Oh, how times (and rosters) change.
Year-to-year turnover has become a massive part of Boston College men’s basketball’s team composition, especially over the past two seasons.
None of BC head coach Earl Grant’s starters from the 2023–24 season were still on the roster at the start of the 2024–25 campaign.
After a pretty disastrous season, the question lies in whether a largely new BC roster would necessarily be a bad thing. After all, the definition of insanity is—well, we’ve all heard that one before, so I won’t repeat it.
For now, here’s a look at how BC’s roster is shaping up.
Transfers
Aidan Shaw
Shaw, who is coming off a three-year career at Missouri, played all 32 games in the 2023–24 season. He scored less last season and seemed to be less of a key piece, however, averaging just 2.6 points. But that could have been due to an increased level of talent around him—talent that got the Tigers a place in the NCAA Tournament.
The 6-foot-9 junior slots in at the guard / forward and will probably take over an Elijah Strong–type role in Grant’s offense.
Boden Kapke
Kapke took an official visit to Chestnut Hill during his recruitment back in high school. Now, two years later, he’s taking another trip to BC. This time, he’s going to stay.
The 6-foot-11, 255-pound big man spent his last two seasons at Butler, which won him over offers from Clemson, Wake Forest, Iowa, Iowa State, Davidson, and Xavier. He started in 16 of 17 games to finish off Butler’s season, averaging 4.1 points in about 13 minutes of game time.
His size is something BC hasn’t had since Quinten Post. If that’s a sign of what’s to come, then the Eagles are in for a treat.
Jason Asemota
Combine 6-foot-8, 205-pound, Baylor-transfer Asemota with Kapke and Shaw, and BC has some serious size.
Asemota is originally from Lynn, Mass., and was rated a five-star recruit by 247 Sports coming out of high school.
His length and athleticism, especially if he can slot in at the three and find some kind of jump shot from the outside (which Grant says he has), could be huge for BC. Literally.
Chase Forte
Forte, who played at South Dakota last season, might be the most promising of this transfer class based on the raw numbers.
The 6-foot-4 guard averaged nearly 18 points a game for South Dakota last season, showing signs of the offensive potential BC has desperately needed.
He started as a walk-on, became a junior college player, then played at both UNC Asheville and Northwestern State before going to South Dakota. Last season, he was named Defensive Player of the Year in the All-Summit League and earned All-Summit League First-Team honors.
Freshmen
Jack Bailey
Bailey, who had offers from St. John’s, Butler, Iowa, and Bryant, among others, signed with the Eagles in November 2024.
The 6-foot-10 power forward has a knack for handling the ball and seeing the floor, and the addition of size certainly doesn’t hurt what’s shaping up to be a big Eagles team.
Akbar Waheed III
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard scored 36 points a couple of months ago in the state semifinal to send his team to the championship.
He’s listed at 170 pounds on 247 Sports, making him rather undersized for his height.
Caleb Steger
Steger, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound shooting guard, rounds out BC’s guard room. Despite being a somewhat streaky shooter, the Dallas, Texas, native has been praised for his decision-making.
Steger will likely come off the bench behind redshirt-sophomore Fred Payne.
On the Way Out
Chas Kelley III
Kelley’s game-winning shot against Florida State in early February was one of the most exciting moments for BC hoops this season.
But that bright spot was surrounded by frequent bad showings for the junior. He began the season as a starter, came off the bench for the entire middle chunk, then finished the year starting the last six games.
The junior only scored 10 points or more twice all season, and frequently took low-percentage shots. He ended the year shooting 37 percent from the floor.
Kelley and Donald Hand Jr. entered the 2023–24 season as the two returners expected to play big roles in the offense. One of them did just that. The other one is planning on no longer being an Eagle come fall.
Dion Brown
Ah. Where to begin.
He didn’t live up to the hype, which is probably the most important takeaway. That’s probably not all his fault—a better program, or just a different program, might have gotten an entirely different version of Brown than the one BC got.
Bottom line is Brown did not produce at the level he was projected to. Coming off a 2023–24 season that earned him First-Team All-America East recognition, expectations were high—perhaps too high.
He averaged 44 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent from three. Brown only put up double-digit points seven times throughout the season, despite starting in 29 of BC’s 31 games.
Brown will join St. Louis for his final year of eligibility.
Joshua Beadle
Beadle went from being a rotation bench guy on Clemson’s 2023–24 Elite Eight run to coming off the bench in the last six games of BC’s season, even after starting 16 consecutive contests.
He had efficient offensive performances a few times throughout the season—14 points on 6-of-6 shooting against North Carolina and 7-of-8 shooting resulting in 16 points at Syracuse. But he struggled with turning the ball over and ultimately swapped places with Kelley to find his way to the bench.
Not necessarily a big loss for the Eagles, but finding out who will replace players that Grant was relying on as scoring options (whether that played out well or not) will certainly be at the top of the to-do list this offseason.
Elijah Strong
Recently dubbed a Gamecock, Strong is making his way south. The sophomore had a good start to the season, even making himself a consistent face in Grant’s starting lineup at one point. His performance in the Cayman Islands Tournament seemed especially promising.
But injuries and poor performances made up the vast majority of Strong’s season after a hot start. He went two months without scoring double figures in any of his showings and was clearly not a legitimate scoring option for most of the season.
Whether it was injury or just a fall-off of sorts, Strong struggled this season. Hopefully, the move brings out the version of him we saw at the beginning of the year.
Coming Back for More
It’s already been determined that Grant will stick around for at least one more season. But fans were unsure which players would stay after the Eagles were so bad that they missed the ACC Tournament.
Here they are.
Donald Hand Jr.
By far the biggest development for BC men’s basketball so far this offseason is, thankfully for the Eagles, good news. Hand is staying.
The 2023–24 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year and the Eagles’ leading scorer, Hand, is a huge keep for Grant and his staff.
The rising junior started every game, averaging more than 15 points and winning the ACC Player of the Week award three times.
Building around Hand and giving him the pieces he needs to succeed (some post-to-guard, guard-to-post play would be epic) will undoubtedly be the focus for Grant’s staff this season.
Fred Payne
Payne played in just five games his freshman season before redshirting the season. When he took the floor in the 2023–24 season, it was clear he had the chance to provide a spark off the bench.
He shot 6 of 8 from the floor and scored 18 points in his best offensive performance of the season, helping BC beat Missouri State.
Despite low shooting percentages, Payne showed fearlessness, taking the ball to the hoop and shooting balls that few others would. It was clear what Payne’s identity would be each time he stepped on the floor, even in limited minutes and just one start.
More accurate shooting and a better assist-to-turnover ratio (it was 37:18 last season) would lift Payne from a spark off the bench to a key part of Grant’s starting lineup in the coming season.
Jayden Hastings
Hastings shines on defense. As he got more minutes down the stretch, thanks especially to an injury to starting center Chad Venning, Hastings showed what he was capable of in a big way. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound redshirt freshman recorded 39 blocks and 13 steals.
At some points, it seemed Grant should have figured out long before he did that Hastings could play. With Venning out, Hastings might have a chance to prove it.
First, though, he’ll have to prove himself over perhaps more experienced transfers, such as Kapke.
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