Shaheen Holloway has continued to outperform expectations with Seton Hall basketball, but will it finally lead to an NCAA Tournament bid this year?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Seton Hall basketball.
There might not be a coach in college basketball as good as Shaheen Holloway who doesn’t get rewarded for it. In his second season, Sha’s squad saw a 20-win season fall short of the NCAA Tournament, but went on a run and won the NIT, proving they were worthy of the big dance. Then, following a 7-win season in 2024-25, the Pirates went 21-12 last season, but once again fell short of the NCAA Tournament. At a school with limited resources in a Power 5 conference, it is beyond commendable to see what Holloway has been able to do, and even as a Seton Hall alumnus, I’m not sure how much better it can get.
Of course, most of last year’s team either graduated or moved on, except for bouncy guard Trey Parker, who is back for his junior year. Parker’s stats won’t jump off the page, and he was not efficient outside of dunks and close-range shots, but he definitely knows how to play with energy and, with last year under his belt, could be poised for a bit of a breakout season.
Holloway hit the portal like any team facing Seton Hall’s challenges would – lots of mid-major talent and a few undersung Power 5 pieces. Roddie Anderson III (Xavier) and Simeon Wilcher (Texas) were the notable gets, but Rodney Brown Jr., Del Jones, and Kareem Thomas were all outstanding pickups from the mid-major ranks. They all shot the three ball well last season, which is a huge plus considering how bad the Hall was from behind the arc last year. I’ll address that later in this article.
And then there are the underrated gets. Terry Copeland put up numbers last year, but in JUCO. How prepared will he be for a potential starting role? Can Bowling Green’s Mayor Wol, now on his fourth team in four years, continue to produce numbers? He was a key three-and-d guy last year, but now makes a step up to the Big East. And after averaging two and a half blocks per game last year, is Devin Williams enough of an answer for a team with limited size up front? And coming from the G-League, is Nathan Mariano a legitimate piece to start on this team, or is he further down the depth chart than some may expect?
And finally, there is one guy, Mihailo Petrovic, who could be a diamond in the rough. I’ll also get to that further down in this read.
Head coach: Shaheen Holloway (9th season overall, 5th at Seton Hall)
2025-26 record: 21-12 (10-10)
2026 postseason finish: No tournament
Notable departures:
- EVERYONE but Trey Parker
Notable non-conference games:
- at Alabama (Nov. 13)
- vs. Wisconsin (Nov. 19) – Bahamas
- vs. Murray State OR NC State (Nov. 20 – Bahamas)
- vs. Kansas State (Dec. 4)
- at Rutgers (Dec. 12)
Projected Rotation
PG: Del Jones (6-2, 187, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 17.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.5 APG (Radford)
SG: Roddie Anderson III (6-2, 190, Rs.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 SPG (Xavier)
SF: Simeon Wilcher (6-4, 180, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 36.6 FG% (Texas)
PF: Devin Williams (6-10, 200, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 2.6 BPG, 51.0 FG% (FAU)
C: Terry Copeland Jr. (6-9, So.)
2025-26 stats: 19.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 0.7 APG, 67.5 FG% (Howard College – JUCO)
6: Trey Parker (6-1, 165, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 4.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 35.8 FG%
7: Rodney Brown Jr. (6-6, 180, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 38.2 3P% (Loyola Marymount)
8: Kareem Thomas (6-5, 195, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 44.7 3P% (Dartmouth)
*Played one game for Northern Illinois in 2024-25
9: Mayar Wol (6-8, 185, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 39.1 3P% (Bowling Green)
10: Mihailo Petrovic (6-3, 180, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 1.6 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 1.1 APG, 33.3 FG% (Illinois)
11: Nathan Mariano (6-9, 211, Fr.)
12: Darien Moore (6-2, 170, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 170 ranked recruit
13: Abdulai Fanta Kabba (7-0, 215, Sr.)
247Sports Composite unranked recruit
Seton Hall basketball team MVP: Roddie Anderson III
Some people may not agree with this pick, but I’ll go out on a limb here and say that Anderson has a career year with the Pirates.
Last season, Anderson put up very solid numbers at Xavier, averaging in double digits in scoring and also serving as a crucial distributor and ball handler. He proved he belonged in the Big East, and now switches to a new shade of blue.
For a SHU team with a few options at point guard, Anderson checks off the most boxes. He is experienced, has played at the highest level of college basketball, and has done so efficiently and well overall. In fact, pairing him with Del Jones would give Seton Hall two reliable ball handlers in the starting five, a system that seems to work well for Shaheen Holloway. He should also provide a calming presence as someone who has been there and done that.
This is a Seton Hall basketball team that likely won’t have one player averaging 18 per game, but four or five averaging 10-12 per game. Anderson is one of those guys and a lot more.
Seton Hall basketball make-or-break player: Mihailo Petrovic
There is a lot to love up and down this roster, but Petrovic stands out as a guy who could raise the level of Seton Hall’s play tremendously.
Last season, Petrovic came to Illinois with lots of intrigue, averaging roughly 14 points and 7 dishes per game in the top league in Serbia. Obviously, that didn’t pan out, and now he finds himself with Seton Hall looking to prove himself all over again. He may need to earn his minutes, but luckily, Holloway keeps a deep bench, and Petrovic should get plenty of chances to show his worth. And if it clicks in South Orange, we could see one of the deepest rosters of point guards and ball handlers in the country.
Key statistic: 3P%
No need to overthink this. Seton Hall shot 30.5% from three as a team last year, one of the worst rates in the nation. In some games, one notably against UConn, the Pirates would go 30-35 minutes until they made one. Right when the clock ticked to the offseason, Holloway realized he needed to address this.
This year, the Pirates could see a dramatic increase in 3P% efficiency and overall output. Brown, Thomas, and Wol were all knockdown shooters last season and should translate well to a team that will be looking for that output.
Seton Hall basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 9th in the Big East
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 64 exit