The transfer portal has officially closed, and now we can all finally exhale as rosters began to take shape. It's also the first time that we can begin to see the outline of the finished products that these coaches are trying to put together.
I've tiered all fourteen A-10 teams, not necessarily in terms of where they will finish next season, but rather, where they are in terms of roster construction in the race to put themselves into position to become contenders.
I projected each team's eight man rotation (as of 4/23 commitments), based off of my initial research on the incoming players, while also looking at the biggest remaining need.
Roster Largely Set
Saint Louis
G Trey Green (5.0 ppg, 1.0 apg at Xavier)
G Quentin Jones (16.6 ppg, 3.5 apg at Northern Illinois)
F Brady Dunlap (5.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg at St. John's)
F Paul Otieno (13.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg at Quinnipiac)
C Robbie Avila (17.3 ppg, 4.0 apg)
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G Dion Brown (5.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg at Boston College)
G Kellan Thames (6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
F Amari McCottry (4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Need: Backup PG
Saint Louis was aggressive in hitting the portal early, with the goal of finding players to fit around Robbie Avila in his final year, with seemingly limitless options (although last off-season felt similar and the bench ended up as a bust). The Billikens are set to be extremely reliant on unproven Xavier transfer Trey Green at the point, without a clear insurance option (maybe Quentin Jones?), should that end up as the wrong bet.
VCU
G Ahmad Nowell (1.5 ppg at UConn)
G Tyrell Ward (9.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg at LSU in '24)
G Jadrian Tracey (6.9 ppg at Oregon)
F Barry Evans (13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg at Bryant)
C Christian Fermin (4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
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G Brandon Jennings (2.7 ppg)
F Keyshawn Mitchell (8.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg at Bryant)
C Lazar Djokovic (7.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg at College of Charleston)
Need: Insurance Big
VCU is also exceedingly deep, but lacks clear top-end players. At this point, there is really only room to bring in a player who would clearly elevate the starting lineup (i.e. Zeb Jackson if he gets a waiver). Absent that, the Rams really just need a third center behind Christian Fermin and Lazar Djokovic, given that their forwards aren't big for their positions and playing five out could be a challenge.
George Washington
G Christian Jones (8.7 ppg, 2.6 apg)
G Jean Aranguren (14.2 ppg, 4.2 apg at Hofstra)
F Bubu Benjamin (13.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg at Tarleton State)
F Garrett Johnson (13.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg in '24)
C Rafael Castro (14.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg)
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G Tre Dinkins (12.9 ppg, 3.1 apg at Duquesne)
G Trey Autry (10.6 ppg, 38.6% 3pt)
F Tyrone Marshall Jr (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg at Western Kentucky)
Need: Honestly, Nothing
At the start of editing, George Washington was in desperate need a combo forward who could play next to Garrett Johnson (and size up a small perimeter group) and back him up in case of injury reoccurrence. Then the Revolutionaries landed Bubu Benjamin and Tyrone Marshall Jr in the span of a few hours to fill that gap and get to eleven rotation level players. I'm not sure that GW is one of the A-10's favorites, but they are clearly in the top five heading into next season.
One Player From Contention
Both teams have one major hole, and less importantly, both still need a backup center.
Dayton
G Adam Njie Jr (12.4 ppg, 4.2 apg at Iona)
G Javon Bennett (11.6 ppg, 2.1 apg)
G De'Shayne Montgomery (6.5 ppg at Georgia)
F Jacob Conner (2.7 ppg)
C Amael L'Etang (7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
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G Jordan Derkack (5.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg at Rutgers)
G Jaron McKie (24/7 #162)
F Jauin Simon (1.5 rpg)
Need: Physical Forward
Dayton is having a great off-season so far, keeping the two players that they could (Javon Bennett and Amael L'Etang) and quickly adding three high level guards, all with differing skill sets. But Jacob Conner is best suited as a backup, and the Flyers need to fill that spot with a player who can help L'Etang on the boards, and bring floor spacing that would steady a group of high ceiling/low floor shooters.
Loyola Chicago
G Justin Moore (7.7 ppg, 5.3 apg)
G Deywilk Tavarez (12.9 ppg, 41.5% 3pt at College of Charleston)
G Kymany Houinsou (5.8 ppg, 3.1 apg)
F Xavier Amos (3.5 ppg at Wisconsin)
C Miles Rubin (9.6 ppg, 2.3 bpg)
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G Kayde Dotson (2.3 ppg at New Mexico)
F Chuck Love III (24/7 #126)
F Daniil Glazkov (1.4 ppg)
Need: Bench Scorer
Drew Valentine once again moved quickly to directly address the need for a shooter (Deywilk Tavarez) and a physical four (Xavier Amos), next to two terrific playmakers (Justin Moore and Kymany Houinsou) and a defensive anchor (Miles Rubin). But that lineup is far from an offensive jauggernaut, and the best Rambler teams of the Moser/Valentine era have always had a game-changing scorer off the bench. This year, they will need to again.
Intriguing Wildcards
George Mason
G Brayden O'Connor (9.1 ppg, 3.0 apg)
G Jermahri Hill (15.8 ppg, 3.2 apg at Ball State)
F Masai Troutman (13.5 ppg, 39.6% 3pt at Northeastern)
F Dola Adebayo (13.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg at Mt St Mary's)
F Nick Ellington (9.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg at Murray State)
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G Kory Mincy (15.0 ppg, 4.4 apg at Presbyterian)
G Jahari Long (4.7 ppg at Maryland in '24)
C Emmanuel Kanga (24/7 #122)
Need: Interior Scorer
George Mason's mid-major all-star squad features a diverse array of skillsets, and having three starting point guard options (Brayden O'Connor, Jermahri HIll and Kory Mincy) offsets the need for a big-time perimeter scorer. But the Patriots have thrived with having dominant low post players (Keyshawn Hall, Amari Kelly, Jalen Haynes) over the past two seasons. Not easy to find at this point in the off-season but we'll see if Tony Skinn and company are up to the task.
Duquesne
G Arness Lawson (24/7 #248)
G Cam Crawford (8.6 ppg, 43.1% 3pt)
G Jake DiMichele (10.9 ppg)
F Jakub Necas (6.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
C John Hugley IV (2.9 ppg at Xavier)
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G Jimmie Williams (7.5 ppg, 40% 3pt at South Florida)
F Alex Williams (13.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg at Furman in '24)
C David Dixon (5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
Need: Point Guard
For what is an uncountable amount of years in a row, Duquesne is looking absolutely huge, and the Dukes can already concoct multiple lineups with four plus-level defenders on the court at once. But all of these players are either shooters or low-post players who don't often create their own shot and the roster is completely devoid of a playmaker, outside of maybe freshman Arness Lawson. It's the biggest single position need of any A-10 team right now.
Davidson
G Sam Brown (13.9 ppg, 2.3 apg at Penn)
G Parker Friedrichsen (3.2 ppg at Wake Forest)
G Manie Joses (2.6 ppg)
F Josh Scovens (15.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg at Army)
C Sean Logan (4.3 ppg, 1.6 bpg)
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G Roberts Blums (4.3 ppg)
F Hunter Adam (3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
F JaQualon Roberts (4.6 ppg at Vanderbilt)
Need: Dead-Eye Shooter
Davidson reacted to best transfer class to ever leave Lake Norman with the deepest group of transfers the Wildcats have ever assembled. With their three best defenders returning, Matt McKillop and company decided to flank them with a up-and-coming point guard (Sam Brown) and a pure scorer (Josh Scovens). But outside of Parker Friedrichson, who was wildly inconsistent at Wake Forest, the roster seems to be a bit light on shooting, a problem that sank them two of the last three seasons.
Need A Home Run (Or A Few Singles And Advancing The Runners)
St. Bonaventure
G Dasonte Bowen (11.1 ppg, 4.2 apg)
G Daryl Simmons II (17.4 ppg, 38.9% 3pt at Gardner-Webb)
G Achille Lonati (Intl Freshman)
F Frank Mitchell (4.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg at Minnesota)
C Joe Grahovac (JUCO)
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F Brayden Jackson (4.2 ppg at Buffalo)
C Xander Wedlow (1.7 ppg)
Need: Wing(s)!
With just seven players on the roster, Mark Schmidt has either finally gotten his wish of just not having options on the bench or St. Bonaventure still has a lot of spots to work with. The Bonnies are physically imposing on the boards with Frank Mitchell and Joe Grahovac, and they kept their table setter in Dasonte Bowen, but the spots next to those three seem to be quite in flux. At the very least, the team needs a bigger defensive wing to play next to the 5'11" high scorer Daryl Simmons II.
St. Joe's
G Deuce Jones (12.5 ppg, 2.8 apg at La Salle)
G Derek Simpson (8.7 ppg, 3.6 apg)
F Dasear Haskins (5.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
F Anthony Finkley (7.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
C Justice Ajogbor (4.7 ppg, 2.5 bpg)
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G Jaiden Glover (2.2 ppg at St. John's)
F Al Amadou (1.2 ppg at Marquette in '24)
F Steven Solano (3,2 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Need: Scoring Forward
St. Joe's returns over half of their rotation, but the Hawks have essentially swapped out their three all-conference players for the A-10's Rookie of the Year (Deuce Jones) and a high upside bet of Jaiden Glover, which has left the team woefully short on pure scoring, and floor spacers for Jones and Derek Simpson to set up. Ideally, they can bring in someone who covers both of those bases, while fitting next to both Dasear Haskins and Anthony Finkley, for max rotational flexibility with the two promising forwards. Although, perhaps a Haskins breakout season is the best answer to this problem.
La Salle
G Jaden Johnson (8.6 ppg, 3.7 apg at Old Dominion)
G Truth Harris (8.8 ppg, 43.8% 3pt at Radford)
F Justin Archer (8.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg at Radford in '24)
F Josiah Harris (8.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg at Radford)
F Jerome Brewer Jr (13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg at Texas A&M Commerce in '24)
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G Eric Acker (5.2 ppg)
G Jaeden Marshall (10.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg at Niagara)
F Rob Dockery (2.0 ppg at Texas A&M)
Need: Shooting
This Radford North team features a lot of Highlanders' rebounding, but lacks its dynamite three point shooting, save for Truth Harris. In fact the only other La Salle player who was above 30% from deep last season was Jaeden Marshall, and three of the Explorers' new forwards didn't score a single time from beyond the arc. With the full two-deep depth chart basically filled up, the solution can come at any position, but it better be added somewhere.
It's April So We'll Be Optimistic
Richmond
G Mikkel Tyne (9.3 ppg)
G Will Johnston (11.9 ppg, 3.2 apg at Loyola Marymount)
F Jaden Daughtry (12.9 ppg, 40% 3pt at Indiana State)
F Apostolos Roumoglou (5.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
C Mike Walz (7.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
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G David Thomas (4.0 ppg at DePaul)
F Collin Tanner (3.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
C Jonathan Beagle (6.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
Need: Two-Way Forward
Chris Mooney betting on double-digit scorers transferring up from smaller conferences has worked out more often than not, but unless both Will Johnston and Jaden Daughtry are every bit as good as they were at their last stops, then Richmond will need a big season from their power forward, whether it's Apostolos Roumoglou or a replacement. Add in that this Spiders roster doesn't look all that favorable defensively on paper, they may be well served to handle both needs at once.
Rhode Island
G Myles Corey (13.8 ppg, 4.3 apg at South Alabama)
G RJ Johnson (13.8 ppg, 4.5 apg at Charleston Southern)
G Jonah Hinton (8.4 ppg at St. Bonaventure)
F Alex Crawford (11.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg at Fresno State)
C Keeyan Itejere (7.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg at Northern Kentucky)
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F Barrett Loer (24/7 #216)
F Drissa Troare (2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Need: Perimeter Size
Archie Miller continues to bring in small guards with top-level offensive production. This time, Myles Corey and RJ Johnson take the roles of Sebastian Thomas and Jaden House. But those two paired with Jonah Hinton is an extremely small trio, and without any rebounders in the frontcourt, URI will need its guards to play physical and hit the glass next season, and at the moment, they are at a disadvantage on both.
Fordham
G N/A
G Dejour Reaves (17.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg at Iona)
G Ryan Pettis (1.0 ppg)
F Rikus Schulte (3.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg at UC Riverside)
F Akira Jacobs (6.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg at Hawaii)
Need: Playmaking (And Just More Players)
This may be a rebuild season for Fordham with a new coach and the non-sense NCAA punishment for recruiting violations. The Rams only have four players on the team and we are already past Earth Day. That group is extremely light on distributors, and someone is going to need to help set up the one guaranteed starter, the high scoring Dejour Reaves.