2025-26 Presbyterian Preview
The 2025-26 Big South Hoops Hub Preview of Presbyterian
Presbyterian:
Background and 24-25 Recap:
Coming off the 2nd postseason berth in Presbyterian history in the 2023-24 season, Coach Ferrell was hoping for another good season and boy did it happen. Their best conference record since 2018-19, tied for their best regular season standing finish ever with 5th, and another postseason berth in the CBI. All of this, despite losing one of their main big men in Johan Pierce, only 7 games into the season.
After their loss to Illinois State in the CBI, the current season ended, and the offseason began. Pierce is back, Peterson is back, but Mincy left to George Mason, Scott and Stewart are out of eligibility. If Coach Ferrell wants to repeat or improve on last year, he needed to retool, and develop all the in-house talent that PC always does.
Returners:
G: Carl Parrish
One of the most promising returners, Carl Parrish coming off a season in which he was almost a 50/40/90 shooter averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.1 RPG on 47.8% shooting from the field, 39.3% from 3, and 92.1% from the free throw line. Parrish really showcased his true potential vs Manhattan where had 23 points and 9 rebounds in 41 minutes of action before fouling out late.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Two Time All-State Selection at Miami Norland
2nd best returning Big South 3PT Shooter
G: Iverson King
In the 2024-25 season, Iverson King was one of the highly touted freshman for Presbyterian even earning Preseason Freshman of Year from some publications and he proved it early. If it weren’t for Mister Dean, Iverson King could have a compeling case for Big South Freshman of the Year. Iverson averaged 5.6 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 19 MPG including 15 starts, all of which coming during conference play.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Two Time Big South Freshman of the Week and Big South All Freshman Team Member
3 Star Recruit and the 55th SF in the country.
G: Triston Wilson
Another Miami Norland guard staying for at least one more season at Presbyterian, Triston Wilson whom was a high school teammate to Carl Parrish. Wilson had a very respectable freshman season at Presbyterian, playing 30 games with one lone start vs Winthrop. In those 30 games Wilson averaged 2.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 9 MPG, but had performances like against UNC Asheville where Wilson piled in 21 points off the bench for the Blue Hose.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Rated as the 12th best player in Florida by MaxPreps in 2024
A 3 time Miami Herald All-Dade County selection, Was First Team selection as a senior.
G: Khalon Hudson
Non Presbyterian fans or Big South roster knowers might be asking, Khalon Hudson didn’t play at Presbyterian, how is he a returner? Simple answer, Hudson missed last season and took a medical redshirt, but don’t let that lower expectations for you Hudson is very talented. During Hudson’s time at Spartansburg Methodist, Hudson averaged 18.5 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 30 games and 11 starts, including a 30 points and 13 rebound game vs USC Salkehatchie.
Note: During Hudson’s time Spartansburg Methodist was JUCO, not NAIA as they are now.
Awards/Notable Facts:
NJCCA All American Honorable Mention
2023-24 First Team All-Region X
F: Jaylen Peterson
One of the best defensive players, not just on Presbyterian, but the whole conference Jaylen Peterson is returning to Presbyterian for his junior season. In his sophomore season, Peterson saw a massive jump playing in all 33 games and of which 10 starts compared to 14 in his Freshman season, and averaged 6.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG. Peterson had a career high 6 blocks vs Winthrop, en route to 52 blocks on the season.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Set Presbyterian's Division I era record for blocks in a season with Big South leading 52 blocked shots in 2024-25.
Had two double-doubles vs Columbia (SC) and Tennessee Tech
F: Johan Pierce
After a solid junior season in which Johan played in 33 games with 3 starts, Johan was hoping for a solid senior season and early in the season it seemed to be headed that way. Through 7 games, Pierce had been averaging 14.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 1.7 APG with 4 of those coming during starts before getting injured vs Monmouth and missing the rest of the season leading to Pierce getting a medical redshirt.
Before coming to Presbyterian, Pierce was star at Francis Marion where he averaged 13.7 PPG and 8.8 RPG. In his sophomore season Pierce nearly averaged a double double with 14.4 PPG and 9.5 RPG with 11 double double performances including 22 points and 18 rebounds vs Coker and 31 points along with 15 rebounds vs Southern Virginia.
Awards/Notable Facts:
2021-22 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year
2022-23 Conference Carolinas All-Conference Third Team
F: Chidi Chiakwelu
Having redshirted a freshman season, many may not have heard about Chidi last year but he is a really interesting player. During his High School career at George Ranch, where he was called Mr Double Double, due to averaging a double double in his senior season with 14.2 PPG and 10.2 RPG with an average of 3 BPG across his entire HS career.
Awards/Notable Facts:
3 Time All First Team District Selection
Incoming Transfers:
G: Erik Taylor - Sam Houston State
Coming to Presbyterian after a pretty solid freshman year for Sam Houston, Erik Taylor will likely see an increased role at PC. During his lone college basketball season at Sam Houton, Taylor averaged 3.1 PPG, 0.8 RPG and 0.8 APG across 23 games including 4 double digit performances with a career high of 13 vs UNC Wilmington.
During his HS career at Edgewater HS in Orlando, Florida Taylor averaged 12.2 PPG, 2.8 APG and 3 RPG, before transferring to The Rock School in Gainsville known for producing D1 talent, along with former NBA MVP Joel Embiid.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Played alongside UNC Asheville Freshman Myles Mayfield in HS at Edgewater
He is ranked as the No. 29 player in the state of Florida with offers from Temple, Drake, Wichita State among others.
G: Josh Pickett - Denver
Likely the most productive of the new Presbyterian transfers, Josh Pickett comes in from Denver after their coach was fired this past season. His time for Denver only last one season but he made the most of it, averaging 5.4 PPG and 2.2 RPG as a true freshman for the Pioneers as a fringe starter with 32 games, 15 of which being starts including 2 double digit performances to end the season versus St Thomas and South Dakota State.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Chicago Sun-Times Top-50 Player and Dec. 14 Chicago Tribune Player of the Week
Held offers from Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and others before committing to Denver.
Incoming Freshman:
G: Amare Anderson - Greer HS
The lone freshman from the state of SC for Presbyterian, Amare Anderson comes from Greer HS was viewed as one of the best players from SC earning a 3rd Team All State this season after averaging 19.5 PPG. The most interesting part is for me, Anderson has been doing this for while, having averaged 19.2 PPG. In each of those seasons he helped Greer get 20+ wins, each time making decent playoff runs including a Final 4 run in the 2022-23 season.
Awards/Notable Facts
Won Prep Hoops Mid Major Superlative for the State of SC.
Ranked #8 in SC and the #2 PG in SC by Prep Hoops.
Scored 14 points in the Carolinas Classic.
G: JD Bowden - Ambassador Christian
Coming in from Ambassador Christian (Huntersville, NC) was one of the later signings for Presbyterian, but it might be one of their bigger ones this season. Bowden comes in with some of the highest assist numbers in the country averaging 4.0 this past season but being a 4.6 APG player across his career. During the 23-24 season he won the NC State Title with United Faith Christian Academy.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Held offers from FIU, High Point, Western Carolina, Radford and others before picking Presbyterian.
Ranked #18 in the North Carolina, and the #3 PG in NC, along with being a Ranking Riser.
F: Augustine Ayelyine - University Christian
One of the biggest needs for PC is usually height, this year they addressed it with what will likely be their tallest player on the roster at 6’10, Augustine Ayelyine. Ayelyine is very comparable with Jaylen Peterson, just 3 inches taller. Both are dangerous on the defensive end with their ability to get up and either block or rebound the ball, and will never be out willed for the ball. In high school Augustine averaged 2.6 BPG and nearly 9 RPG at University Christian in Jacksonville, Florida.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Ranked #37 in the state of FL and #8 C in the State of Florida.
Tallest Presbyterian player in over 10 years.
Roster Prediction
Roster Thoughts and Ratings:
Guards: C
Erik Taylor: Probably the likely point guard for Presbyterian, Taylor comes off a decent freshman season and with the way PC develops guards, Taylor could have an amazing season, the efficiency is there with being a42% 3PT shooter and over 80% from the Free Throw line, if it can follow him with the minutes increase, he could be a Top Big South PG this season.
Carl Parrish: Coming off a near 50-40-90 season last season, I think Parrish has earned the right to be shooting guard, as he likely will be this season. That kind of efficiency is rare in this day of college basketball, especially at the MM level. I don’t think Parrish will shoot 50-40-90 this season, but even a 50-35-80 season would do strides for Presbyterian.
Khalon Hudson: For the 3rd guard spot, I think Hudson gets it despite coming off injury. Hudson is extremely talented, especially for the Mid Major level. Even if he’s not 100% to what he was pre-injury, he will be definitely a useful piece in a really underrated and pretty high potential backcourt in Mid Major college basketball.
Forwards: C-
Jaylen Peterson: One of the best defensive, if not the best, players in the conference. It will be impossible to keep Peterson out of the starting 5 in my opinion, having his shot blocking ability along with pretty solid interior offensive game is something very few players have in this conference, easily a DPOY and maybe late Big South All Team candidate.
Johan Pierce: If Pierce can come back from his season ending injury and come back to where he left off from, the Big South might have a tough time coming. Before the injury Pierce was averaging 14 PPG and 7 RPG while not being the #1 option, now that he would likely be the #1 option, it’s not crazy to say Pierce if full healthy isn’t a 16 PPG and 8 RPG player.
Josh Pickett: Pickett could have very well been put at the 2nd or 3rd guard spot, but with him being 6’5” and Presbyterian usually running short lineups, he likely will flip between guard and forward. Pickett could very well start games in anywhere from 1-4 in this lineup as a swiss army knife, and with his scoring that’s an amazing role for him.
Augustine Ayelyine: Eventually Peterson will need to come off the court, Ayelyine is the perfect replacement. Ayelyine is just an amazing rim protector, just like Peterson and both are very decent on the interior in the offensive world. I also think that is an amazing way to hone in on those skills by leaving him the ability to play in that role at the D1 level.
Depth/Bench: D+
Thoughts: The guard depth is really young, but I like the potential they have even with most of them being freshmen. Anderson and Bowden both were multi year producers in High School and both were pretty successful at winning. Israel comes from a very good NKU program, and showed pretty decent promise in his freshman season.
The forward depth, if you can say they have any, is lacking with their only one being Chidi Chiakwelu. I do like the promise of Chidi and think he will be a solid player but that’s not helpful when he is the only big, Wilson and King can play the 3-4 but that wouldn’t be ideal but then again, with how deep the guard core is, it might work out well.