Season averages:
Points – 9.2
Rebounds – 3.6
Assists – 0.7
Blocks – 0.6
Field goal percentage – 45.2%
Three-point percentage – 36.8%
Free-throw percentage – 65.2%
Season highs:
Points – 18 vs Queens
Rebounds – 7 vs Old Dominion
Assists – 4 vs Sacred Heart
Blocks – 3 vs Wisconsin and vs Providence
Overall thoughts:
After the way that Hodge’s eligibility was handled last season, there was understandable excitement over his 2025-26 prospects. The 6’8” forward was a steady contributor throughout the year, which was especially
important given the position that he plays. The torn ACL that Hodge suffered on February 28 left the Wildcats without a power forward on the roster, and that was exposed against both Georgetown and Utah State.
Prior to that unfortunate injury, Hodge displayed his ability as a stretch four, shooting a respectably 36.8% on 4.7 attempts per game. The freshman from Belgium was a connector on both offense and defense. Overall, Hodge is just a smart player. He was also surprisingly good as a weak-side defender, leading the team in blocks per game. His performance against Wisconsin is especially memorable.
Outside of the obvious rehab that he has ahead of him, Hodge will need to work on his rebounding. If the team intends to have a similar height across the starting lineup, it’s imperative that he ups that 3.6 rebounds per game number going into the future.
If Kevin Willard wants to run bigger lineups, there is the potential to play Hodge more at the small forward spot. I question how consistently he’ll be able to guard, but if he is paired with another forward who can shoot that would allow Villanova to go bigger without sacrificing shooting.
This goes without saying, but Hodge’s injury effectively ended any chance that Villanova had to make some sort of tournament run. There was simply too much attrition across the frontline, both with injuries and off-court issues. Hopefully Hodge can get back by the time that the 2026-27 season starts. Willard said that he expects him back by October. That would be on the quicker side of ACL-repair timetables, but either way we should be expecting Hodge back by conference play in 2027.
