Where does Villanova stand with the forward depth?

Coming into the 2025-26 season, it felt like the Wildcats were stronger in the backcourt than in the frontcourt. There were two “reliable” projections in Tyler Perkins and Matt Hodge, but after that it was questions with a number of transfers coming in. As we now know, two of those transfers left the program during the season. As a result of that, the depth left Villanova with no margin for error when it comes to injury. Unfortunately, Hodge tore his ACL in a February game against St. John’s, and the Villanova frontcourt became a problem for the rest of the season.

This year, the situation seems significantly more solidified with the additions of Kwame Evans Jr. and Devin Royal (coupled with the returns of both Perkins and Hodge). The recovery timeline for Hodge is the key here. Kevin Willard had stated at the time of the injury that he was expecting Hodge back in October. That would be roughly eight months post-surgery, which even today would be on the quicker side.

Advertisement

How reliant Willard is upon Hodge being available in November will go a long way in answering the question: Does Villanova need to add more forwards? Perkins primarily played the small forward last season, so we know he can do that once again. Ideally, he’s spending more of his time as a shooting guard this year. Royal can play both the three and the four, depending on matchups. Evans Jr. can play both the four and five, similarly matchup-based like Royal. With the four guards currently on the roster (Elijah Crawford, Buddy Simmons II, Jake Fiegen and Adam Oumiddoch), Villanova can theoretically run a tight, eight-man rotation until Hodge is back and up to speed. But as we saw a year ago, injuries can (and likely will) happen, so relying on just those eight for however long it will take is a risky maneuver.

That said, one thing you don’t want to do is overrecruit. Willard will have to find someone who is willing to potentially not be in the rotation once Hodge is back, which is hard to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/where-does-villanova-stand-forward-140553922.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-05-26 14:05:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.