Bryant Adds Favour Aire; Complete 2024-25 Roster
The Bulldogs have officially reloaded for the upcoming season
On Saturday evening, the Byrant University Bulldogs announced they utilized their final scholarship on Favour Aire, a 6’11, 215-pound big man from Ekpoma, Nigeria. The forward spent this past season at Penn State, playing for Miami the year prior.
A four-star recruit in the high school class of 2022, Aire graduated from Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville Maryland, where he earned First Team All-Met honors from the Washington Post and was a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee his senior year.
Aire initially chose Miami as his college destination over Louisville, Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, and many others vying for his services. As a freshman in 2022-23, he came off the bench in 14 contests, playing just 38 minutes total (2.7/game) and averaging 0.6 points and 0.6 rebounds a night.
The big man entered the transfer portal after one year with the Hurricanes, landing at Penn State, which underwent a sizeable roster overturn after former Nittany Lions head coach Micah Shrewsberry left for Notre Dame and ex-VCU head man Mike Rhoades was tabbed his successor. However, a hand injury limited Aire to just twelve contests in 2023-24, and he entered the portal for a second time once the year ended after averaging 0.6 points and one rebound in 4.6 minutes per contest.
Now, he finds his way to Smithfield, representing the third ex-Hurricane featured on the Bulldog’s 2024-25 roster; Earl Timberlake and Jakai Robinson are the others. That isn’t the only similarity the trio has, however, as all three are DMV products- meaning this latest commitment serves as a testament to the recruiting influence that head coach Phil Martelli Jr.’s staff has throughout the region.
A high-profile player with considerable upside, Aire will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. He offers additional size and athleticism for Bryant and will join the Bulldogs loaded frontcourt featuring returners Earl Timberlake, Connor Withers, Kvonn Cramer, Keyshawn Mitchell, and fellow transfer Barry Evans. Add in returning guard Rafael Pinzon as well as three transfer imports for the backcourt in Devean Williams (Canisius), Kam Farris (Marist), and Robinson (Miami), and Martelli has a deep, immensely talented squad on his hands, one which should post a formidable threat in the America East Conference moving forward.
And now that their roster has been finalized for the 2024-25 season, let’s see if such high expectations are within reach.
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Is there any status on his health going into the season?