The first domino to fall, following the hiring of Bryan Hodgson, is Rich Barron’s announcement that he will be entering the transfer portal. Goodblum was his usual excellent reporting chimed in noting Barron’s points per game this past season…you know, in a season he didn’t actually play in.
Barron still has two years of eligibility left after medically redshirting this past season while dealing with multiple concussions early on in the season. His collegiate path has been nothing if not eventful starting with his commitment to Kim English while English was still the Head Coach of George Mason. Once English took over for Ed Cooley at Providence, Barron was his lone High School commit to follow him to Providence College, along with Sophomore Justyn Fernandez and Graduate students Josh Oduro and Ticket Gaines.
Instead of Top-35 recruit Garwey Dual stepping straight into the spotlight it was Barron that was an unexpected surprise contributor in his first year, excelling as a spot up shooter (42.9% from three) and eventually playing his way onto the Big East All-Freshman Team…a team that included eventual NBA Rookie of the Year Stephen Castle from UConn.
With expectations for a potential Sophomore step forward going into next season and with Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter leaving for the NBA, Barron was instead welcomed with a influx of transfer guard/wing players including Bensley Joseph (Miami), Wesley Cardet (Chicago St.), Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Georgia), incoming Freshman Ryan Mela, & Justyn Fernandez coming back from a knee injury. Barron started the year in-and-out of the rotation until eventually getting more run during the Big East Conference slate but dealing with some injury issues once he finally broke through. It was clear to essentially everyone else that Christ & Cardet should’ve had their minutes drastically cut much earlier on but English waited until a big enough hole was dug on the season to do much about it.
Last season can essentially be deleted from the record with Barron suffering mutliple concussions within a month’s time and eventually medically red-shirting for the season. In doing so, he does still have two years of eligibility left once he decides where to go next.
| Year | GP | GS | Mins | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | TO | PTS |
| ’23-’24 | 33 | 10 | 15.8 | 44.2% | 42.9% | 57.1% | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.4 |
| ’24-’25 | 27 | 9 | 19.0 | 35.0% | 33.7% | 54.5% | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 5.2 |
| Total | 60 | 19 | 17.3 | 39.2% | 37.8% | 55.6% | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 4.8 |
Barron’s shooting numbers dipped across the board from his freshman to sophomore season, but his combined two-year three-point percentage remains a strong 37.8%. What stands out, though, is the disconnect between that perimeter efficiency and his free throw shooting, which has hovered in the mid-50s, which is an unexpected contrast for someone with his range.
The challenge with Barron’s role is that his impact is fairly one-dimensional. At this stage, he’s primarily a floor spacer, and that limitation likely contributed to Ryan Mela overtaking his minutes during the 2024–25 season. Mela brought a more complete package by contributing on the glass, facilitating, and adding some defensive presence alongside his scoring ability.
Given that, Barron’s skill set may not align with how Bryan Hodgson and his staff appear to be shaping the next iteration of the Friars, which seems to prioritize versatility and all-around production.
During his recruitment out of Chicago, Barron drew interest from local programs Loyola Chicago and DePaul, along with Kent State and Milwaukee-Wisconsin. With the exception of DePaul, who now has Chris Holtmann at the helm, each of those programs still has the same head coach who originally recruited him out of high school. As more Power Conference programs prioritize proven upperclassmen in the transfer portal, Barron could ultimately find himself revisiting one of those familiar connections.
Friartown wishes nothing but the absolute best to Rich and his family!
The Morning Hangover 