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Jaeden Zackery: ‘We feel like we can be a tourney team in March’

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Boston College basketball tips off tonight against Fairfield at 8 p.m. to open the season.

With all the hype and higher expectations going into the season, this is all due to the raised level of play from the Eagles in the latter half of last year. Earl Grant’s progression of the program has been evident — the Eagles went from 13 wins and a quarterfinal appearance in the ACC tournament in his first year, to 17 wins last year, to expectations to raise the bar even higher this year. They’ve improved their win total in the previous two seasons and seek to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. We sat down with Jaeden Zackery to discuss this upcoming season and the state of the program.

“I feel like he brought in and gained the trust of all of us players in the program that he and we were going to build and turn this program around,” Zackery told EaglesDaily.com.

The cohesiveness in this group began to pay major dividends last year as the Eagles were able to win nine conference games — their most since the 2010-11 season. The centerpiece of this year’s group, Quinten Post, announced he was coming back for his senior year. This was massive news for the 2023 ACC most improved player of the year as he presumably had plenty of options elsewhere.

With the opportunity to go pro, and the current NIL landscape, Post could have taken the money outside of BC. What kept him here in a Zay Flowers-like decision?

“I feel like it has to do with his connection with Coach Grant and the rest of us on the team,” Zackery explained. “We’ve built this bond and chemistry and feel like this is a big year for us if he came back.”

Zackery and Post have become the leaders of the team. As the big contributors on the team, the duo accompanied Grant in Charlotte for ACC Media Day. Describing it as a “really fun experience” having the opportunity to enjoy and share the experience with Post, Grant and gain further exposure around the ACC landscape.

Media Day brought a lot of hype across the social media platforms for BC fans. The team is aware of their past and are actively seeking to continue turning the ship around. Although many pundits have picked the Eagles to finish near the bottom of the league, Zackery is aiming higher.

“We Feel like we can be a tourney team by March. Progressing from last year as well,” he said.

With the football team finding success, the hockey team being ranked number 1, and the school rallying around them, the basketball team feels it too.

“There is some great energy around this team within us and around the campus. We feel like this is a big year coming up for us,” Zackery commented.

For a team that has shown promise, this season is a chance to take the next step. For Zackery, it’s another chance to prove himself personally. The former JUCO product came to Boston College as an overlooked prospect and he continues to let that drive him today.

“I most definitely have a chip on my shoulder and I always will. I feel like I’m still overlooked in this conference and that chip is motivation.”

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Basketball

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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Basketball

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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