Entering Quinerly's freshman season, Villanova lost several key players to the NBA draft after winning the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Quinerly was the program's top recruit in the 2018 class and was expected to replace Jalen Brunson, the reigning national player of the year. In his debut on November 6, 2018, Quinerly recorded three points and three assists, shooting 1-of-4 from the field, in 17 minutes versus Morgan State. On December 12, after receiving under 10 minutes of playing time or not playing for six straight games, he posted to an Instagram story that Villanova was his "2nd choice for a reason." Quinerly soon deleted the post before posting random pictures and soon deleting his account. The incident drew speculation that he was attempting to pretend that his account had been hacked. On December 13, he apologized for his controversial post. Through 25 games, Quinerly averaged 3.2 points in 9.1 minutes per game. On April 3, 2019, he announced that he would transfer from Villanova.