suffering a season-ending knee injury, Kelley III and Hand Jr. were both regulars in the Eagles’ rotation last season. Kelley III and Hand Jr. played 15 minutes and 14 minutes per game, respectively, with Kelley III averaging 3.7 points and Hand Jr. averaging 5.0 points per game. With the duo both entering their third season under Coach Grant, both Kelley III and Hand Jr. will be stepping into much larger roles, and will have to take a step forward if BC is going to be competitive in the ACC.  

Chas Kelley III, Donald Hand Jr., and Fred Payne will be joined by a whole host of newcomers for this season, highlighted by former UMBC star guard Dion Brown. Brown earned first-team All-America East honors last season, averaging 19.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He also led the conference in scoring AND rebounding scoring 21.4 points and pulling down 9.6 rebounds per game in league play. No small feat for a 6’3 guard! With Brown’s high-level production, fans should expect him to be this team’s leading scorer for this season. 

Also joining the Eagles by way of the transfer portal is newcomer Roger McFarlane. McFarlane spent the first three seasons of his career in Hammond, Louisiana playing for the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. While SELU is a lesser-known division I program, McFarlane is no stranger to high-level competition, playing against BYU and Auburn last season. McFarlane actually has a very similar playstyle to Brown, averaging 15.0 points and 9.8 rebounds (as a 6’4 guard!) in Southland Conference play.

The final guard to join this Eagles’ roster via the portal is former Clemson reserve Josh Beadle. Beadle played in 32 out of 36 games for the Elite Eight-bound Tigers, averaging 3.0 points in 10.8 minutes per game. While Beadle had a limited role for a deep Tigers’ roster, he proved to be an excellent defender and an athletic finisher at the rim. Also, coming from an ACC rival, he obviously has plenty of experience against power-five competition, including two NCAA Tournament games this past season.  

Lastly, Grant signed a pair of local guards out of the class of 2024 in Luka Toews and Nicholas Petronio. Toews averaged 16.5 points and 4.7 assists for the Newman School in Boston, MA. Listed at just 6’1 and 190 pounds, Toews won’t be the most physically imposing guard in the ACC, but those around the program have spoken highly of the freshman’s performance in the preseason. Toews also drew offers from Rhode Island, Loyola-Chicago, and Penn, among others.

Nick Petronio was recruited as a three-point specialist, as the incoming freshman shot well over 40% from behind the arc on the ultra-competitive EYBL circuit. After suffering a season-ending knee injury in February 2023, Petronio recovered for a fantastic senior season. The 6’3 sharp-shooter also held offers from Illinois, Loyola-Chicago, Yale, and many more. 

If you’ve been keeping count, you’ll have noticed that the Eagles currently have eight guards on scholarship on the roster. Given that division I basketball teams are only allotted 13 scholarship spots, and BC is only utilizing 12 this season, this roster is shaping up to be extremely guard-heavy. This will be in stark contrast to past seasons under Coach Grant, where everything ran through 7-footer Quinten Post, and relied heavily on contributions from forward Devin McGlockton.

This year’s team will be forced to play three-guard, or even four-guard lineups, something that Coach Grant has embraced in his preseason quotes from this past week’s media day, “We have a lot of big guards… So at times, we may have to spread it out and play a four-guard package”. These new-look Eagles will have their work cut out for them this season, as the majority of this roster, guards and forwards, have little to no experience playing heavy minutes at the power-conference level. However, these new faces should bring new stories. So stay up-to-date with Eagles Daily for all things BC hoops, as opening night in Conte is closer than you think!

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Boston College lands one of nation’s top rebounders in Brandon Benjamin, along with former Charleston forward Colby Duggan

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Boston College received two more transfer commitments this weekend in Brandon Benjamin and Colby Duggan. Benjamin and Duggan join Money Williams, Ernest Shelton and JB Frankel as the fourth and fifth transfers to commit to Luke Murray and BC this offseason. The Eagles now have seven players on their roster, including international signing Zak Smrekar and Jack Bailey, the only BC player from last year not to enter the portal.

Benjamin, a 6-foot-8 forward from Newark, N.J., played his only collegiate season last year at Fairfield University. The rising sophomore was named to the 2025-26 MAAC All-Rookie Team and All-MAAC Second Team after averaging 14.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 56.5% from the field. Benjamin ranked first in the MAAC and eighth in the country in rebounds per game and second in the country in offensive rebounds per game (4.25).

“What made me pick BC first was the coaching staff,” Benjamin told ZAGSBLOG on Sunday. “It really felt like family. I will bring my high motor, plus rebounding, finishing around the rim and taking guys off the dribble. [I also bring] my catch-and-shooting, pick-and-pop, my winning impact and my versatility with guarding 1-5 with the ability to block shots.”

Duggan, a 6-foot-7 forward from Monson, Mass., averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 19 games for Charleston last season after missing the first part of the year with an injury. He spent the previous two seasons at Campbell University and averaged 15.7 points and 3.3 rebounds on 34% shooting from 3-point range during the 2024-25 season.

“He competes on both ends of the court at all times,” former Charleston head coach and current USF head coach Chris Mack said. “He’s a warrior. He’s a winner. Defensively, Colby doesn’t back down. He guards well in the post and on the perimeter. Offensively, he led the conference in scoring and is just scratching the surface of what he can be as a mismatch.”

Benjamin should slot into the starting lineup as the power forward or a small-ball big thanks to his impressive rebounding ability, while Duggan comes to BC as a depth piece off the bench.

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Former Merrimack sharpshooter Ernest Shelton commits to Boston College

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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.


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Boston College lands Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel, first three transfer commitments of Luke Murray era

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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.

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