Player Preview: Corey Floyd Jr. Takes Over as PG1
#14. Going into his senior season, Corey Floyd Jr. must look back on his first three seasons with the Friars (and redshirt year with UConn) as a wild ride. He’s played for three coaches, each very different in personality and style of play, a lot of teammates who have come and gone in the transfer portal, and some vastly different win totals from season-to-season.
Floyd has seen it all, but that’s not the only reason he has been given the nickname “Captain” by many PC fans online. Already a physical guard coming out of high school, Floyd’s work ethic and focus on his physique have been among the best of recent PC players. Now, he’s ready to take over as PG1 in his final season of college basketball.
In ten minutes per game as a freshman under Ed Cooley, Floyd showed real flashes. He made the most of his limited looks from beyond the arc (41% on 31 attempts) and held up well defensively. Many Friar fans walked away from his freshman year wanting to see more, looking at stats like 44% from the field, 41% from three, and 85% from the line as key building blocks going into his sophomore campaign.
There were some growing pains for Floyd in his second season at Providence. Navigating the coaching change and different style of play from Ed Cooley to Kim English was probably the unkindest to Floyd among the returners. To be fair, his role was a tough one opposite Bryce Hopkins, Devin Carter, Jayden Pierre, and the newcomers Josh Oduro and Ticket Gaines. During the 23-24 season Floyd’s role and performance were uncertain, as his ability to finish inside and three-point shot looked to be flat, at times. It seemed to weigh on him as he came into games, but even though his statistics took a decline, his level of grit never seemed to leave the floor. Floyd finished strong — playing well in the Big East Tournament, scoring 17 points in 36 combined minutes against Marquette and Creighton on 6-11 shooting from the field.
This brings us to last season — which brought the evolution we envisioned with more minutes. In tough losses to Oklahoma and Indiana, Floyd seemed to be taking big steps forward with 13 and 14 points, respectively, on 4-7 shooting in each game.
During the heart of Big East play last year (from Seton Hall at home on Jan. 11 to facing the Pirates on the road in his home state of New Jersey on Jan. 28), Floyd had 14, 10, 18, 11 and 11 points on 48% from the field. This was a big-time lift with Hopkins out of the lineup. With the team in need of someone to step up, Floyd answered the bell during Providence’s best stretch of the season.
His biggest performance of last season came against DePaul on March 5 when he went 9-12 from the field for 25 points, but by that point Providence’s season had already unraveled and any bright spots went largely overlooked.
This leads us now to 2025-26 with a whole new cast of transfer portal additions and some talented freshmen on the roster. With this being year three in English’s system and Floyd directly involved in sourcing of new teammates from the portal, he is well-positioned for his best season in a Friar uniform — and to hopefully have moments like AJ Reeves and Nate Watson enjoyed to close out their Friar careers.
With so much added firepower, Floyd’s numbers may not necessarily take a massive jump, but his role as lead guard and veteran will be critical. His impact will be largely measured in the win column and facilitating for the likes of Jason Edwards, Jaylin Sellers, and Duncan Powell as he takes over the reins.
Floyd’s ability to defend, rebound at the guard spot, and hit free throws at an 80% clip cannot be understated in the grand scheme of this 2025-26 team. He showed last season that he can be a productive scorer at the Big East level, and everyone in Friartown is curious to see how this translates in more of a point guard-type role.
Even with a position change looming, one thing has always remained the same for Floyd — his work ethic and commitment to Friartown is certainly up there with some of the recent greats to put on a Friar uniform. It seems everyone in Providence is pulling particularly hard for Floyd’s loyalty to the program to pay off.
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