When Kevin Willard’s transfer portal targets started to become known, there was one name that was at the front of the line for Villanova: Oregon’s Kwame Evans Jr. The portal officially opened on April 7, and just six days later Evans Jr. announced that he was committing to the Wildcats.
The addition of Evans Jr. was just the beginning of a major roster overhaul, seeing ten new players added (with only four returning). But of all the additions, the former Duck is the most consequential due to his size and versatility. The 6’10” big man will be able to play both power forward and center for Villanova, which is something nobody on last year’s roster could do. With the subsequent additions of Devin Royal and Luigi Suigo, Evans Jr. can realize that full potential as a Wildcat.
Evans Jr. brings an inside-out skillset to the Main Line. While his three-point percentage doesn’t jump off of the page, his attempts more than doubled from his sophomore season (1.5 to 3.4) and his percentage increased from 26.9% to 30.4%. Better quality looks on a more talented roster, coupled with another year of development, could see Evans Jr. increase his efficiency to 33-34%. That number would at least keep the defenses honest given the volume.
The more appealing facet of Evans Jr.’s game is his ability to face up and drive on slower opponents or take smaller opponents down to the block. The former five-star recruit is effective in the mid-range, which allows him to rise up over shorter defenders with his length. He also has the quickness and ball-handling ability to go by bigger and slower players.
At Oregon, Evans Jr. played next to a true center in Nate Bittle, who also had the ability to make threes at a respectable clip (31.9% on 4.5 attempts in his senior season). Given that, his fit with Suigo should be fairly seamless. Evan Jr. averaged 7.4 rebounds per game as a junior, which was good for eighth in the Big Ten. That, coupled with his 1.3 blocks per contest (good for sixth in the conference), will allow Evans Jr. to comfortably man the center role next to Royal and/or Matt Hodge.
Evans Jr. was asked to carry a large portion of the scoring burden a year ago, especially once Jackson Shelstad went down with a season-ending hand injury. He won’t be as depended upon with Villanova, given the overall depth and talent upgrades, but I would still expect him to finish in the top two or three in scoring (with Tyler Perkins and Devin Royal). His overall averages could be in line with what they were a year ago (13.3 points on 45.4% shooting), just with better efficiency. Regardless of the opponent, lineups or rotations, Evans Jr. is sure to be at the center of everything for coach Willard in 2026-27 and squarely in the all-conference conversations.
