The transfer portal offically opened this week, and the news has not stopped coming in ever since. Miami has already been reported to be involved with plenty of portal entries.
One of them is Villanova point guard Acaden "The Pope" Lewis. Canesinsight's Trinton Breeze reports that Miami is "Strongly in the mix" for the 6-foot-2 freshman. Miami is expected to have a visit set with Lewis in the near future. He'll be among the most sought-after players in the portal this offseason.
Lewis is the No. 2 point guard and the No. 18 overall player in the 247Sports Transfer Rankings. He'll bring three years of eligibility with him to his next stop. Let's get to know more about him through the newest edition of "Canesinsight's Portal Pulse".
One-year stop at Villanova
A native of Washington, DC. Lewis started his high school career at St. John's College High School in Washington (winning the 2023-24 Gatorade District of Columbia Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a junior) before spending his senior season at Sidwell Friends School. In Lewis's senior season of high school basketball, he led Sidewell Friends to the Mid-Atlantic Conference title and the DCSAA Class AA tournament championship. Lewis was considered a top 50 recruit from the class of 2025.
He ended up choosing Kentucky for his freshman college season, teaming up with in-state products five-star Jasper Johnson and five-star Malachi Moreno before decommitting on April 10, 2025, one year ago exactly from today. After Lewis decommitted, he reopened his recruitment very quickly, taking visits to the likes of Miami, Villanova, St. John's, and Georgia, where he announced his top 2 schools, which were Villanova and Miami. Lewis preferred Villanova's pitch more than Miami's, and he ended up committing there on May 1st, 2025.
Lewis's freshman season at Villanova was a fun one, averaging 12.2 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and two steals in 30.5 minutes per game for Villanova in 2025-26. He turned into a full-time starter early in the season, shooting 45.6 percent on two-pointers, 27.0 percent from deep, and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line for the season. Lewis was named to the All-Big East Second Team. He was a five-time Big East Freshman of the week (Nov. 17, Dec. 1, Dec. 15, Dec. 29, and Feb. 9) and was selected to the Big East All-Freshman Team. Lewis also set Villanova's freshman records for assists and steals.
What do the advanced stats like about his game
Note: If you're a basketball nerd like me, you'll understand this
Advanced metrics were impressive for a high-usage freshman guard. His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 17.3 was very good for his age and role, and he contributed 3.1 win shares to a 24-9 Villanova team. Lewis handled a significant offensive load with a usage rate of 24 percent and an assist rate of 34 percent, which is amazing for a freshman point guard. He also set Villanova freshman records with 176 assists and 63 steals, which I previously mentioned. His turnover rate of about 15.3 percent gives him a very good assist-to-turnover rate.
He is also an elite overall defender; he can generate steals. Acaden Lewis had a steal rate of 3.9 percent, a very good advanced metric that ranked him among the best playmakers in the entire country this past season. He averaged 1.9 steals per game across 33 starts.
The numbers show Acaden Lewis as a really promising young star with playmaking abilities. His assist numbers pop off the roof, which is why he's drawing serious interest in the transfer portal and as an NBA Draft prospect.
