Basketball
Boston College hires Luke Murray to be next men’s basketball coach
Boston College has hired Luke Murray as its head men’s basketball coach. Murray had been an assistant coach at UConn since 2021 under Dan Hurley and helped the team win two national championships. BC will be Murray’s first head coaching job.
Before UConn, Murray coached at Wagner and Rhode Island with Hurley in the early 2010s, and at Xavier and Louisville under Chris Mack in the latter half of the decade. The son of comedy legend and Ghostbuster Bill Murray, Luke is credited with being the mastermind behind the current Husky offense.
“[Murray’s] offense is something else. He’s a real special, special coach,” said Donovan Clingan, a former national champion at UConn with Murray and current center for the Portland Trailblazers. “He understands the basketball game at a high level, and he’s very good at putting all of us in the best positions possible to succeed at a high level.”
Murray has been a top coaching candidate for the past few offseasons, along with other UConn assistants including Kimani Young. It seemed almost inevitable that Murray would get the opportunity to lead his own program.
“Luke and Kimani [Young], those two guys, they’re head-coach quality,” Dan Hurley said in April 2024. “They’re high-major-level head-coach quality. Those two guys have no holes in their game at all. They’re highest level recruiters, great player development, great with tactics, understand the branding piece, and are great motivators.”

While Young has yet to have a school lure him away from Storrs, Murray will work to rebuild a BC program that has had only two winning seasons in the last 15 years and is looking for its first NCAA tournament berth since 2009.
“Luke Murray is a superstar,” said Chris Mack when Murray left Louisville. “No detail goes unnoticed with Luke. Whether it’s working with our perimeter players, scouting, or recruiting, Luke excels. He’s one of the most organized, detailed, and high-energy recruiters that I’ve ever been around.”
While Murray’s work ethic could be the reason he brings the Eagles back to prominence, a lack of financial support from the administration could hinder him. BC has become notorious in college basketball circles for being one of the cheapest power-conference programs when it comes to roster building.
According to Sports Illustrated, “The issue with Boston College[‘s coaching search] is it has presented to candidates what is believed to be the lowest overall roster budget pool (NIL plus revenue sharing) of any power-conference job.”
Murray will certainly be fighting an uphill battle in Chestnut Hill, but him accepting the job after being part of major coaching discussions for the last few seasons suggests he believes he can get the job done at BC. Why shouldn’t Eagles fans feel the same way?
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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