Basketball
Boston College Basketball Releases its Out-of-Conference Schedule
While many Eagle fans were tuned in to watch Bill O’Brien, Drew Kendall, and Thomas Castellanos at ACC media day, a certain subset of sickos were more intrigued by the news coming out of the basketball program. Earlier this afternoon, Boston College released its 2024-25 out-of-conference basketball schedule, and it is shaping up to be an interesting first two months of basketball.
In all honesty, the out-of-conference portion of this year’s season was going to be intriguing, regardless of the actual opponents. After all, the roster has nearly completely turned over from last season, and I don’t think anybody really knows what to expect from this iteration of the BC Basketball team. A starting lineup of Zackery-Harris-Madsen-McGlockton-Post will turn into Kelley-Brown-Hand-Strong-Venning on November 4th.
As always, we can separate the Eagles’ out-of-conference schedule into three parts: pre-Cayman Islands (this year’s MTE), Cayman Islands, and post-Cayman Islands. The pre-MTE portion of the season includes a home-opener against the Citadel on November 4th, a neutral site game against VCU at Annapolis’ Veterans’ Classic on November 8th, a home game against Temple on November 15th, and a home game against Loyola Maryland on November 18th. Some fans will recall that the Citadel nearly upset the Eagles down in South Carolina last season, so the Bulldogs will certainly be coming into Conte with that extra edge.
VCU is most likely to be the toughest team in this group, as they finished the 2023-24 season with a 24-14 record in a solid A-10 conference. The Commodores played their way to the quarterfinals of the NIT, before eventually losing to Utah (now home to both Madsen twins). The final two games should be more manageable, as Temple finished ‘23-24 with a 16-20 record, and Loyola Maryland went a dismal 7-25.
Next, the eagles will fly south to the Cayman Islands, where they will play three games in three days as part of the Cayman Islands Classic. The field is not exactly eye-popping as BC is the only Power-5 university participating. But it should be a good opportunity for the Eagles to gain experience playing with a trophy on the line. The Eagles are slated to play Old Dominion in the first round on November 24th, followed by the winner/loser of Missouri State and High Point the next day, before playing a team on the other side of the bracket on the final day.
Of the three teams that the Eagles could face in the first two rounds, High Point is poised to be the toughest, as they are coming off of a 27-9 season that ended with a loss in the CBI championship game. Missouri State posted a 17-16 record in the MVC, while Old Dominion finished last in the Sun Belt, bottoming out at 7-25. Should the Eagles win their first two games, they would
Finally, the Eagles finish their out-of-conference schedule with a November 29th game against Dartmouth, a December 3rd matchup against South Carolina as part of the ACC/SEC challenge, and December 15th game against Stonhill, and a December 28th game against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Eagles will also open up ACC play on Saturday December 7th against an opponent yet to be determined. So, the first week of December should be quite the test for this new-look Boston College basketball team.
Realistically, the Eagles should finish their out-of-conference slate somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-3. But, as previously mentioned, no one knows what to expect from Coach Grant’s group this season. We could wake up Sunday December 29th and see the Eagles sitting at 3-9 or at 10-2. Who’s to say? All we can do is have hope, and pack Conte on November 4th to find out.
Basketball
Boston College lands one of nation’s top rebounders in Brandon Benjamin, along with former Charleston forward Colby Duggan
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.
Basketball
Former Merrimack sharpshooter Ernest Shelton commits to Boston College
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.
Basketball
Boston College lands Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel, first three transfer commitments of Luke Murray era
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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Basketball5 months agoBoston College lands one of nation’s top rebounders in Brandon Benjamin, along with former Charleston forward Colby Duggan
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Basketball5 months agoBoston College lands Zak Smrekar, Money Williams, and JB Frankel, first three transfer commitments of Luke Murray era
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Basketball5 months agoFormer Merrimack sharpshooter Ernest Shelton commits to Boston College
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