Boston College (12-19, 4-16 ACC)
After winning 20 games, finishing a respectable 11th in the ACC and reaching the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in 2024, the Eagles plummeted to second-to-last in the conference last season.
After winning 20 games, finishing a respectable 11th in the ACC and reaching the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in 2024, the Eagles plummeted to second-to-last in the conference last season.
BC has added eight new players, with transfers from Baylor, Butler, Missouri and South Dakota. The four incoming freshmen are among 11 underclassmen, the second-most in the league. Guard Donald Hand Jr., who led the Eagles with 15.7 points and 6.1 rebounds last year to earn honors as the ACC’s Most Improved Player, is the key returning player.
Hand is the first BC player to earn a preseason vote for the conference player of the year since 2018 (Ky Bowman).
Boden Kapke (6-11, 4.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg for Butler) could give the Eagles a post presence they haven’t since Quinten Post – their best big man in decades – was drafted by Golden State in 2024.
Chase Forte led South Dakota with 17.9 points, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals and was the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the All-League First Team.
Other than Hand, who started all 31 games last season, only Jayden Hastings (5 games started) and Fred Payne (1) saw time in the starting lineup. The Nos. 2-4 scorers after Hand are all gone: Chad Venning (12.4 ppg), Elijah Strong (9.6) and Dion Brown (7.5), as are the Nos. 2-5 rebounders: Roger McFarlane (4.9 rpg), Strong (4.1), Venning (4.1) and Brown (3.9).
Also arriving via the transfer portal is Aidan Shawm who spent three seasons as a bench player in Missouri. As a sophomore in 2023-24, he started 10 games and averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16 minutes. Jason Asemota played sparingly in his only season at Baylor.
The Eagles open at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 3. They play at Duke on Feb. 3. Stanford and California make their first ACC visits to Conte Forum on Feb. 11 and 14.
BC hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 2009, the longest slump in program history. ... Coach Earl Grant is in his fifth season in Chestnut Hill. He is 61-72. ... Hastings blocked 39 shots last year, 10th in the ACC. ... The Eagles have had at least two international players for each of the past nine seasons. This year's foreign-born players are Marko Radunovic of Montenegro, Luka Toews from Japan and Kany Tchanda from Congo.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Dirk van Ulden said:
DavidKristofferson said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.