It's no secret Boston College men's basketball is both returning a bunch of talent and bringing in the most highly-anticipated recruiting class in the program's recent memory.
But second-year head coach Earl Grant did some work in the transfer portal as well. Not only did Grant and his staff reel in Cincinnati three-and-D guard Mason Madsen, but they also identified another player outside of Division I.
Similar to how he plucked Jaeden Zackery from the JUCO ranks last year, Grant picked up Division II standout CJ Penha Jr. from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee, this time around.
Penha comes to BC as a graduate transfer after a rather unorthodox career, for players who end up in the ACC anyway. It started with him playing for Harvest Prep. The Pickerington, Ohio, native played at the club level for Hidden Gems. Penha, a 6-foot-7 forward put together an illustrious high school resume that included his finalist appearance for Ohio Mr. Basketball and a District 10 MVP award.
He then went on to Taylor University, an NAIA school in Indiana, where he spent 2018-21. Penha averaged 16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists as a junior. The next year, he pushed his scoring average to 20.1 points per game. He finished his Taylor University career with 1,148 points.
That's when he moved on to Trevecca. As he climbed a rung of the college basketball ladder, he maintained his scoring prowess.
Last year, Penha started all 22 games for the Trojans while averaging 20.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He posted shooting percentages of 49.6% from the field, 30.3% from 3-point land and 79.4% from the free throw line. Although his clip from deep wasn't spectacular, he did have three games with four or more triples.
Penha rounded out the season with 13 performances of 20-plus points. His most impressive outing, though, was a 24-point outburst versus Ole Miss.
He'll be up against plenty of Power Five competition next season.
But it's an opportunity that's well deserved for Penha, who has played his way to DI.
