The men’s basketball season may be over, but there remains much to follow in the world of Fordham men’s basketball. Although not as substantial as last year’s roster transformation, the Rams are in the midst of a retooling effort.
The transfer portal is active at Rose Hill. As Fordham seeks to remain competitive in the increasingly fierce Atlantic 10 (A10), the program has begun its quest to recruit transfers in an attempt to enhance its rotation for the 2024-25 season.
In the first stages of the offseason, Fordham suffered a loss when Elijah Gray, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’26, elected to enter the portal. Gray took a leap in his sophomore season, playing 18.2 minutes per game compared to the 7.7 minutes per game that he played in his first year with the Rams.
During those minutes, especially in the beginning of the season, Gray shined. Nearly every statistical category improved and Gray averaged 8.4 points per game with better shooting metrics across the board while nearly doubling his rebounds per game.
This roller coaster of transfer portal antics resulted in the best possible outcome for the Rams as Dean’s energetic play and improvement from his first to his second season fueled Fordham down the stretch.
Gray’s minutes, however, tapered off toward the end of the season. He averaged only 9 minutes per game, shifting to the bench in the final six games of the year after starting in the team’s previous eight games. This minutes restriction came as other forwards on the team, notably, Romad Dean, FCRH ’26, and Jahmere Tripp, FCRH ’27, assumed expanded roles.
Now in search of a new home, Gray will be remembered for his buzzer-beater against Saint Louis on Feb. 2, and for the part he played in the “Rose Thrill” turnaround that has taken place under Head Coach Keith Urgo over the past two seasons.
For a brief moment, it was believed that Dean would be following Gray into the portal, when a profile on X, formerly known as Twitter, stated so on April 8. A few days later, with the help of a fan account for Dean called @RomadDeanClub on X, reports claimed that Dean would be withdrawing from the transfer portal and returning to Fordham for his junior year.
This roller coaster of transfer portal antics resulted in the best possible outcome for the Rams as Dean’s energetic play and improvement from his first to his second season fueled Fordham down the stretch.
Fordham’s vacancy left by Gray did not last for long, as the Rams recruited Notre Dame University (ND) transfer Matt Zona, currently ND ’24 and soon-to-be Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ’25, to bolster their frontcourt. Zona grew up in the New York metropolitan area and attended the same high school as Will Richardson, FCRH ’26, Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey.
Zona appeared in all 32 of Notre Dame’s games this past season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. With an ability to stretch the floor, Zona’s veteran presence and experience in the powerhouse Atlantic Coast Conference — more popularly known as the ACC — is sure to make an impact next year.
Fordham has been connected to other transfers as well, such as the University of Albany’s Sebastian Thomas who led the Great Danes in scoring (19.6 ppg) last season and reportedly visited Rose Hill within the past week.
The bulk of the Rams’ 2023-24 roster will be returning next year, but efforts to improve for next season never cease, especially in the midst of losing Gray to the portal and Kyle Rose, FCRH ’24, to graduation.
Other teams in the A10 have taken full advantage of the transfer portal, with prominent Ohio State (OSU) transfer Zed Key, OSU ’24, joining the Dayton Flyers and Indiana State (ISU) leading scorer/mid-major cult legend Robbie Avila, ISU ’26, reportedly considering following his former Head Coach Josh Schertz to Saint Louis University who left the Missouri Valley Conference to take the lucrative A10 position.
To remain competitive, it is imperative that the Rams do everything in their power to improve. With a pair of incoming recruits and now the addition of Zona, it is clear that they are attempting to do just that.
