St. Bonaventure Bonnies Reload for 2025-2026
The St. Bonaventure Bonnies are embracing college basketball, building a new roster this season. Can the Bonnies' new look bring them to the top of the Atlantic 10?
Mark Schmidt took over the reigns as head coach of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in 2007. Throughout his 18 seasons in New York, he’s led the Bonnies to three NCAA Tournaments, a spot in the AP poll, and seven 20+ win seasons. Three of those seasons coming over the last four years. With alumni Adrian Wojnarowski joining forces with Schmidt and the administration, this might be the most momentum the Bonnies have had in recent program history.
The Bonnies have embraced the new era of college basketball. In fact, they’ve gone as far as admitting that if a player wants to come to the Bonnies to jump to the next level, then that’s fine with them. This view point is starting to spread throughout college basketball, with others like Roger Powell at Valparaiso making similar comments in the past.
While this means turnover will be higher each year, which is happening across almost all teams throughout the non-power conference ranks, it also means that St. Bonaventure has a chance to compete every season. This year is no different. While losing all but two non-walk-on players, the Bonnies have re-enforced their roster for this season. With seven new players coming in from all ranks of college basketball through the transfer portal, and four strong prospects from the international realm, the Bonnies are positioning themselves for another run in the Atlantic 10. Let’s dive into their roster changes.
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Roster Turnover
Noel Brown (Ineligible)
12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Chance Moore (Senior) - West Virginia
13 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.3 steals
Melvin Council, Jr. (Senior) - Kansas
14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.1 steals
Jaxon Edwards (Senior) - IU Indy
1.2 points, 2.2 rebounds (5 games / 7 minutes)
Michael Folarin (Senior) - TBD
1.4 points, 2.7 rebounds (10 games / 7.7 minutes)
Lajae Jones (Senior) - Florida State
10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals
Noah Bolanga (Junior) - Rhode Island
2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds
Miles Rose (Sophomore) - U-Albany
0.6 points (15 games / 3.8 minutes)
Jonah Hinton (Sophomore) - Purdue Fort Wayne
8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists
Duane Thompson (Sophomore) - TBD
3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds
Ebrahim Kaba (Sophomore) - Utah Tech
DNP
The Bonnies were picked apart by the transfer portal, but that is the current era of college basketball. Three players ended up transferring up to the power conference ranks with Chance Moore heading to West Virginia, Lajae Jones heading to Florida State, and Melvin Council Jr. landing at Kansas. That should be no shock as those were three of the top five scorers for St. Bonaventure last season, with Noel Brown being a fourth that ran out of collegiate eligibility.
Returning Players
Dasonte Bowen (Senior)
11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2 steals
Xander Wedlow (Sophomore)
1.7 points, 1.1 rebounds
Broek Ostrom (Senior)
2 points (1 game / 1 minute)
Jack DeRose (Junior)
3 points (1 game / 1 minute)
Dasonte Bowen (6’2)
Returning Dasonte Bowen is huge for St. Bonaventure. Bowen averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and two steals per game while shooting 42.5% overall and 21.1% from three-point. Unfortunately, he had to miss the last 2/3rds of the season due to an injury, but through the first ten games he looked incredible. He had a 104.1 offensive rating, a 23.5% assist rate, and a 3.9% steal percentage. With his prior experience at Iowa and what he showed through those first ten games last season, Bowen should be a focal point of the Bonnies offense and playmaking.
Xander Wedlow (6’10)
Wedlow is returning for the Bonnies this season after appearing in 27 games last season while averaging 6.6 minutes. He averaged 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 67.7% from the floor. Wedlow had a couple of nice games including 10 points and four rebounds on 5-5 shooting in just 6 minutes against Fordham which ended up being a two point win for St. Bonaventure. While his minutes were sparse, he did finish with some strong metrics including a 13.3% defensive rebounding percentage, 7.6% offensive rebounding percentage, and a 3.1% blocking percentage. We should be seeing more playing time for Wedlow as he enters his sophomore season.
Walk-ons
Broek Ostrom and Jack DeRose are both walk-ons, so you should expect to see a similar level of production this season.
Roster Additions
Cayden Charles (Senior) - North Georgia (DII)
14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.5 steals
Amar’e Marshall (Senior) - U-Albany
14 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals
Daniel Egbuniwe (Senior) - Tennessee Tech
10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists
Frank Mitchell (Senior) - Minnesota
4.9 points, 4.7 rebounds
Darryl Summons II (Junior) - Gardner-Webb
17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals
Brayden Jackson (Sophomore) - Buffalo
4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds
Jae Grahovac (Sophomore) - Fullerton (JUCO)
15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.7 blocks
Ilia Ermakov (Freshman)
Achille Lonati (Freshman)
John Ikpotokin (Freshman)
Andrew Osasuyi (Freshman)
Guards
Darryl Simmons II (5’11)
Darryl Simmons II spent his first two seasons with Gardner Webb where he skyrocketed during his sophomore season. Last year, he appeared and started in 31 games while averaging 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals. He shot 43.4% overall and 38.9% from beyond the arc on 6.8 attempts per game. He finished the season with a 108.5 offensive rating, and his 38.9% three-point percentage was 296th in the country. At 5’11, he isn’t a strong playmaker, but he still finished with a 12% assist rate compared to a 16.4% turnover rate. Simmons is a prolific scorer and he isn’t afraid of going up against great talent either. Against No. 12 Tennessee, he dropped 22 points on 8-16 shooting. Throughout the season, he had some monster games including a 40 points performance against Winthrop with no overtime contributing to extra time. While he isn’t a huge playmaker, he out rebounds for his size, and he plays strong on-ball defense as he finished with a 2.1% steal percentage.
Cayden Charles (6’3)
After three seasons with North Georgia, Cayden Charles decided to make the jump to Division I. Last year, he averaged 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, two assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 46.3% overall and 37% from beyond the arc. Charles was highly sought after in the portal with offers or interest from other teams like Chattanooga, Kennesaw State, Illinois State, Evansville, and more. Despite being 6’3, he fits well into an undersized wing position as he is a strong shooter from three-point and a prolific rebounder on the boards. He’ll play a huge role in the rotation for the Bonnies this season.
Amar’e Marshall (6’4)
Marshall started his career out at Hofstra, but he spent the last two seasons with the University of Albany. During his sophomore season, he averaged 16.7 points, five rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.8 steals. Last year, he took a slight step back as he averaged a still solid 14 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 41.1% overall and 35.2% from three-point. Marshall finished with a 100.9 offensive rating, a 15.4% assist rate, a 2.9% steal percentage, and a 44.4% shooting percentage from inside the arc. Similar to Charles, he fits well into a slightly undersized wing position. He has a gorgeous shot and he can create offense for himself on both the catch-and-shoot and off-dribble. On the defensive end, he is a pest for opponents, which opens up fastbreak opportunities on the other end. He’s been dominating at in the lower ranks, and I think he’ll be a huge piece for the Bonnies this season in the A-10.
Ilia Ermakov (6’5)
The Bonnies hit the international recruiting trail hard this offseason. Ilia Ermakov hails from Kursk, Russia where he actually played in the Russian Superleague. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 steals across 42 games last year while shooting 41.1% overall and 30.4% from three-point. From what little footage I could find on this kid, it’s evident that he is a prolific scorer and I love his hands-on defense. He isn’t afraid to pick people apart and that creates offensive opportunities for himself and others in the fastbreak. I tend to value experience when projecting rotations, however, with his size and impact on the floor that he showed last year I believe that it’s reasonable to assume Ermakov will have a spot in the rotation this season.
Achille Lonati (6’3)
Lonati is another international prospect coming in this season. Last year, he player for a few different teams including team Italy in the European Championships U18, Milano in the Euroleague, Italy-NextGen Cup, and Adidas Next Gen Tournament. He most recently participated in the European Championships U18 in the end of July and beginning of August. Through those six games, he averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 38.4% overall and 33.3% from three-point. He had a monster game against Latvia in while he scored 27 points. Against Serbia, he finished with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Lonati is a legitimate prospect for the Bonnies. I’m attaching his highlights from earlier this year, and I love his ability to essentially do everything. He can score, create offense for himself off the dribble, drive to the paint, facilitate offense for others, etc. There’s no doubt that I believe Lonati will be a huge player for the Bonnies.
Forwards
Daniel Egbuniwe (6’7)
Egbuniwe spent his freshman season at Little Rock before transferring to Tennessee Tech for the last two years. Last season, he averaged ten points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 39.5% overall and 30.9% from beyond the arc. His 19.4% defensive rebounding percentage was 255th in the nation, in which it jumped to 21.5% in Ohio Valley games which was 6th best in the conference. For a 6’7 wing that played more of a small forward/power forward combination for the Golden Eagles, he also had a 16.4% assist rate which was very impressive. Egbuniwe is a bit of a do-it-all type player as he plays excellent defense, while also being able to pull up in the mid-range and from three-point on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
Brayden Jackson (6’8)
Jackson spent his freshman season with the Buffalo Bulls where he averaged 4.2 points and 1.5 rebounds across 23 games. He shot 42.5% overall and just 5% from three-point on 20 attempts. His playing time was wildly inconsistent, but he had some strong games when he received the opportunity. Over the course of five games between in non-conference play, he averaged 11 points, 3.6 rebounds, and nearly one block per game. That included 11 points against both St. Bonaventure and Penn State. Looking at his metrics, while the three-point shot isn’t there he did shoot 56% overall from inside the arc on the season. He finished with a 12.4% defensive rebounding percentage, a 4.2% offensive rebounding percentage, and a 2.2% blocking percentage. Jackson is still a raw talent, but the ceiling is high for him so I’m excited to see how he continues to develop with the Bonnies.
Frank Mitchell (6’8)
Mitchell started his college basketball career in the Canadian college ranks. He landed at Canisius where he appeared in 31 games and averaged 12.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. His outstanding performance got his a call from Minnesota where he spent last season. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Gophers in 29 games. Looking at his metrics, they are outstanding. Mitchell finished with:
114.6 offensive rating
17.8% offensive rebounding percentage
17.9% defensive rebounding percentage
4.4% blocking percentage
At Canisius the year prior, he had an absurd 30.6% defensive rebounding percentage which was the fourth best in the country that season. Mitchell is a prolific big man who is as dominate on the glass as they come. He can provide defensive pressure down low, and he is a strong finisher inside as he shot 66.3% from inside the arc. He’ll be huge for the Bonnies’ presence in the paint this season.
John Ikpotokin (6’7)
Ikpotokin is coming in as a freshman from New Brunswick where he played at Rothesay Netherwood School. He came into basketball late, but he’s emerged as a legitimate prospect. He’s hyper athletic and a strong finisher around the rim. He uses his length to his advantage as he finished his senior season averaging 1.5 blocks per game. Considering the roster construction, look for Ikpotokin to be a redshirt candidate.
Centers
Joe Grahovac (6’10)
Grahovac was one of the most dominant JUCO players last season for Fullerton College. He averaged 15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 62% overall and 39.2% from three-point. Grahovac is one of those players that just simply wasn’t discovered previously, but now he is going to skyrocket. Despite playing in JUCO, he even had NBA scouts that were watching his games at Fullerton. Many power conference schools including UCLA were after him, but the Bonnies were able to pull through and nab him. He’s a tremendous athlete that can fly up-and-down the court despite his height, he has a nice outside game, he’s prolific inside the paint, and he’s an absolute monster while defending inside. He’ll be a huge player for the Bonnies and in the Atlantic 10 overall. If you haven’t heard of him yet, you should start to study up before the season starts.
Andrew Osasuyi (6’9)
Osasuyi is another Italian prospect on the Bonnies’ incoming freshman class. Osasuyi played on both the European Championships U20 and the Itality-NextGen Cup for Scafati. In the Championships, he appeared in seven games and averaged 7.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 blocks, and one steal per game. He shot 61% overall. In the Italy-NextGen Cup he appeared in seven games and averaged 13.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, three blocks, and 1.6 steals. This kid is just a ridiculous athlete. He is a monster on defense as he is a lock down rebounder and he loves to crash the boards for offensive rebounds. He can tear the rim down on dunks and he can lock down the paint on defense. The casual fan has no clue who Osasuyi is coming into this season, but over the coming years I truly believe he has an opportunity to become a household name in college basketball.
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Expectations
The Bonnies have one of the most interesting roster makeups that I have written about coming into this season. Unlike other programs of a similar size, they didn’t recruit players transferring down from the power conference ranks. Only one player fits that bill in Frank Mitchell from Minnesota. They have a standout JUCO player, a standout Division II player, multiple players that were high-impact pieces on lower conference teams, and then four incoming freshman, in which I believe three of them are going to be receiving decent playing time in their first seasons in college basketball. Here is what I believe a potential starting lineup could look like:
Dasonte Bowen
Darryl Simmons / Amar’e Marshall
Cayden Charles / Amar’e Marshall
Frank Mitchell
Joe Grahovac
Mark Schmidt has quite a few combinations that he could run with to kick off the year. Dasonte Bowen and Joe Grahovac are the two locks for the rotation. Bowen is returning to the Bonnies and he was a solid ball handler for St. Bonaventure. Joe Grahovac was nothing short of phenomenal among the JUCO ranks last season, and with a lack of heigh depth, being 6’10 and his skill set have him as a lock.
Looking at the guard and small forward positions, there are numerous options. Darryl Simmons is less than 6’0, so I personally would lean towards having him come off the bench to back up Dasonte Bowen. Plus, he’s absolutely electric on offense, so you could even run lineups with both Bowen and Simmons on the floor at the same time and let Bowen move towards more of a combo guard position. The alternative option at Shooting Guard would be Amar’e Marshall who was prolific at U-Albany. He’s 6’4, so he has great size, he’s aggressive, and he’s a lights out shooter. In this same battle for these two positions, you also have Cayden Charles. He was incredible at North Georgia, and I have no doubt that he is going to be able to translate his skillset to the next level. At 6’3, he can actually play a bit of an undersized wing roll if you want to slot him into the small forward position and run with Bowen/Simmons, then Marshall, and Charles. That’s three highly talented offensive weapons. However, don’t be surprised if you see someone like Ilia Ermakov sneak into the starting lineup as a freshman.
Looking at the rotation coming off the bench, like I mentioned I like having Simmons come off to back up Bowen and provide a huge offensive spark in the secondary. Ilia Ermakov should see plenty of minutes as well considering he has great size and can provide excellent ball handling abilities. Achille Lonati should also see some playing time to jumpstart his development, along with Daniel Egbuniwe, Xander Wedlow, and Brayden Jackson who will help Frank Mitchel and Joe Grahovac down low. I think you’ll also be seeing Andrew Osasuyi playing some back-up center minutes considering how strong of a showing he has had over the last year in Italy.
My largest concern with this roster is the lack of height with experience at this level of college basketball. Joe Grahovac and Xander Wedlow are the only two players that are at least 6’10 on the roster. This is Grahovac’s first season in division one, and Wedlow played a minimal role as a freshman last season. Osasuyi is the next tallest player and he’s coming out of Italy as a freshman. Frank Mitchell is 6’8, and he does bring some solid experience between Canisius and Minnesota. Brayden Jackson played a limited role at Buffalo as a freshman, and Daniel Egbuniwe is coming from Tenn Tech after just one season. In summary, you have a JUCO standout, veteran with experience from low-major basketball and a power conference, three sophomores, and a freshman. All six of these players are highly talented, and I firmly believe that you’ll be seeing plenty of them this year. However, it’s worth acknowledging that having your eyes set on playing towards the top of the Atlantic-10 is going to be a tough battle. You’re placing a lot of bets that each of these players are going to be able to translate their skillset one of the top conferences outside of the power ranks.
Looking at their schedule, they have a couple of key opportunities with Bradley and North Carolina. Don’t pass over East Carolina or Florida Atlantic as well, but the rest of the schedule is friendly for the Bonnies. If I were to predict their record by the time they enter conference play, I would say 10-3. While this isn’t an at-large non-conference schedule, it’s similar to what George Washington has done where their eyes are going to be set on building momentum while heading into Atlantic 10 games. KenPom has the Bonnies finishing 18-13 overall and 8-10 in the Atlantic 10 as we head into the preseason.
Overall, this is a talented St. Bonaventure team. I love the dynamic makeup that they brought in, ranging from strong players outside of division one, many from the lower ranks that were dominating, and four exceptionally intriguing international prospects. I believe they have the potential to secure a fourth 20+ win season within five years. However, as with many college basketball teams in this current era, it’s going to depend on how well they gel together and how can each player’s skillset translate to this level of basketball. Regardless, Mark Schmidt and the entire St. Bonaventure staff is building something intriguing in New York and you need to keep close tabs on this program over the next several years.
Should be an exciting year! St. Bonaventure is the only one of the Buffalo "Big 4" that I feel optimistic about this year