Atlantic 10 Basketball: Ranking of top 55 players in the heart of the 2025-26 season

With one month to go in the regular season, it's time to undertake a rankings of the top fifty A-10 players thus far. However, the transfer portal's impact on mid-major rosters has made this exercise far more muddled. There is a clear change in the talent distribution within rosters. The quality of elite players remains similar to the past, but the next tier of second and third options isn't nearly as good as it used to be. Meanwhile, the depth across the conference is significantly better than average. There are more awesome role players than ever, but less consistent sidekicks.

It's pretty easy to understand how this happened. With more quality starters departing in the off-season for power conferences, it's far more difficult to develop players to a higher quality. At the same time, there is a larger pool of talent now available, leading to some excellent bench units.

Two teams were particularly hard to judge in this exercise. St. Bonaventure was an exception to all I just discussed. The Bonnies top four players may have to best counting stats of any A-10 quartet, thanks to the huge minutes they play. But they sit at 3-8 in conference play, thanks to the worst defense in that span. Thusly, I collectively penalized all of the St Bonaventure players for their struggles on that half of the court.

Saint Louis is dominating the A-10 with nine excellent players who are all playing less than 27.7 minutes per game. Eight of those players had a real argument for this list over players with better box score numbers, and it was difficult to figure out how to properly distribute credit. Unfortunately for these Billikens players, the same issue will almost certainly arise come awards season.

Finally, this year's list is fifty-five players, not fifty. It is a byproduct of the aforementioned depth that would have forced me to make some extremely unfair cuts. It also felt cleaner, since there was a significant drop off between players #55 and #56.

Honorable Mention

The expanded list really shrinks this section. Justin Moore (Loyola Chicago) was excellent during the Ramblers' run of competence in December, but he has struggled since his January injury and isn't putting up the numbers to deserve a spot when representing one of the conference's worst all-time teams.

Aiden Argabright (Richmond) was a victim of the final round of the cuts, which is an important distinction, as no freshman appears on the list. He remains the A-10 Rookie Of The Year favorite, although Austin Williford (St Joe's) is making a serious charge. Devin Brown (Davidson) also deserves a shout out for his improved play.

The last players deserving of a mention are David Dixon (Duquesne) and Sean Logan (Davidson), who is one of the best rim protectors in the country, but he is only playing 15.3 minutes per game and is largely a non-factor offensively.

Tier 5C: Unsung Energy Guys (And Two Point Guards)

55. Alex Williams (Duquesne): 7.4 ppg, 35.4% 3pt
54. Ishan Sharma (Saint Louis): 9.5 ppg, 43% 3pt
53. Jordan Derkack (Dayton): 8.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg
52. Jadrian Tracey (VCU): 10.2 ppg, 39.2% 3pt
51. Jack Whitbourne (Fordham): 8.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg
50. Keeyan Itejere (Rhode Island): 7.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg
49. Michael Belle (VCU): 7.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg
48. Jaden Johnson (La Salle): 5.4 ppg, 4.3 apg
47. Christian Jones (George Washington): 10.0 ppg, 3.0 apg

Williams swung one of the biggest upsets of the season with his 25 point performance at George Mason, and has allowed Duquesne to unlock their stellar no center lineups. Sharma has come off the bench and made 5+ threes in a trio of recent games. Dayton's offense suffered mightily without Derkack's ability to manaufacture garbage points when he was recently injured. Itejere gets to the foul line, is an underrated rim protector and one of the keys to a strong Rams defense.

Whitbourne is half of Fordham's extremely disruptive rebounding and power game, but has been limited to just eight games all season. Belle's counting stats aren't all that impressive, but his ability to cover three positions has unlocked massive defensive flexibility for VCU in the last month. Johnson has also had health issues (twelve games), but is a fantastic playmaker whose mid-season return jumpstarted the Explorers' offense. Jones isn't nearly the defensive pest he was in his debut season, but has become a more consistent shooter and cut down on his turnovers.

Tier 5B: Masters Of The Heat Check

46. Jaeden Marshall (La Salle): 12.4 ppg, 34.1% 3pt
45. Jonah Hinton (Rhode Island): 13.7, 3.2 rpg
44. Will Johnston (Richmond): 9.4 ppg, 2.3 apg

You never know what to expect from any part of this trio in a given game. La Salle won both of Marshall's 20+ point games in A-10 play, but he also has as many 0 point games in that timeframe. Hinton was a non-conference killer but is only shooting 34.1% from the field in A-10 games. Johnston edges out a few other of Richmond's brigade of smaller scoring guards, thanks to his occasional massive performances.

Tier 5A: Power Players

43. Jakub Necas (Duquesne): 8.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg
42. Jerome Brewer Jr (La Salle): 11.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg
41. Mike Walz (Richmond): 7.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg
40. Rikus Schulte (Fordham): 10.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg

Always a stud on-ball defender, Necas' emergence as an aggressive slasher and a small ball center has made him the Dukes most indispensable role player. Like his La Salle teammates, Brewer isn't a consistent game-to-game scorer but he's had a few massive games to go with his consistent rebounding. Walz is an enigma who leads the Spiders in assist rate and is second in three point shooting, despite being fifth in usage rate. I might have put Schulte too low, he's the key to Fordham's dominant rebounding and is shooting 62.3% inside the arc.

Tier 4C: Dynamic Guards

39. Fatt Hill (George Mason): 11.1 ppg, 52.2% fg
38. Quentin Jones (Saint Louis): 10.1 ppg, 3.1 apg
37. Parker Friedrichsen (Davidson): 10.1 ppg, 41.2% 3pt

Hill is just a smidge too good to be in the Masters of the Heat Check tier, as he's had an erratic five game run of scoring (14/16/4/6/23) that sums up his season, but George Mason often can't live without his driving skills. Jones has taken a step back in his role in A-10 play, but remains an essential part of the magnificent ball movement of the Billikens starting lineup. Friedrichsen is ascending, taking on Davidson's lead scoring guard duties and putting up double digits in all but one of the Wildcats' wins since New Year's.

Tier 4B: Really Good At A Few Things

36. Cayden Charles (St. Bonaventure): 12.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg
35. Trey Autry (George Washington): 10.7 ppg, 38.8% 3pt
34. Keonte Jones (Dayton): 8.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg
33. Dasear Haskins (St. Joe's): 11.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg
32. ***player fits in Tier 4A below
31. Jahmere Tripp (Rhode Island): 12.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg
30. Rob Dockery (La Salle): 9.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg

Charles is the quintessential fourth man, an elite cutter/offensive rebounder and reliable shooter, while being one of the less damaging parts of the St. Bonaventure defense. Haskins is in the midst of his long awaited breakout, putting up 15.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg in the Hawks' A-10 wins. Tripp has also excelled in the second half of the season, and both he and Rhode Island as a whole have thrived with him as their second option offensively. Dockery is La Salle's most well rounded player, as yet another occaisonal big time scorer, and a wildly underrated playmaker (and even emergency point guard).

Tier 4A: Role Players With An Elite Skill

32. Justice Ajogbor (St. Joe's): 5.1 rpg, 2.3 bpg

29. Brandon Jennings (VCU): 8.6 ppg, 2.0 apg
28. AJ Lopez (Richmond): 12.8 ppg, 42.5% 3pt
27. Dasonte Bowen (St Bonaventure): 10.1 ppg, 4.9 apg
26. Josh Scovens (Davidson): 10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg

St. Joe's has the the third best defense in A-10 play, powered by Ajogbor's elite rim protection, lack of fouling and defensive rebounding. Who cares that he's the lowest scorer on this whole list? Out on the perimeter, Jennings is wreaking a similar level of havoc. Lopez is the best of the Spiders' scoring guards, largely separating himself from the pack with high level shooting. Bowen hit his stride again as an attacking playmaker right around a year after his brutal December 2024 injury. Scovens is often the lone source of physicality for Davidson, making him invaluable in the low post offensively.

Tier 3B: Excellent Sidekicks

25. Garrett Johnson (George Washington): 13.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg
24. Christian Henry (Fordham): 11.3 ppg, 5.2 apg
23. Jahari Long (George Mason): 11.4 ppg, 3.8 apg
22. Jaiden Glover-Toscano (St. Joe's): 15.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg

Henry is second in assists in A-10 play, but his scoring has taken a real hit over that span, as Fordham has begun to develop other offensive options. Long has a similar role, as the central playmaker next to a dynamic multi-faceted lead guard. Glover-Toscano makes his impact as an explosive scorer, and the Hawks are 10-2 when he breaks the 16 point threshold this season.

Tier 3A: Almost Stars

21. Dion Brown (Saint Louis): 10.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg
20. Amari McCottry (Saint Louis): 10.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg
19. Roberts Blums (Davidson): 11.7 ppg, 43.2% 3pt
18. Trey Green (Saint Louis): 12.0 ppg, 47.1% 3pt
17. De'Shayne Montgomery (Dayton): 15.0 ppg, 52.1% fg

This seems like the right spot to place the best of the Saint Louis role players, who all share in the scoring burden, with Brown serving as one of the nation's best rebounding guards, McCottry as an essential defensive weapon (he leads the A-10 in Evan Miya's defensive BPR), who is consistently asked to guard out of position and Green, who is fresh off of a 13-20 week from deep. No one should strike more fear into opposing fans when shots start falling than Blums, who has grown into the Wildcats' most reliable scorer in his sophomore season. Meanwhile, no one is more fearsome to ball handlers amidst a press than Montgomery, who powers the Dayton turnover machine and turns those into spectacular transition makes and misses.

Tier 2B: All-Conference Contenders

16. Riley Allenspach (George Mason): 13.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg
15. Miles Rubin (Loyola Chicago): 11.0 ppg, 2.4 bpg
14. Javon Bennett (Dayton): 16.0 ppg, 3.2 apg

Allenspach leads all high usage A-10 players in two point percentage (65%), and is top ten is both offensive and defensive rebounding rate. Loyola Chicago still sits outside the top 300 in the NET, and are only good at two things, protecting the rim and rebounding, both of which are powered solely by Rubin. Bennett is an excellent playmaker who is being stretched thin as Dayton's leading scorer. His efficiency is down, but he remains the Flyers best late game option.

Tier 2A: All-Conference Favorites

13. Darryl Simmons II (St. Bonaventure): 16.3 ppg, 42.1% 3pt
12. Lazar Djokovic (VCU): 14.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg
11. Jimmie Williams (Duquesne): 16.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg
10. Kory Mincy (George Mason): 15.6 ppg, 3.3 apg
9. Kellen Thames (Saint Louis): 9.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg

SImmons can easily jump up if the Bonnies start winning more games in the final month, especially if he continues to be featured as the go-to crunch time weapon, as he has been in recent wins. Djokovic remains an unstoppable force against inferior defensive frontcourts. Williams has become an explosive scorer over the past two months, to go with secondary playmaking and great perimeter rebounding. Mincy has had stellar weeks and rough weeks in A-10 play, but has remained the Patriots' leading scorer as he navigates life a smaller guard.

Thames is the single most confusing player to grade over the last decade. He's the best defender in the A-10, and has completely taken out multiple guards ranked above him for entire shifts at a time. But he's only averaging 17.3 minutes per game, so the top spot of Tier 2 felt most appropriate.

Tier 1B: Superstars

8. Dejour Reaves (Fordham): 17.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.8 apg
7. Frank Mitchell (St. Bonaventure): 16.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 53.8% fg
6. Tyler Cochran (Rhode Island): 14.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.1 spg
5. Terrence Hill Jr (VCU): 14.4 ppg, 2.7 apg, 87.4% ft
4. Derek Simpson (St. Joe's): 13.1 ppg, 4.7 apg, 89.7% ft
3. Tarence Guinyard (Duquesne): 16.6 ppg, 5.3 apg, 39.4% 3pt

Reaves is second in the A-10 in usage rate, but he is producing with the opportunity, as he runs away with the conference scoring title. Mitchell is often just as good as the Tier 1A players in the flow of the game, but he had to take a bump down with the Bonnies worst in the conference interior defense and some late game foul shooting problems. Cochran was always an unquestioned All-Defense level player (A-10 steals leader), but has also excelled offensively in the lead guard role that the Rams have recently bestowed upon him.

Hill doesn't quite have the elite stats of the other superstars, but VCU often desperately lacks a scoring punch when he is on the bench, and wouldn't be anywhere near 10-2 in the A-10 without him. Simpson has been an unstoppable offensive force since he became St. Joe's full time point guard, nearly averaging a triple nickel in A-10 play (15.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.9 apg). No one else in the A-10 is capable of closing a game with 25 points in a 13 minute span like Guinyard just did versus George Washington. He now stands second in the league in scoring, while leading in assists.

Tier 1A: We Could Have Had The 2022 NBA MVP Race

2. Rafael Castro (George Washington): 15.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 63.9% fg
1. Robbie Avila (Saint Louis): 12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.3 apg

The consensus top two A-10 players in the pre-season turned out to be the two best in the real season. Unfortunately, Castro's recent injury and Saint Louis' dominance has almost certainly ended the Player of the Year race early. Although it may have been wrapped up when Avila won the chess match in his game winner against George Washington, which he talked about on a recent episode of 3 Bid League. His stats have taken a real hit this year due to some low volume shooting performances in blowouts, as he's let his teammates get their shots up in those games.