It all started with a basketball game at Towson Catholic.
Current Saint Joseph’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Bino Ranson sat with his baby son, BJ, in his arms watching the game. Bino called it the “baptism” of his son into the world of basketball.
Set to graduate from Mount Saint Joseph this spring, BJ is now a consensus three-star recruit in the Class of 2026. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 22.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2025-26, leading the Gaels to a 30-6 record and earning Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year honors.
BJ blazed his own path to join his father at Saint Joseph’s, signing his National Letter of Intent in November. The experience is something that the father and son will cherish for the rest of their lives.
“It’s definitely going to be fun,” BJ said. “That was a big thing — going to a place with people that I trust and I definitely trust those guys. They’ll put me in the right situation to succeed. They won’t lie to me. They won’t tell me anything wrong, and I feel like that’s the biggest thing. It’s going to definitely be fun. I’m definitely looking forward to it and very excited to get up there.”
Bino served as an assistant coach at Maryland from 2010-2021. As BJ grew up, he watched future NBA players Bruno Fernando, Kevin Huerter, Alex Len and Jalen Smith and program stalwarts Anthony Cowan, Darryl Morsell and Melo Trimble.
“He was soaking it all in when he would be down there and he saw how those guys worked,” Bino said. “I think that gave him the drive to instill that work ethic in himself.”
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BJ Ranson turned heads before he got to Mount Saint Joseph, catching the eye of Gaels head coach Pat Clatchey. Clatchey saw Ranson’s skills evolve, beginning with when he made an effort to get the then-5-foot-8 guard to come play for the Gaels.
Clatchey’s pitch to Ranson was that he’d get to train with some of the best players who have walked through the halls of Mount Saint Joseph.
“His progress was steady and gradual, but he was always working — always trying to add things to his game and when it was time for the big moments, he was prepared,” Clatchey said. “He embraces those moments. He hit a lot of game-tying, game-winning shots, big free throws, big rebounds. I always knew he’d be a good player. I think he’s had a terrific career at MSJ, but I think he’ll continue to get better because of how important the game is to him.”
Mount Saint Joseph wasn’t a cakewalk, though it’s evident Ranson wouldn’t want that for himself. He played on the junior varsity squad as a freshman in 2022-23, and while players of his current caliber generally play four years of varsity basketball, Ranson became a leader as a freshman before progressing to the varsity level as a sophomore.
The younger Ranson accomplished a great deal throughout his time at Mount Saint Joseph. He won an MIAA A Conference championship as a sophomore, coming off of the bench and playing important minutes. He hit a game-winning shot against rival Saint Frances as a junior in the BCL semifinals. He is still the first to say how important it was for the Gaels to beat the Panthers.
“My biggest memory is probably me hitting a game-winner in the BCL my junior year against Saint Frances,” Ranson said. “I’d say that Saint Frances is our biggest rival. We don’t like those guys — it’s pretty much war every time we play them. It’s no friends on the court at all. It’s no laughing or joking when we play them at all.”
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Saint Joseph’s head coach Steve Donahue has known the Ranson family for 30 years. So, it was no surprise to see Donahue recruit Ranson when he was the head coach at Penn.
Donahue took over at Saint Joseph’s in September. He is excited to see what the future holds for Ranson.
“I think the thing that allows him to be ready is that he played in [the MIAA and BCL] with those kinds of rivalries and talent,” Donahue said. “Honestly, the amount of games that they play and they play with a shot clock, which not all kids get to do. His role, he had to play well for his team to win. All of those responsibilities allow him to grow and be ready to play as a freshman.”
There’s a high level of familiarity between Ranson and Saint Joseph’s that stretches beyond the father-son duo. Mount Saint Joseph alumnus Phillip Lawrence-Ricks is on the Hawks’ coaching staff as the player development coach. Lawrence-Ricks played under Clatchey, graduating in 2012 before heading to Marist.
Clatchey raved to Lawrence-Ricks about Ranson’s basketball IQ and his on-court reads as a guard. Then, his shooting ability became the basis of their conversations — the fluidity of his off-ball movement, the consistency of his shot and his ability to create with the ball in his hands. Lawrence-Ricks immediately saw it translating to the next level.
Lawrence-Ricks saw plenty of high-level guard play during his time at Mount Saint Joseph, ranging from Eric Atkins (Notre Dame) to Kameron Williams (Ohio State) to two-time national champion Phil Booth (Villanova). Lawrence-Ricks believes Ranson is cut from the same cloth.
“I know the various players that have come out of St. Joe and have been successful at the next level, especially guards,” Lawrence-Ricks said. “Many great guards come from St. Joe under coach Clatchey, so I already knew that a kid that is playing at Mount Saint Joe has a good foundation. They’re coachable. They translate to the college level from Clatchey’s teachings and Clatchey’s practices.”
Ranson has been a part of a number of clubs and organizations that stretch beyond the scope of basketball. Even though the sport is a large part of his life, he doesn’t let it fully consume him.
Ranson was part of O’Neil Peer Education, a program designed to assist and educate incoming freshmen at Mount Saint Joseph about “healthy internet and social media usage” as well as “the risks and consequences related to drugs, alcohol and tobacco usage,” according to the school’s website. The senior also participated in a number of retreats to aid underclassmen, welcoming them into the school and community.
It’s a legacy that he is proud of.
“I feel like I left a legacy of somebody who went hard and tried their best and worked extremely hard,” Ranson said. “I want to be remembered as somebody who was a hard worker, who everybody liked in the community — not just on the court, but off of the court. And somebody who really cared about Mount Saint Joe and trying to better it.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mount Saint Joseph