Atlantic 10 Basketball: Breakout candidates from each team for 2020-21

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 12: A general view of the Barclay Center prior to the start of the 2020 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament - Second Round on March 12, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Tournament games will be played without fans amid growing concerns of the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

12 of 15

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 17: head coach Mark Schmidt of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

G, Dominick Welch – St. Bonaventure

Dominick Welch is Saint Bonaventure’s breakout candidate for the 2020-21 season. He will be going into his junior season at St. Bonaventure. Welch finished fifth on the team in scoring at 7.5 points per game last season. Welch and Osun Osunniyi became widely accepted last season as two of the best sophomores to enter the Atlantic 10 last season. Both Welch and Osunniyi were clear frontrunners at their positions and will add more skill to their already talented squad this upcoming season.

Prior to St. Bonaventure, Welch attended Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio where he led Spire to a 24-8 record and an at-large berth in the national prep school playoffs. At Spire, he averaged 18 points and 6.2 rebounds over 29 games. He was listed as a three-star small forward by ESPN.com. Welch is also the all-time leading scorer in Western New York boys basketball history where he finished with 2,376 points in high school.

Last season, Welch led the Bonnies three-point field goals (43) and three-point percentage (.361). Although Welch had to share time with Courtney Stockard and Jaylen Poyser, he still managed to shine at his position. Now that Stockard and Poyser have departed from the Bonnies, Welch will have the opportunity to get even more time and perform at a high-level.

We can expect a big year from Dominick Welch and the Bonnies behind head coach Mark Schmidt. The Bonnies are looking younger and more talented and it should be exciting to watch Osun Osunniyi and Dominick Welch continue to evolve into stars within the program.

Home/Atlantic 10