Sheldon Edwards Jr.: From MVC Rival to A10 Star

If you can’t beat them, join them. 

This rings true for graduate guard Sheldon Edwards Jr.’s collegiate career, after dropping a season high 23 points against the Loyola men’s basketball team Feb. 16, 2022, in an eventual loss while playing at Valparaiso University.

The next season, he was on Loyola’s roster. 

Edwards Jr. started his collegiate career at Valparaiso — his first and only college visit. In two years with the Beacons, Edwards Jr. received a Missouri Valley Conference All- Freshman team nod in the 2020-21 season, an MVC All-Bench team shout and a Most Improved award a year later. 

After the conclusion of his second season with the Beacons — averaging 10 points per game and shooting just under 40% from the field — he said he realized it wasn’t the experience he wanted, and decided to enter the transfer portal. 

“Obviously, things didn’t turn out the way I feel like it could’ve or should’ve, but everything happens for a reason,” Edwards Jr. said. “I ended up here. And now I feel like I’ve really embodied what Loyola means as a person and an athlete.” 

Basketball has always been a part of Edwards Jr.’s life. He said he remembers his mom giving him a basketball at 2-years-old, but said he’s too old to remember his first basket. While playing other sports growing up, he said he always fell back into basketball and the comfort it brought. 

Edwards Jr. attended Palm Beach Lakes Community High School in his hometown of West Palm Beach, Fla. He said he wasn’t recruited much out of high school, but gained a larger recruiting profile after attending TLAP Sports Academy Preparatory during the 2019-20 school year in Tallahassee, Fla. 

His time at TLAP Sports Academy Preparatory was spent talking to coaches at the collegiate level and pursuing his dream of playing basketball at a higher level. 

“I enjoyed it, just feeling like I had the ability to take my talents to a new level and knowing that there were coaches and programs that wanted me to be a part of it,” Edwards Jr. said. “That’s what you dream about. For me to be able to step into that and have an opportunity to take another level and play professional after this, that’s something I can dream of.” 

At the time of his season-high against Loyola, head coach Drew Valentine was in his first year leading the team, and the Ramblers were still in the MVC, led by Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris — players Edwards Jr. said he looked up to from the other side of the court. 

Valentine said Edwards Jr. stuck out to him when the Ramblers played Valparaiso, and he wanted to speak with him after he entered the transfer portal. 

“He had like 25 on us both times and I’m like ‘Alright,’” Valentine said, laughing. “Then as soon as he went in the portal, we were like, ‘Alright, we should probably go and try to get that guy.’ He likes Gentile and he liked playing against the Ramblers, so he can get it done for the Ramblers.”

Edwards Jr. said he was drawn to Loyola’s culture and what he saw on the court while playing against the Ramblers. He said he was impressed with how the Ramblers overcame difficult opponents through deep team collaboration and connection, eventually pulling off a win. 

He said coming to Loyola made him understand how partnership within a team can improve their overall success. 

“I always wondered how they stayed so composed,” Edwards Jr. said. “Guys are hitting tough shots and going on their run. Then coming here and being a part of it, understanding the work they put in and the mentality, the approach — just the habits that they built from June 1 through the season — is why they’re so confident, they’re so controlled. They’re just under complete control.” 

Edwards Jr.’s start with the Ramblers wasn’t easy, according to Valentine. In Loyola’s first season in the Atlantic 10 conference, Edwards Jr. averaged five points and 11 minutes per game, which increased to six points and 14 minutes per game his next season.

It wasn’t until the end of the 2023-24 season when Valentine noticed things starting to click, and Edwards Jr. began to improve, earning himself more game time. 

Valentine said he credits Edwards Jr.’s growth to the selflessness and gratitude he has on and off the court as well as his emphasis on playing for the school, rather than his personal benefit. 

“It’s just been an incredible growth trajectory, like one of the coolest stories I’ve ever seen because everything was earned, everything was given and he stuck with it,” Valentine said. “If it was today’s day and age, I think even in two years, he might have probably left and transferred again. But he stuck it out, stuck with it and he’s reaping the rewards of it right now.” 

Third-year guard Jayden Dawson echoed Valentine and said Edwards Jr.’s growth has been special to watch — seeing his consistency on the court improve is something the team prides him on. 

Edwards Jr. said the mental and physical challenges of playing college basketball were hard for him to adjust to initially. Since he’s been at Loyola, he’s said he’s been able to grow as an individual — on the court and in the classroom — and being a Rambler is what helped shape him into a well-rounded individual. 

The 24-year-old is very faith-focused, which he said motivates him to be the leader he is for the team. Valentine and Dawson said this, along with his humor and love for the artist Drake, are characteristics which make him both a player and a person everyone wants to be around. 

“He’s a funny dude,” Dawson said. “I mean, a very caring person and genuine person. But he’s a real funny dude.” 

Outside of basketball, Edwards Jr. spends his free time with his team and is working toward finishing his sociology degree. He also claims he can juggle, but this remains unconfirmed. 

Following graduation from Loyola, Edwards Jr. said he hopes to continue playing basketball at a professional level. 

“I mean, we’re only here one time,” Edwards Jr. said. “I get to play ball every day. I don’t really have much to complain about.”