This won’t be the year the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball program makes a return to relevance in the Atlantic 10.
That’s the expectation of the league’s coaches and media members entering the 2026-27 campaign. The Rams were selected 12th at media day Monday, Oc.t 18, leading only La Salle and St. Bonaventure in a poll released on site in Washington, D.C.
Jonah Hinton and Jahmere Tripp were each named to the all-conference third team, and URI will need either something more out of that veteran duo or an unexpected contribution from elsewhere to contend at or near the top. Rams coach Archie Miller was able to retain an experienced core from a roster that closed 16-16 overall last year and just 7-11 in league play.
“It’s refreshing a little bit,” Miller said on a live webcast with The Field of 68. “It also gives you the added advantage of lead by example. You have some known in your mind of what guys can do and what they can be.”
Hinton averaged 12.6 points and showed the potential to be explosive from the perimeter. Tripp closed at 12.0 points and 4.3 rebounds despite an injury that slowed him over the final six weeks. Both are veterans in the conference after joining URI via the transfer portal from St. Bonaventure and Fordham, respectively.
“I don’t want to be the kid who’s transferring and trying to learn a coach and have the coach trying to learn me,” Tripp said. “I was comfortable with the guys I already had here. That was something I wanted to build on.
“I felt like it was unfinished business in the A-10. That’s something that’s going to give me an advantage on other guys who are transferring in.”
Mouhamed Sow, Jalen Harper and Barrett Loer all saw the floor with the Rams last season – Sow was limited to five games due to an early knee injury and subsequent surgery. Jason Fontenet II (UC Santa Barbara), Dylan Williamson (Towson) and Matas Deniusas (Tennessee Martin) are among the veteran additions who should play heavy minutes this year. URI also brought in a pair of potential freshman contributors in guard Jaen Chatman and forward Tim Martin II.
“I think our additions have really meshed well personality-wise,” Miller said. “Talent obviously is talent, but I think from a personality standpoint we have a group that works well together.”
Miller is entering the final season of a five-year contract he signed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. He’s yet to crack .500 in the league with the Rams, and last year was the first time he missed out on improving URI’s conference win total from the previous season. The Rams started 11-1 overall in 2024-25 before fizzling and dropped each of their first three league games to set a sour tone for the rest of 2025-26.
Virginia Commonwealth and Saint Louis are expected to battle it out for the title, splitting 21 first-place votes nearly evenly – 11 for the Rams, 10 for the Billikens. Dayton picked up the other two while closing in third place, and the Flyers led George Mason, George Washington, Saint Joseph’s and Fordham in the top half.
Davidson, Richmond, Duquesne and Loyola Chicago were all picked ahead of URI in the bottom half of the team standings. The Explorers and Bonnies trailed while being shut out of the league’s all-conference and all-defensive team slots. Those two teams combined for just nine conference wins a season ago and went a combined 26-40 overall.
Amael L’Etang (Dayton), Jaiden Glover-Toscano (Saint Joseph’s), Trey Green (Saint Louis), Kellen Thames (Saint Louis), Lazar Djokovic (VCU) and Nyk Lewis (VCU) were all named to the first team. Thames, Rikus Schulte (Duquesne), Sean Logan (Saint Joseph’s), Amari McCoutry (Saint Louis) and Brandon Jennings (VCU) were selected to the all-defensive team. Duquesne guard Tarence Guinyard was a postseason selection to the first team in 2025-26 and remains on the roster, but his NCAA eligibility status as a potential fifth-year player remains unresolved.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: URI basketball picked 12th in A-10 as Archie Miller faces key season