Amarri Monroe chooses to return to Quinnipiac despite multiple Power 5 offers

Amarri Monroe spurned chance to play at higher level Saturday, returning to Quinnipiac for senior season after entering transfer portal. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — An offseason ago, Amarri Monroe, formerly Tice, turned down six-figure offers to return to Quinnipiac. He parlayed that into the 2024-25 MAAC Player of the Year award and another regular season title for the Bobcats. So he was bound for an even bigger payday at an even bigger school after entering the transfer portal on March 14.

But he wouldn’t do it again. There was no way.

And yet, he did.

On Saturday afternoon, the forward announced via social media that he’d be withdrawing from the transfer portal and returning to Quinnipiac for his senior season. After averaging 18.1 points per game and 9.1 rebounds a game — including a MAAC-high 14 double-doubles — the Bobcats will get their captain back, and lock in two of next year’s starting spots (freshman guard Jaden Zimmerman announced he was staying on March 22).

“I came back because of my love for this program, this team, this community. It’s more than basketball to me,” Monroe wrote on social media. “They gave me a home when everyone forgot about me. I’m sticking with the people who helped me find myself again.”

Monroe had previously narrowed down his list to six schools (UConn, Rutgers, Miami, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Kansas), and was reportedly planning trips to both Ole Miss and Memphis. Instead, he will remain in Hamden, Connecticut, where the Newburgh, New York, native will receive far less in NIL money.

So what will this mean for the two-time defending regular season champion Bobcats in 2025-26? At first glance, getting Monroe to stay should pencil him in for the preseason conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Other stars around the league, like Merrimack’s Budd Clark and Bryan Etumnu, Marist’s Josh Pascarelli and Iona’s Dejour Reaves all left the MAAC by way of transferring. Deciding to stay, the Bobcats’ star has firmly placed the “best player in the conference” crown atop his head.

Monroe will be the star of the show. A member of the program’s 1,000-point club, the final shot will still be in his hands, and the defensive prowess makes him Quinnipiac’s most complete player — maybe ever. But in today’s mid-major world, retaining guys is hard and the Bobcats being able to return all five starters from two years ago won’t be happening again.

Sophomore Khaden Bennett, junior Ryan Mabrey and graduate student Doug Young all remain sitting in the portal. Graduate forward Paul Otieno, another member of the all-MAAC First Team, had previously announced he was headed to Saint Louis in the fall.

After Zimmerman, Monroe is the latest domino to fall in this Quinnipiac roster shuffle. According to a source, Otieno was a surefire exit after this season — he was either leaving via the portal or calling it quits from college basketball. There had also been rumblings that Bennett and Young were leaving as well. 

Now with Monroe comfortably slotted into the fold, do any of these guys choose to stay? Bennett had a major bump in playing time from his first season to his second, but is reportedly getting interest from Atlantic 10 programs. Already relegated to the bench, Young and Mabrey are likely out, especially with Trinidad State (CO) point guard Lateef Patrick already committed to come here. 

But because of roster uncertainties, Patrick announced just two days ago that he would decommit from the Bobcats and open his recruiting window back up. Already seen as the team’s primary point guard for next season, Patrick cited Monroe’s offers in the portal as a major blow to his chances to come to Quinnipiac. He won’t immediately recant his decision — a source said that it would be at least a week before he makes another commitment choice — but it leaves the door open for Patrick to still arrive in Hamden.

With two of the starting five already locked up, the Bobcats should still be in the mix next season for a title. Sure, they may not be as surefire as they were the last two years. But they’ve retained their best player — somehow — for another season.

For Quinnipiac, that’s as euphoric as it can get.