USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from Rhode Island

Nairavoice | Jul 29, 2026 2h ago 135 0 6 min read

USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from Rhode Island

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but its sports footprint is far bigger than its borders suggest.

On Federal Hill, there’s Providence College, one of the founding members of Big East Conference, that also has a renowned men’s hockey program in the Hockey East Association.

There’s the state school, the University of Rhode Island, that competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference, while Brown University adds Ivy League prowess to the Ocean State. It’s also home to one of the oldest summer college baseball ballparks, Cardines Field in Newport, which houses some of the top college baseball players each season in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

As part of America’s Semiquincentennial celebration, USA TODAY Sports’ college team compiled a list of the top athletes to compete in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These athletes don’t necessarily have to be from the state, but are required to have attended college there to be considered.

So, here is the 100%, completely definitive (and surely unanimous) top 10 athletes to compete in college sports in Rhode Island, listed alphabetically:

One of the top rebounders in Providence’s history, Marvin Barnes was a force at the rim with his 6-8 frame. Under legendary Providence coach Dave Gavvitt, Barnes helped lead the Friars to a Final Four and Sweet 16 appearance in 1973 and 1974, respectively. He averaged 22.1 points and 18.7 rebounds per game and was a first-team All-American in his senior season and finished his career ranked second in scoring with 1,839 points and fourth in field goals made with 770. On the defensive end, he stands as the Friars’ all‑time rebounding leader with 1,592 boards and holds the program’s top five single‑game rebounding performances.

Ernie DiGregorio proved to be one of the best playmaking guards of his time. A three-year player for the Friars from 1970-1973, DiGregorio recorded a ridiculous 267 assists in the 1972-1973 season when he simultaneously led Providence to its first Final Four appearance. His 267 assists that season is a single-season program record. He’d also average 24.5 points per game that season, which earned him All-America honors. DiGregorio is 10th all-time in scoring with 1,760 career points, and holds the third-best career scoring average of any Friar with 20.5 points in 86 career games played.

Donovan was a standout guard on the men’s basketball team under Rick Pitino and one of Providence’s most recognizable all‑time greats. Known as “Billy the Kid” by Pitino, Donovan had a standout senior season, guiding the Friars to an improbable Final Four run after finishing fourth in the Big East. That season, Donovan would average 20.6 points and 7.1 assists per game while shooting just under 41% from deep, knocking down 97 3-pointers, which is second‑most in a single season in program history. He concluded his career with 1,328 career points. He had his No. 34 retired and put into the rafters by Providence in 2025, one of several post-career accolades for Donovan, as he was also inducted recently into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Latronica, who was an elite men’s soccer goaltender in the late 1990s in South Kingston. He virtually unbeatable between the posts as a sophomore in 1995. He’d help lead the Rams to a program-best record of 19-2-2, the first of back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances while setting a program and Atlantic 10 single-season record of 13 shutouts. He was a two-time All-American and four-time All-Atlantic 10 selection. He finished his career with 321 saves, the fourth‑highest total in program history, while setting the school record with 25 shutouts.

Dylan Molloy is one of Brown’s most prolific scorers in men’s lacrosse, and is the program’s lone Tewaaraton Award winner. Molloy took home lacrosse’s top individual honor as a junior in 2016, when he led the nation with 116 points and 54 assists while helping leading the Bears to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. He also became the sixth player in NCAA history to finish with at least 50 goals and 50 assists in a single season, as he found the back of the net 62 times. A two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, Molloy concluded his career with 197 career goals, which is 14th most in Division I men’s lacrosse.

PROGRAM RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12

The second University of Rhode Island member on the list is Lamar Odom, whose lone season at Rhode Island remains one of the most impactful in program history. Odom averaged 17.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in 1998-1999 and hit the game-winning shot in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game to send the Rams to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. He was also selected Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.

The third-leading all-time scorer for Providence’s men’s basketball, Walker lead the Friars to the NCAA Tournament twice and was a two-time first-team All-American. He had an unbelievable senior season in 1996-67 as he’d average a nation’s-best 30.4 points in 28 games. His total of 851 points set a program single-season record and was responsible for 39.2% of the team’s scoring that year. Walker finished his career with averages of 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 81 career games.

The first men’s hockey member on this list is Providence legend Ron Wilson, one of the all-time great college hockey defenseman. As a freshman, he led the team with 38 points while finishing third with 16 goals scored. He followed that up by winning the ECAC Player of the Year as a sophomore, when he led the nation with 87 points on 26 goals and 61 assists. Wilson, a two-time All-American, remains Providence’s all‑time points leader with 250 career points, which is a mark that also stands as the NCAA’s career scoring record for a defenseman.

In just two seasons, as he served in World World I, Fritz Pollard set many firsts in his career at Brown on the gridiron. As a freshman in the 1915 season, Pollard became the first Black student athlete to play in the Rose Bowl, which he helped lead the Bears to against Washington State. He’d follow that up by leading Brown to an 8-1 record with 12 touchdowns scored the next season. He rushed for 292 yards and three touchdowns in two games combined against Yale and Harvard. He’d complete his brief career by also becoming the first African-American running back to be named an All-American.

Doris Burke stands as one of Friar Town’s all‑time great playmakers. As a freshman, she became the program’s first selection to the All‑Big East rookie team after shooting just under 50% from the field and averaging 9.5 points and 2.5 assists per game. Burke was a two-time All-Big East performer and All-American in 1987. She went on to lead Providence in assists in three of her four seasons and started 87 consecutive games during that stretch. She concluded her career as the program’s all-time assists leader with 602 helpers and is now in second place. Her 1,372 career points rank as the 11th most all-time in the program.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from Rhode Island

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