Seton Hall Preview, 2025-26

Seton Hall Pirates

Tuesday, December 30th, 2025 at Fiserv Forum / Saturday, January 31st, 2026 at Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

Head Coach: Shaheen Holloway (113-110 overall, 49-53 at Seton Hall)

Three-Year NET Average: 117.7

Three-Year kenpom Average: 104.0

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 125

Godswill Erheriene throws down a dunk for Seton Hall

Photo by Jovanny Hernandez | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

State of the Program

Last year was arguably the worst season in Seton Hall history. The Pirates' 7 wins was their lowest win total since P.J. Carlesimo won just 6 in his first year in South Orange 42 years ago. Their 25 losses set a program record. Their kenpom finish of 204 was 87 spots lower than their previous worst, 117 in 2013. Last year we said Seton Hall had the worst roster in the Big East and they delivered a last place finish in the league. Hall faithful said that would never happen again, but looking at this year's roster, it's more of the same. The roster if full of low and mid-major up transfers with a smattering of high-major role players for non-tourney teams. It's a tough time to be a fan of the Pirates.

Rotation

Budd Clark was one of the best assist men in the country last year and backed that up with volume scoring for a conference champion. It's a big step up from the MAAC to the Big East, but despite his size Clark is a confident two-way player who isn't afraid to go into the paint. T.J. Simpkins is even more aggressive attacking the paint. More than half his shots come at the rim and he excels getting to the charity stripe. On the wings, A.J. Staton-McCray (Miami) and Elijah Fisher (Texas Tech & DePaul) both have high major experience but middling levels of successs. Staton-McCray is a low efficiency catch-and-shoot option while Fisher is another downhill driver whose gets to the rim and free throw line. Both are likely defensive liabilities at this level. Godswill Erheriene is the most proven big man on the roster but may be in rotation with freshman Najai Hines, a high-upside big who reclassified to join this team. Trey Parker and Josh Rivera provide some offensive options while Stephon Payne gives some defensive bite and front court depth.

Style of Play

Seton Hall's offense is painful to watch. They love to slow the pace, put their heads down, drive to the rim, and if they don't get there, settle for a mid-range jumper. They took the highest percentage of two-point field goals (69.5%) of any team in the Big East and were the worst team in the league converting (43.9%) inside the arc. Clark, Simpkins, Fisher, and Rivera are all head-down drivers that take the bulk of their shots at the rim while failing to convert. Their best offense comes off offensive rebounds, but even then their 1.01 points/possession on rebound and scramble plays is in the 7th percentile nationally. Whether it's in efficiency, pace, or aesthetics, the only thing offensive about this team is the effect it has on viewers' eyes.

It's hard to believe this is a Big East offense

Shot Chart from CBBAnalytics.com

Defense is where Holloway has made his reputation. Even in last year's terrible campaign the Pirates were top-10 nationally in defensive turnover rate. With Clark, Simpkins, and Staton-McCray on the perimeter, their ability to turn teams over should continue. That may not be a winning formula, however. Last year's turnover rate didn't prevent the Pirates from ranking sub-300 in defensive eFG%, 2PFG%, 3PFG%, and free throw rate. Basically, if you protect the ball against Seton Hall, they aren't likely to stop you from scoring.

2025-26 Outlook 

Last year we thought Holloway's defensive acumen would be enough to keep Seton Hall off the bottom of the league. That was not the case. As the level of talent became apparent, all the cries were that Seton Hall alumni would not let this happen again. Yet here we are a year later and it looks the same, if not worse. The transfers expected to contribute are primarily coming from low and mid-major programs. The guys that did play for high-majors were role-players on non-tournament teams. Holloway's defensive strength will be severely tested as only two players on the roster (Clark, Payne) had a DBPR over 1.00.  It's even hard to argue this is a rebuilding year because nearly half the rotation players are seniors and every player that accounted for 17+ minutes per game or more departed in the offseason, so how many of these guys will stick around to create future continuity? 

One Man's Opinion

For Seton Hall, a program that Kevin Willard took from tough place to win to NCAA Tournament regular, this whole exercise feels a bit mean. It's hard to look at the roster, the offensive scheme, and last year's results and not see this team finishing at the bottom of the Big East once again, which is why we're picking them 11th. The problem for Seton Hall is largely down to timing. The Pirates committed to building the new Basketball Performance Center in June 2023. The facility looks fantastic but came with a $55 million price tag. These donor contributions likely limited the same donors' ability to contribute NIL dollars that would allow Holloway to compete in the new transfer market. As player prices have exploded the past two summers, Seton Hall has seen players like Tyrese Samuel, Kadary Richmond, Dre Davis, and Isaiah Coleman all leave for programs with more NIL on hand.

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛 🏠🏀

Take a spin through @CoachSha10's new crib, the Seton Hall Basketball Performance Center. pic.twitter.com/9h8cCJVp4T

— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) September 19, 2025

As nice as the BPC looks, to become competitive again Seton Hall will have to find ways to get players cheaper, to raise enough NIL to retain the players they do develop, and to hit on diamonds in the rough. It doesn't look like that will happen this year, but it's also hard to blame Holloway for a thin roster when the money simply isn't there to compete. I don't know that any other coach would do definitively better under the circumstances, but in the "what have you done for me lately" era of the coaching carousel, a fourth year without an NCAA bid may start warming Holloway's seat.