KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island has added eight veteran players via the transfer portal for the 2025-26 men's basketball season, adding significant experience and proven productivity to the program.
The eight transfers have combined to play more than 730 games at the collegiate level, with four NCAA Championship and one NIT appearance among the group.
"In this age of college basketball, bringing in players who have played a significant amount of basketball is vital," Rhode Island head coach
Archie Miller said. "With all the recent changes to the transfer portal, the learning curve is much faster in today's game. We have adjusted our approach accordingly. We targeted players who have proven they can play at a high level and contribute right away."
With 135 games played between South Alabama and NAIA school William Jessup, point guard
Myles Corey is the most experienced incoming player. Last season he led South Alabama to a 21-11 record while averaging 13.8 points and 4.3 assists per game. Wing
Tyler Cochran – who missed last season at Minnesota due to an injury – has played in 115 games over the course of his career, playing for Ball State and Toledo. He was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year with Toledo in 2023-24. Guard
RJ Johnson (Charleston Southern/Holy Cross) is the third newcomer who has already logged more than 100 career games, playing in 105 contests thus far.
The trio are not just experienced players, but also highly productive. Corey has scored more than 2,000 career points, while Cochran (1,260) and Johnson (1,184 points and 375 assists) both have surpassed the 1,000-point milestone.
Also coming in are wing
Alex Crawford (Fresno State), guard
Jonah Hinton (St. Bonaventure), forward
Keeyan Itejere (Northern Kentucky), forward
Mouhamed Sow (St. Peter's) and forward
Jahmere Tripp (Fordham). Crawford has played 84 career games and averaged 11.5 points per game last season. Itejere has 68 games played to his credit and is a proven rim protector during his time at Western Kentucky and Marquette. Hinton (68 games) and Tripp (61 games) are familiar faces with significant experience within the Atlantic 10. Sow started 72 of the 88 games he played at St. Peter's and was part of two MAAC title-winning teams.
Tyler Cochran
G | Gr
6-3 | 225
Boilingbrook, Ill. | Minnesota/Toledo
A Second-Team All-MAC selection for Toledo in 2023-24, Cochran spent last season with Minnesota. He did not appear in any games due to a foot surgery just before the start of the season. A high-IQ player, Cochran averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game with Toledo in 2023-24. He was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year that season. In 2021-22, he led the Mid-American with 2.0 steals per game while at Ball State, where he also averaged 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while playing for current URI assistant
James Whitford. A veteran of 115 Division I games, Cochran has recorded 1,260 points, 431 rebounds, 189 assists and 179 steals in his highly productive career.
Myles Corey, South Alabama
G | Gr
6-0 | 185
Ontario, Calif. | South Alabama/William Jessup
An All-Sun Belt Third-Team selection in his lone season at South Alabama, Corey averaged 13.8 points, 4.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in 2024-25. He has amassed more than 2,000 career points between his time at South Alabama and his four seasons at NAIA William Jessup. He averaged 17.0 points while leading William Jessup to an NAIA at-large bid in 2023-24. Corey scored 1,626 points and had 281 assists in 103 career starts for William Jessup. He has played 135 career college games.
Alex Crawford
F | Sr
6-8 | 215
Chula Vista, Calif. | Fresno State
Averaged 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a junior for Fresno State in 2024-25. Crawford started 23 of the 30 games he played, logging 32.5 minutes per game. An efficient offensive player on offense, he shot .566 on field goal attempts inside the arc. He does have some range to his game, making 20 3-point baskets last season. On the defensive end, Crawford recorded 29 steals and 24 blocked shots, and he's an effective passer, averaging 1.3 assists per game. He began his career at Stetson and also played one season at San Diego City College before joining Fresno State last year.
Jonah Hinton, St. Bonaventure
G | R-Jr
6-3 | 185
Chicago, Ill. | St. Bonaventure
Familiar to the Atlantic 10, Hinton started 24 of the 35 games he played at St. Bonaventure last season, where he averaged 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. A solid perimeter shooter, he was 63-for-189 on 3-point attempts (.333) while also shooting .794 (27-of-34) at the free throw line. Accustomed to winning, Hinton helped the Bonnies go 22-12 while earning an NIT bid last season. In 2023-24, he led Panola College to the second round of the NJCAA Tournament while averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 85-for-214 from 3-point range (.397). Hinton has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Keeyan Itejere, Northern Kentucky
F | Gr
6-9 | 220
Knightsdale, N.C. | Northern Kentucky/Marquette
An athletic big man with a 36-inch vertical leap, Itejere averaged 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game over the last two seasons at Northern Kentucky. He started 60 of the 63 games he played for the Norse. A rim protector, Itejere has blocked more than 50 shots in each of the last two seasons, recording 51 in 2023-24 and 53 last season. Before his time at Northern Kentucky, Itejere spent two seasons at Marquette. After redshirting as a true freshman, he played in 13 games for Shaka Smart's Golden Eagles that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2022-23. In addition to being part of two NCAA Championship teams and winning a Big East title, Itejere earned Big East All-Academic Team honors while with the Golden Eagles.
RJ Johnson, Charleston Southern
G | Gr
6-1 | 185
Matthews, N.C. | Charleston Southern/Holy Cross
An experienced point guard with 105 games under his belt, Johnson has amassed 1,184 points and 375 assists between his time at Charleston Southern and Holy Cross. Last season he averaged 13.8 points and 4.5 assists per game while earning Big South All-Academic Team honors. As a junior, he earned All-Big South honorable mention while averaging 14.8 points and 3.1 assists per game. As a freshman at Holy Cross, Johnson was a Patriot League All-Rookie Team selection while averaging 8.5 points and 4.3 assists per game. An excellent free throw shooter, Johnson has shot .837 (287-for-345) at the stripe in his career.
Mouhamed Sow, St. Peter's
F | Gr
6-9 | 205
Dakar, Senegal | The Patrick School/St. Peter's
An experienced big man, Sow is a two-time MAAC champion during his time with St. Peter's. He redshirted with the Peacocks as a true freshman when the team made a run to the Elite 8 in 2020-21. He was a starter on the 2023-24 squad that earned an automatic bid out of the MAAC in 2023-24. His scoring and rebounding production has increased in each of the last three seasons, with Sow posting 8.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2024-25. With 88 games under his belt, Sow is a proven winner. His buzzer-beating putback led St. Peter's to an upset of top-seeded Quinnipiac in the 2024 MAAC semifinals, spurring the team's championship run. He also hails from the Patrick School, the program that produced former URI big man Cyril Langevine.
Jahmere Tripp, Fordham
G/F | Jr
6-6 | 230
Brooklyn, N.Y. | Fordham
A physical wing, Tripp has played 61 games over the last two seasons for Fordham, averaging 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. In 2024-25, he was fourth on the team with 7.9 points per game and added 3.9 rebounds per game. Against URI, he had 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the regular-season finale last year. He was a three-star recruit coming out of Our Savior Lutheran, where ESPN ranked him as the No. 8 ranked recruit out of New York in his senior year of high school.
