Ryan Mela is back in the fold, while Oswin Erhunmwunse enters the portal

Breaking down the improvements in Mela's game - by the numbers.

Photo courtesy of Carl Rizzo at gameone_photography and Friarbasketball.com

Providence received terrific news on Thursday afternoon when sophomore wing Ryan Mela announced his intention to return for his junior season.

A Natick, MA native, Mela was one of the true success stories of the Kim English era — an underrated wing who caught the eye of the coaching staff in the summer before his senior year of high school. Mela forced his way into playing time as a freshman and earned Big East All-Freshman honors in the process.

The early portion of his sophomore season involved figuring out how and when to assert himself on a roster that added a lot of offensive firepower, but by season’s end Mela was playing terrific basketball.

Lost in the struggles of this past season were the improvements he made across the board:

• A 57% shooter from the free throw line as a freshman, Mela shot 80% last year — a season in which he averaged 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

• Mela ranked in the 64th percentile in the nation in spot-up opportunities (up from the 21st percentile last year), thanks in large part to hot shooting down the stretch. Mela shot 9-16 from deep over the final five contests.

• He ranked in the 71st percentile in the country as an iso scorer (.952 points per possession), which was up from 40th (.759 PPP) as a freshman.

• His turnover percentage dropped from 16.9% last season to 15.6% as a sophomore.

Defensively, Mela was often tasked with guarding the likes of Tre Carroll, Bryce Hopkins, and other physical four-men. He held up well, giving up .847 points per possession (64th percentile) and seeing opponents shoot 37% when being guarded by him.

In a statement released by Providence Athletics on Thursday, head coach Bryan Hodgson said, “Having watched Ryan play, it was evident that he has shown consistent improvement over his first 60 games at PC. He also displayed toughness and passion that we were attracted to. We felt he embodied the character and discipline that we are looking for in building our roster for the 2026-27 season. Most importantly, it says a lot about Providence College, this city, and this fanbase, to be able to retain a player of Ryan’s caliber.”

With Mela, Hodgson begins the roster rebuild with a versatile piece who has logged major minutes in the Big East. He’s a very good rebounder for his size, owns a knack for scoring in the paint, and if his late-season shooting surge is an indicator of things to come, he’ll be one of the better wings in the league next year.

Here’s a look back at his sophomore season:

It doesn’t look like Mela will be joined by classmate Oswin Erhunmwunse going forward. On3.com broke the news that the 6’10 sophomore center intends to enter the transfer portal after averaging 6.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game this season.

A top-40 prospect coming out of Putnam Science Academy, despite being somewhat of a project, Erhunmwunse’s development was fast-tracked his freshman year when Christ Essandoko and Anton Bonke weren’t ready to give the Friars quality minutes.

His sophomore year was more of the same after Drexel transfer Cole Hargrove struggled to establish himself after being brought in to split time with Erhunmwunse.

The news of Erhunmwunse portaling is where the game has changed so dramatically. Putting two years into a developmental big man only to see him walk before he reached his potential would have been devastating five years ago.

In the NIL/revenue share model, Erhunmwunse will certainly get a significant payday due to his potential, sophomore year production, high character, and a scarcity of quality big men. Conversely, an argument could be made that he’ll need to make marked improvement on the offensive end and in playing with force to fully pay off on the investment.

With the transfer portal opening next week, Friartown’s eyes point to freshman Jamier Jones, the electric young forward who averaged 11.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in earning All-Freshman honors in the Big East. Jones was a significant pull when English and his staff got him to come from Florida to Rhode Island, and his list of suitors would be expansive should he hit the portal. Friartown will erupt if he chooses to stay.

Hodgson’s leading scorer at USF a season ago, Wes Enis, will also be in the portal next week, albeit with a “do not contact” tag for coaches — leading many to assume he’ll be joining Hodgson at PC.

Enis was a Division II All-American two seasons ago before earning 1st Team American Athletic Conference honors this year. He is an outstanding spot up shooter who scored 16.4 points per game, while making 107 threes at a 35% clip at USF. Enis had the green light at USF, taking nearly ten 3-pointers per game. He twice scored over 30 points in a game and connected on ten 3-pointers in two contests.