Photo by Raphael Bartell | The Triangle
Drexel University’s Men’s basketball team pushed for the turnover and defended high up the court, deep in the Northeastern half. Huskies sophomore, JB Frankel, attempted to throw the ball to one of his teammates to escape the Dragon’s press, but he underestimated the skillset of Drexel center Cole Hargrove. Hargrove jumped high and intercepted the pass and with four quick steps he went for the dunk. Eight yards in front of the basket, he powerfully jumped over two Huskies defenders and slammed the ball through the rim. In the background, the Dragon’s bench flexed their muscles to celebrate their junior center for his powerplay.
It seemed very difficult for the Dragons to keep Hargrove in University City.
After two years of minimal playing time, he delivered in his first collegiate season as a starter.
Although he had big shoes to fill after Amari Williams transferred from Drexel to the Kentucky Wildcats in 2024, Hargrove turned out to be a more than adequate replacement. The 6-foot-8-inch giant averaged 9.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game and was one of the most important players for Drexel this past season.
On March 24, 15 days after the Dragons season ended with a loss to Towson in the CAA quarterfinals, Hargrove announced via Instagram that he would enter the portal. On April 2, he announced his transfer to Providence College.
“If you’re paying attention to college basketball, the whole landscape is changing with how players are paid,” said Hargrove.
In 2021, the NCAA made it possible for student-athletes to get paid through their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). High-major universities that are part of the Power Five (Big10, ACC, Big12, Big East and SEC) are able to offer their student-athletes lucrative deals with brands like Gatorade, Coca-Cola, or Dunkin Donuts.
Since 2021, there has been a massive popularity of the transfer portal. More than 2,700 basketball student-athletes have entered the 2025 NCAA transfer portal, according to an ESPN report published on May 30, 2025.
NIL played a big role in Hargrove’s decision to leave Drexel and to enter his name into the transfer portal.
At Providence, Hargrove immediately noticed a huge difference in NIL sponsorships compared to what he was used to at the mid-major university Drexel.
“They have a TV deal with Fox Sports, so pretty much all the games are going to be televised, and off the court … they are reaching out to more brands to kind of get their student-athlete’s name out there,” Hargrove said.
With little NIL opportunities, Drexel lost almost all of their star players to the 2024 transfer portal. In 2025, the Dragons are once again looking at a rebuilding year. Four out of their five starting players have entered the portal and left Drexel University.
“It’s a different animal now. It’s hard to compete with the resources that some of these guys and some of these schools [have],” said Nick Gannon, Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief Operating Officer.
“Kids aren’t transferring because somebody has nicer facilities, they’re transferring for money now,” Gannon said.
On average, mid-major basketball schools have an annual NIL budget of $291,667 compared to a $3,525,000 budget of high-major universities, according to an article from The Athletic published on July 18, 2024.
A forward basketball player at a high-major university can earn up to $750,000 per year on average, according to a New York Times article published on Aug. 31, 2024.
It almost seems impossible for mid-major universities to keep under-recruited players like Williams and Hargrove who delivered strong performances at Drexel. Within only two years, Drexel lost eight promising players. Along with Williams and Hargrove, Justin Moore transferred to Loyola Chicago University, Jamie Bergens to Fairfield, Lamar Oden Jr. to Charleston Southern University, Jason Drake to Indiana, Kobe Magee to Florida State and Yame Butler to Butler University.
“We can try to compete and I think there is a level we need to compete and raise our resources,” Gannon said, but he also thinks that there is more to success than signing the best-skilled players. It often comes to having the players with the right mindset, mental, work ethic and who can identify with the school.
“You cannot skip the step of building a cohesive team just because you have a big payroll,” Drexel basketball head coach Zach Spiker said in a Philadelphia Inquirer article published on June 24, 2024.
However, especially key players like Hargrove played a huge role in Drexel’s recent success and will be hard to replace. Hargrove’s physical playing style was often the decisive factor for winning games.
The step from Drexel to Providence or from the CAA to the Big East will be huge, Hargrove admits. But he stays confident in his abilities and wants to show his critics what he is capable of.
“Most people don’t really feel like … people who are mid-major should be at that level, so I kind of want to disprove that stereotype,” said Hargrove, who is ready to start his new chapter at Providence.