Former Rider basketball stars take their talents overseas

By Samantha Clark and Benjamin Shinault

Over the years, Rider fans have seen players come and go through the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. But, have they ever thought about where they take their talents? Some go on to pursue a career in the field they major in, others coach the future collegiate stars.

 However, some who have outshined others have gone on to pursue it professionally either in the United States or overseas. 

The name in the rafters

When someone steps through the doors of the Alumni Gym, they might see a number hanging from the walls. The number four jersey for Rider women’s basketball has now been retired for four years. 

The last player to don that jersey was Stella Johnson. 

Johnson, who graduated from Rider in 2020, holds many Rider women’s basketball records. First, Johnson holds the all-time scoring record with 2,167 points. The second-closest player, Debbie Snyder, ’94, only scored 1,706 points.

In 2020, Johnson was named a part of the MAAC Championship team and also took home MAAC Player of the Year for both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

By the time Johnson took her last dribble on the court, she knew she was headed to the pros. With the 29th pick in the 2020 Women’s National Basketball Association draft, Johnson heard her name called by the Phoenix Mercury. With that, she became the only Rider women’s basketball player to be drafted into the WNBA.

Johnson was later waived by the Mercury and spent time with the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics.

The Mystics turned out to be Johnson’s final stop in the WNBA as she was waived by the Mystics in June 2021. Johnson, in her nine games, recorded 58 total points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists and six steals.

From there,  Johnson went overseas to play basketball and spent time in Poland and Sweden. She currently plays for La Roche Vendee, a professional team based out of France.

Through playing at the Division I level, in the WNBA and overseas basketball, Johnson can tell a difference.

“The change of pace is different and they [overseas] have a different offensive system that I was not used to at all,” Johnson said.

Outside of on-the-court action, Johnson also faced another struggle: a language barrier.

“Some of my coaches aren’t able to speak English well and I think that was the biggest adjustment,” Johnson said.

Injuries have played a part in Johnson’s professional career, but she is finding a groove overseas. In her first season in France, Johnson is averaging 15.7 points per game, 3.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds.

Johnson recalls a quote from former Rider women’s basketball Head Coach Lynn Milligan, that she holds close to her heart when she is over 3,000 miles away from home.

“Fake it till you make it,” Johnson said with a laugh. “Not everyday is going to be rainbows and flowers … I gotta fake it till I make it because this is my career and I am pretty lucky to be playing basketball as my job.”

‘I’m a dog’

After three seasons repping the cranberry and white, Mervin James sharpened his game and gained the confidence as a player, building a foundation that extended beyond the stat sheet. 

Initially planning on staying home to play for the G-League, agents followed James throughout his final year as a Bronc, where he led the MAAC in points per game, was named the conference Player of the Week on three occasions, unanimously selected for the All-MAAC First Team and earned Rider’s “Claire Bee Male Co-Athlete of the Year” award.

After workouts at the Summit did not go as planned, James looked at other options to break into the professional world of basketball. 

“[My agent] gave me one team in Hungary, one team in England and then another team in Saudi Arabia,” James said. “And I was like ‘Man, some of them are too far.’”

James chose the option with the shortest flight and packed his bags for Surrey, England, to play for the Surrey 89ers. There, he averaged 17.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, emerging as a standout player in the Super League Basketball, the top-tier professional league in Britain.

In 2025, James competed in The Basketball Tournament’s million dollar, winner-take-all competition with the Sheffield Sharks, another team in the SLB. At the close of the tournament, James earned himself a spot on their roster.

“I liked how the coach was coaching, they liked my game and how I played… and that was it.” James said.

Coined as “midrange Jesus” by fellow teammate and longtime friend Dwight Murray Jr., ’23, James had no issues transitioning to the level of play found in this higher tier of the game.

“The hard coaching from Coach [Baggett] really prepared me,” James said. “The way I was playing already in the Rider system is how I’m playing right now as a professional.”

Despite high level of skill on the court, the transition to European basketball posed new challenges, forcing James to adjust his game. 

Differences in rules, physicality and calls placed him in a position of adaptability, making him refine his technique to succeed in this new style of play. 

“[In America], if I were to catch the ball and jab and then dribble, they won’t call the travel. But here, as soon as you catch it, you have to put it down and dribble first,” James said. “My first five games, I was struggling and getting calls, and I was just like, ‘How is that a travel?’”

The combination of structure, support and preparation has helped him thrive in any environment, instilling confidence in his approach to the game. 

“I’m a dog, and you just can’t teach that,” James said.

‘I didn’t understand anything’

The 2023-24 season for Rider women’s basketball was a tough one. Despite the win in the opening round of the MAAC tournament, there was not much success, as the team finished with a 10-21 overall record while going 6-14 in conference play.

One of the few positives, however, emerged in a big way, and that was Taylor Langan, who only spent one season at Rider, but left a big mark. 

In her single season, Langan averaged 13.8 points per game and 8.1 rebounds and was also named to the All-MAAC second team after recording seven double-doubles.

Langan started at Colgate University for her first two seasons, but was originally recruited to come to Rider when she was in 8th grade, so when she finally arrived, it was a full circle moment.

“She [Milligan] offered me in 8th grade to come to Rider, but I didn’t choose Rider in the end, but when she offered me again, it was a quick decision,” Langan said.

It was also quick for Langan to jump from college ball to heading overseas. In August 2025, Langan signed with ZKK Brod na Savi, a professional team in Croatia. 

In her first season overseas, much like Johnson, Langan had to deal with a language barrier.

“One time in Croatia, we had a meeting for like 90 minutes with the president about clubs and he didn’t speak any English, so me and the other Americans just sat there for 90 minutes and didn’t understand anything,” Langan said.

Similar to James, Langan also stated that she had to completely change her play style, as some moves that she typically used in America are illegal overseas.

“I used to jab a lot, which is when you use your pivot foot to fake out a defender, but here you can’t do it at all because once you jab and dribble, it’s called a travel,” Langan said.

On the court though, Langan is not a stranger to anything. This season for CAB Madeira, a professional team in Portugal, Langan is having season averages of 17.6 points per game, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

The test abroad

Just twenty days into a new country and thousands of miles from home, former Bronc Allen Powell, ’24, has learned that sometimes the toughest battles are fought off the court. 

In the quiet moments between walk throughs and matchups, life overseas posed its hardest challenges. 

Powell competed for Rider in all five years of his collegiate eligibility. In his final season, he was selected for the All-MAAC Third Team, the only Bronc to do so that year. 

After taking a gap year to “get his mind right,” Powell was off to the big leagues.  

“My agent got me a job in Kosovo, and that was the best job for me as a player with my role,” Powell said.

After two and a half months, another agent reached out to Powell, saying “his potential was greater than where he was at.” This led Powell to take the nine-hour move to Bosnia.  

Residing in the city of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, Powell began playing for the Bosnian Premier League immediately after the move, marking three straight months of being away from home. 

With that, he began to experience the struggles that come with playing overseas ball.

“If I’m being honest, I feel like nothing can prepare you for this overseas life,” Powell said. “It’s hard not seeing family and friends, I’m constantly just by myself … I haven’t seen them since Sept. 29, and it’s been pretty rough.”

However, Powell found ease in the transition to on-court adjustments. 

“I had a good coach at Rider, so I was able to adjust to the defensive principles and the high quality game of basketball over here … they definitely prepared me well,” Powell said.

With that, Powell’s experiences inside the gym have been worthwhile. After finding his footing in the professional league, he has learned to appreciate the steps it took to make it this far.  

In addition, the overseas audience helped. The passionate crowds added to the ease of the move, shifting unfamiliar walls into welcoming environments. This sense of connection served as a reminder that basketball can be a shared language, no matter how far from home.

“Their fanbase is definitely good out here. Our games are always crowded, they bring great energy,” Powell said. “Whether it’s a win or loss, they always support us.”

Thousands of miles away from home, the lessons from Lawrenceville remain close at heart, guiding these former Broncs through untouched territory and proving that, while the court may change, the foundation never wavers.