Fresh off a surprisingly successful campaign – a 21-21 record and a fourth-place Big East finish, just a year removed from last place – the Seton Hall basketball program has the ingredients for a big breakthrough in 2026-27.
The Pirates have the Big East Coach of the Year in Shaheen Holloway, an All-Big East junior point guard in Budd Clark, and a freshmen center brimming with talent in Najai Hines. Coach, playmaker, big man – the three most critical pieces in any program are in place.
For now, anyway.
Everything is at risk over the next few weeks when the doors of free agency swing wide open. Seton Hall has reached an inflection point: Can the Pirates build off what just transpired, or will they have to start over again? That’s the enormous question hanging over the offseason. Here are five priorities.
1. Get appropriate funding
Holloway needs a roster budget that is competitive with Big East and high-major peers. No one is expecting Duke or Kentucky money. But with Providence projected to have $10 million and Rutgers north of $8 million, Seton Hall has to keep up with the Joneses. Based on numerous conversations with people in the sport, the cost of fielding a roster capable of competing for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid in 2027 appears to be around $8 million. That’s essentially the price of admission.
On a macro level, the unfettered escalation of annual free agency is going to be unsustainable for a lot of schools. The best tool to rein things in, collective bargaining, appears inevitable.
But that’s a conversation for later. Right now, with the opening of the transfer portal 2 1/2 weeks away, the onus is on Seton Hall’s Board of Regents and the university’s president, Msgr. Joseph Reilly, to meet the moment while the iron is hot. Unlike last year at this time, Holloway doesn’t have to build a winner from scratch. The nucleus already is there.
2. Retain Budd Clark and Najai Hines
After transferring in from Merrimack, Clark performed as well as anyone could have hoped: He averaged 12.7 points, 4.9 assists (on a poor-shooting team), 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals, earning second-team All-Big East and Big East All-Defense honors. He played through injuries and clicked with Holloway. Given that Holloway’s point guards typically take a big leap forward in season two (see: Kadary Richmond), the Philadelphia native’s potential with a year of Big East battles under his belt is tantalizing.
The 6-foot-10, 260-pound Hines was a recruiting steal last summer. He averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in just 18 minutes per game. He shot 60 percent from the field, showed a deft passing touch, superb hands, and wasn’t afraid to hit the floor for loose balls. The Plainfield native has superstar potential at a premium position.
If Seton Hall retains these two guys, they will be two-thirds of the way to the 2027 NCAA Tournament. If the Pirates retain one, it will be something to build around. If there’s a repeat of 2024, when standouts Richmond and Dre Davis left for paydays elsewhere, it will be a tough pill to swallow.
3. Find some shooters
This is easier said than done. Proven high-major snipers are going to be out of Seton Hall’s price range. Holloway has to either hit on some up-transfer risks, sacrifice some depth to marshal more payroll for a shooter, or take a guy who can hit shots but has warts elsewhere (i.e. the defensive end).
The shooters Holloway brought in last offseason mostly struggled from 3-point range: AJ Staton-McCray (.333 from deep), Mike Williams (.337) and Jacob Dar (.190). To their credit, all three guys defended well and contributed in other areas. Only junior Tajuan Simpkins (.370) shot better than expected from the arc.
Projecting whose shot will translate well at the Big East level is tricky business when you’re not top-shelf shopping. It’s doubtful the Pirates could afford an Al-Amir Dawes (who shot 39 percent two straight years at Clemson before hitting similar numbers at the Hall) in the current climate. But there are guys out there like Dre Davis, who became a much better shooter at the Hall after transferring from Louisville. Pair two of those finds with Clark – and look out.
4. Schedule up
The Hall’s non-conference schedule this past season was fine for a squad with 10 new players after a 7-25 record. The Maui Invitational, it should be noted, was booked several years in advance.
But times are changing. Maui was a huge expense for the athletic department. Feast Week is trending toward revenue-producing or at least revenue-neutral events. Seton Hall is examining some of those options right now, and it’s possible the Pirates will skip a traditional Feast Week tournament altogether in favor of booking multiple home-and-homes, one-game showcases, or a combination thereof.
Throughout the Big East there is a conference-wide emphasis on booking home-and-homes in an effort to drive up the league’s metrics. The loss of crossover events with the Big Ten and Big 12 in recent years has taken its toll. The Pirates are locked in to visit Rutgers and host Kansas State in the coming season, and adding a few more quality opponents is key.
5. Assess the student-attendance problem
Declining student fan turnout is a trend in a lot of places, but it was particularly acute at Seton Hall this past season (and was not great for the 2023-24 Pirates, either, as they went 13-7 in the Big East and yes, were entertaining to watch).
In addition to the standard free busing, the athletic department used various carrots this winter – souvenir jerseys and other giveaways, and even vouchers for free food. In the end, students only packed their baseline section twice – for Rutgers and UConn.
The department wisely pivoted in advance of the Villanova and St. John’s games, which took place during the winter and spring breaks, and filled the section by selling the seats to the general public. It was far better than having an empty baseline section, which both looks bad on TV and is bad for home-court advantage.
“We’ve got to get the students to care again – to care about wanting to be there, to understand the importance of it,” athletics director Bryan Felt said in February. “In this offseason we are going make a full-on commitment to try and research and strategically go about what we can fix about getting students out. We know how incredibly important it is to have a student-crowd.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball with Budd Clark, Najai Hines at crossroads