Ryan Mela announced via social media on April 2nd that he is staying at Providence, Mela is the first player from the current Friars roster to publicly commit to new head coach Bryan Hodgson and offering the program its first concrete sign of roster continuity since the coaching change. Hodgson was introduced as Providence’s head coach on March 24th, taking over a program that parted ways with Kim English on March 13th. “We are excited that Ryan Mela will be returning to Providence College next season,” Hodgson said in a release sent out by the PC Athletic department. “Having watched Ryan play, it was evident that he has shown consistent improvement over his first 60 games at PC. He als displayed toughness and passion that we were attracted to. We felt he embodied the character and discipline that we are looking for in building our roster for the 2026-27 season. Most importantly it says a lot about Providence College, this city, and this fanbase, to be able to retain a player of Ryan’s caliber.”
Mela added: “Friartown, I’ve got some unfinished business here. There is nowhere else I would rather be. PC is home for me. This program and its fans are very special. I want to help bring a championship to Friartown.”
In two seasons at Providence, Mela has averaged 8.3 points/game, 5.3 rebounds/game and improved his shooting from 45.8% to 50.2% including a bump of 30% on 1 attempt/game from 3 to 32.1% on 1.7 attempts/game from 3 between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Mela finished the season on a strong note averaging 16.8 points/game, 6.8 rebounds/game and shot 9/16 from beyond the arc over the final 5 games of the season, including a 23 point outburst against Butler in the first game of the Big East Tournament. Mela also dramatically improved his offensive rating at similar usage. Areas that Mela did better his freshman year than sophomore year that could be focus areas for Hodgson and staff are improved rebounding and assist numbers.
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