{"id":229914,"date":"2025-10-16T21:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/229914\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T21:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:06:08","slug":"providence-college-lands-first-recruit-in-class-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/229914\/","title":{"rendered":"Providence College Lands First Recruit in Class of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

With excitement brewing as the beginning of the college basketball season nears, the Providence College Friars got some good news on the recruiting radar. Head coach Kim English signed his first recruit for the Class of 2026, Aiden Derkack<\/a>. After nabbing two top-100 players in the 2025 Class, English already has a head start for next season.<\/p>\n

Providence College Lands First Recruit in Class of 2026<\/p>\n

Derkack, from Col0nia, NJ, is a 6\u20196\u2033 wing. He is a four-star recruit currently ranked 45th on ESPN<\/a> and 53rd on 247 Sports<\/a> for the recruiting class of 2026. After visiting Providence over the weekend, he announced his commitment over social media<\/a> on Wednesday. The Friars beat out schools such as USC and Dayton, who Derkack also visited.<\/p>\n

During his junior year at Colonia High School<\/a>, Derkack averaged 24.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He will be attending SPIRE Academy<\/a> in Ohio for his senior year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Derkack should fit nicely into Providence\u2019s fast-paced offense. While his shooting will need to be improved, his strength lies in scoring in transition and slashing to the rim. He\u2019s already gone head-to-head against the nation\u2019s best high school players, including top prospect Tyran Stokes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an interview with ZagsBlog<\/a>, Derkack only had praise for Providence staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir staff is amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cI got an offer from them last year, which means a lot because they have been here for a while. They\u2019re always at my games. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve missed a game at any live period this summer. So yeah, I have a very good relationship with them, and they have a great staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Colonia'sColonia\u2019s Aiden Derkack (4) runs the ball against Ramapo in the North Group 3 semi-final on March 11, 2025 evening at The Dunn Center in Elizabeth. \u00a9 Alexander Lewis \/ MyCentralJersey \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Derkack also comes from a basketball family. His dad, Gene<\/a>, played basketball at FIU, while both his siblings currently play at the collegiate level. His brother, Jordan<\/a>, is entering his first year at Dayton after stops at Merrimack and Rutgers. His sister, Taylor<\/a>, is a redshirt freshman at UMass Amherst.<\/p>\n

English Continues to Land Top Freshmen<\/p>\n

The transfer portal has decreased the need to build big recruiting classes each year. While coaches still build relationships, there is less motivation to sign four top-100 prospects with the likelihood that more than one guy will hit the portal after a year.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, entering his third season in Providence, Kim English continues to find success bringing in top talent each year. He convinced Garwey Dual<\/a> to stick with his committment despite the coaching change in 2023 (though he didn\u2019t pan out for the Friars). He brought in top-50 recruit Oswin Erhunmwunse<\/a> last year, and followed up with signing a pair of four-star top-100 recruits Jamier Jones<\/a> and Jaylen Harrell<\/a> for this season.<\/p>\n

As the top players in the 2026 class begin their commitments<\/a>, the signing of Derkack gives English is first of what hopes to be another strong recruiting class.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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