Gratitude is one of the hallmarks of Drexel's program, as this sign shows in the corridors of the DAC. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
October 31, 2026
Two things are true about Drexel during this era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal:
1) The power five conferences keep scooping up the Dragons’ best players.
2) Coach Zach Spiker and staff keep finding ways to win.
DREXEL TO P5
Here is the movement from Drexel to power five conferences in just the last three seasons:
2024: Amari Williams to Kentucky
2025: Yame Butler to Butler, Jason “Deuce” Drake to Indiana, Cole Hargrove to Providence, Kobe MaGee to Florida State
2026: Shane Blakeney to South Carolina
OUTPACING PREDICTIONS
And, yet, Spiker has led the Dragons to winning seasons in each of the last six years while outpacing preseason predictions for their finish in the Coastal Athletic Association in the last four.
2022-23: Picked 7th/finished 5th
2023-24: Picked 3rd/finished 2nd
2024-25: Picked 11th/finished 7th
2025-26: Picked 10th/finished 5th
2026-27: Picked 9th/finished ???
Drexel opens this season at Virginia on Tuesday. Click HERE for the entire Big 5 schedule.
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EMBRACING CHANGE
While Spiker would love to keep all of his recruits for four seasons, he knows that is not the reality. He has relied on his experience as head coach at Army, where the grueling nature of the service academy results in natural roster turnover. The approach Spiker has embraced is to accept that he is going to have to recruit basically his entire roster each season.
“You gotta not complain about it,” Spiker told me. “You gotta figure it out.”
“Do we want them to stay? Of course we do,” he added. “That’s not the reality of the world, and we have to adapt and embrace this new era.”
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DOUBLING DOWN ON DEVELOPMENT
Perhaps surprisingly, Spiker and his staff have continued to focus on developing players. They even have an acronym for it: PEP (Player Enhancement Program). “We’re all about the PEP,” he said.
Leaning into development might seem counterintuitive in an era where players are not staying put for very long, but it is the approach to development which is helping to attract talented players to Drexel. They see the plethora of players going from Drexel to power conferences and know that the staff must be doing something right.
“I don’t know how long your time is, but I want an arc of success,” Spiker said. He wants his recruits to think, “I’m going to Drexel, and I’m going to get better.”
CREATING CULTURE
While the game has become transactional, Spiker also has preached Drexel’s culture, something unavoidable with signs throughout the basketball corridors. Gratitude, respect, and compete are some of the program’s core values.
“When you’re here, you’re going to know what we’re about and we’re going to hammer that home,” Spiker said.
Part of the reason for the success of the culture is the stability of the staff. Spiker is entering his 11th season at the school. Assistant Paul Fortier has been there since 2016. Frantz Massenat, another assistant and Drexel alum, joined the staff in 2023.
“You have a great staff,” Spiker said of a key to the success.
WHO’S NEXT TO MOVE UP?
Again, Spiker doesn’t want to lose his best players. But that is the reality today. So, who could be the next Dragons player to make the jump to a power conference school?
Sophomore Josh Reed (pictured above) certainly looks like a candidate on paper. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Wyndmoor native starred at Archbishop Wood, where he was a first-team All-Catholic performer as a senior when he helped Wood to the PCL title. As a freshman, he appeared in 16 games and contributed just 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game on the team that featured MaGee, Butler, Hargrove, Drake, and others. Last season, he improved to 7.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per contest. Now, he knows the opportunity is there for a breakout season.
“I gotta be that dog every night, every time I step on the floor, whether it’s practice or a game,” said Reed, whose father, Rick, captained Temple’s 1979 NCAA tournament team and is in Owls’ Hall of Fame.
One focus area for improvement is his three-point shooting after making 25 percent (8 of 32) from long range last season. He upped that percentage to 32 percent during the early portion of preseason practices. He also looked great in Drexel’s exhibition game against Penn State, leading the Dragons with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
There are many other new names and faces on Drexel’s roster that will take some time to learn. It could be Reed. It could be someone else who gains the eye–and the pocketbook–of the big schools. And there is another player who is coming down from the power five conference level who also could help Drexel once again surprise the preseason prognosticators.
A WINDING ROAD TO DREXEL
Amaree Abram (pictured above via Drexel athletics photo) will be playing for his fifth school in five years, something that is now all-too-common in college basketball. Abram has played in the ACC (Georgia Tech) and SEC (Mississippi and Tennessee). A former four-star recruit who hails from Port Arthur, Texas, Abram brings a lot of experience in big settings to Drexel.
“We’re excited that we have the opportunity to add someone of that level of talent and experience to our program,” Spike said.
A 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard, Abram had his best year as a junior two seasons ago at Louisiana Tech when averaged 12.3 points and shot 37.3 percent from three-point range.
“Fast, downhill guard who can shoot it really well, and play both sides,” he said, when I asked him to describe his game.
Abram is still getting acclimated to Drexel’s system and struggled in the exhibition game against Penn State. In spite of playing at higher levels, he knows competing in the CAA won’t be a cakewalk.
“I respect every level,” he said. “There’s talent everywhere no matter what level. You got to approach the game as if you were at the biggest level. There are going to be no slouches. You gotta prepare. You gotta do it in practice every day. I’m hungry.”
HUNGRY ATTITUDE
The hunger that Abram mentioned also is a staple of Spiker’s program. Opponents know that whenever they play at the DAC, they are in for a tough matchup. The Dragons consistently rank high on the conference’s defensive statistics.
It’s all part of the mentality of the program.
“The guys that come back have a crack on their shoulder; it’s not a chip,” Spiker said. “We view it as an edge. The guys that return set that edge and play with that edge. And then they get our incoming guys to embrace that, and that’s what we’re about. I want us to play with that edge. I don’t care where we’re picked.”
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WEEKLY BIG 5 SCHEDULE
Sunday, Nov. 1
Villanova vs. Notre Dame, Rome, 9:30 am, FOX
Monday, Nov. 2
Central Connecticut at Temple, 6:30 pm
La Salle at Houston, 9 pm
Tuesday, Nov. 3
Drexel at Virginia, 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Nov. 4
Longwood at Saint Joseph’s, 7 pm
Thursday, Nov. 5
Penn at Illinois, 830 pm, FS1
Friday, Nov. 6
Holy Cross at Villanova, 7 pm
Saturday, Nov. 7
Colgate at Drexel, 2 pm
LIU at La Salle, 330 pm
Lafayette at Saint Joseph’s, 4 pm
Sunday, Nov. 8
Richmond vs. Temple, 5 pm, Palestra
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. His second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline) is scheduled to be published in February 2027. You can preorder it HERE. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.