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Category: College Sports

  • Kevin Willard accomplished most of his goals in Villanova’s roster rebuild. Then came Luigi Suigo.

    Kevin Willard accomplished most of his goals in Villanova’s roster rebuild. Then came Luigi Suigo.

    Rumors of Villanova’s interest in 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo already were swirling when assistant coach Ricky Harris posted a photo last month on his Instagram page from Milan, not far from Suigo’s hometown of Tradate. Villanova was trying to keep its pursuit of Suigo under the radar, but Harris’s post only fueled the speculation.

    Villanova is visiting Suigo in Milan! The staff is all-in on adding the future NBA center! Kevin Willard really wants the cherry on top for this roster rebuild!

    Let’s play a little game of Two Truths and a Lie.

    No, Villanova didn’t send Harris to Milan to visit its next center. The other things are true, though. And the lie is only a partial one. It wasn’t Harris visiting Suigo, it was Willard. Harris was just in Italy enjoying an offseason vacation, with the bulk of the roster overhaul already done. But it wasn’t Milan where Willard went, it was Belgrade, Serbia, where Suigo played this past season with Mega Basket of the Adriatic League.

    Villanova men’s basketball to sign 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo

    “Belgrade was beautiful,” Willard said Monday, nine days after Suigo announced he was leaving the NBA draft and signing with Villanova. “Food was great, people were awesome.”

    It was a short business trip, less than 48 hours. Willard had spent the past month reassembling the Wildcats’ roster. Only two players who dressed in a game from last season’s team, Tyler Perkins and Matt Hodge, returned. The staff surrounded them with plenty of talent, but still needed a true center to round out the roster. Any starting-caliber center would have been fine. The offseason had largely been a success even after losing a few top players like Acaden Lewis and Bryce Lindsay to the transfer portal.

    “We could have gone in a couple directions,” Willard said of the center spot. “For us, it was like, all right, how are we trying to win a championship here?”

    On film, Suigo looked the part of a player who could take the roster to the next level. The size component is obvious. But Suigo is a “really skilled center that can shoot it, that can pass at a high level,” Willard said. “I think one of his best attributes is that he’s extremely unselfish. He’s a great passer.”

    Willard wanted more than film studying, though, so he got on a plane and flew halfway across the world to watch Suigo practice in person, to meet with his coaches, to sit down with him for dinner.

    “Sometimes you can watch clips and you can get fooled,” Willard said. “When I went over there and talked to him in person, met him in person, and saw him play, it was like, yeah, this kid is the real deal.

    “He’s very professional. He knows what he wants. He knows how he wants to play. He knows where he needs to get better at.”

    In 26 games with Mega Basket, Suigo, 19, posted averages of 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1 block in 18.8 minutes. He shot 64.9% on his 111 two-point shots, 27.1% on 48 three-point attempts, and 64.7% on 34 free throws.

    Draft evaluators had Suigo projected near the end of the first round or early in the second round. Luring a player out of that range surely was costly for Villanova. Willard declined to discuss financials with The Inquirer. But the region’s rich Italian-American culture and the timing of watching the Knicks on their championship run with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart were added bonuses.

    Plus, Suigo was open about wanting to be a top-20 pick throughout the draft process.

    “I think he maybe would have gotten drafted late in the first round, but he doesn’t want that,” Willard said. “He wants to make sure when he gets drafted he’s going to play. The big thing is I think he needs to get Americanized a little bit, to American basketball. I think that’s why college will be really good for him. Get in shape a little bit, just kind of get used to American basketball. I think once he does, the sky is the limit for him.”

    Why signing Luigi Suigo is significant for Villanova, not just for 2026-27, but beyond

    Sky’s the limit for the team, too?

    The offseason had a clear objective.

    “We wanted to make sure that we just didn’t get manhandled the way we got manhandled last year against the top teams,” Willard said.

    He was talking about national champion Michigan and the two top Big East teams, Connecticut and St. John’s. Willard’s first season at Villanova was a success. A streak of three consecutive missed NCAA Tournaments was stopped, though Villanova lost as a No. 8 seed in the first round because it lacked experience and physicality against a veteran Utah State team.

    Tyler Perkins (left) and Matt Hodge (right) will be key contributors again for the Wildcats in 2026-27.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    The first additions of the offseason aimed to address that. Villanova signed Oregon’s Kwame Evans Jr. and Ohio State’s Devin Royal. Both players are incoming seniors who averaged more than 13 points in the Big Ten last season. Evans is 6-10 and Royal is 6-6 but is a physical player who averaged seven rebounds in 2024-25 and nearly six last season.

    With those two and Perkins and Hodge in the fold, the attention turned to the backcourt, specifically to the point guard spot. Willard said he watched more film to fill this spot than any other position during the offseason. Perhaps, then, he could ace a quiz on Illinois-Chicago hoops. Elijah Crawford scored 14 points and dished out five assists in 26 minutes per game last season. More importantly, his decision-making out of pick-and-roll stood out, as did his 75.3% rate from the free-throw line.

    Crawford is the likely starting point guard next to Perkins, with Royal, Evans, and Suigo rounding out the starting five.

    Backcourt depth was a problem at times last season. On paper, it won’t be in 2026-27. The Wildcats added Cornell shooting guard Jake Fiegen, who Willard said “analytically, was probably one of the highest-rated guys.” Fiegen shot 41.4% from three-point range on 5.5 attempts per game. He thrived in catch-and-shoot situations, of which he will have plenty with this Villanova roster.

    Ex-Villanova star Lucy Olsen continues her growth with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics

    Then there’s St. Bonaventure transfer Buddy Simmons. Willard said the staff was actually watching another Atlantic 10 player when they became enamored with Simmons, a 5-11 guard who scored 16.4 points per game and shot 42.5% from deep. While Fiegen is more of a standstill shooter, Simmons produces off the dribble.

    Incoming freshman guard Adam Oumiddoch also is expected to contribute right away. He’ll add to a versatile bench that also includes Hodge, who Willard said is tracking toward being ready for the beginning of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in March.

    Evans could play some minutes at center, as could returning redshirt freshman Nico Onyekwere.

    Villanova hit the offseason trying to build a roster to compete with Dan Hurley’s UConn program.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    “We can play small or we can play really big,” Willard said. “That was my goal. Last year we were kind of hampered in how we could play. This year I think we have so much more flexibility.”

    Signing a 7-3 center helps.

    But Suigo’s signing should have done more than raise the expectations for the 2026-27 season. Sure, the Wildcats may get some preseason top 25 love. But they also showed they can compete financially with other programs.

    Villanova and Notre Dame officially have an agreement to open the 2026-27 basketball season in Rome

    “From Father Peter to the board to our alumni and our donors, everyone understands how important Villanova basketball is,” Willard said. “We will never be the highest spender. That’s not in our DNA and it’s not what it is. But I will say that the university understands and financially has been extremely supportive of this program and the women’s program.”

    About those expectations …

    “I’m the head coach at Villanova,” Willard said. “The expectations are huge every year. I knew that when I took this job. I knew that when I took the Maryland job. It’s just part of the job. It’s what makes this job so great. You want those expectations.”

    It’s what you fly to Serbia for.

  • ‘Overlooked’ Santino Harwood got his chance at an HBCU despite not being Black. Now he’s in the Swingman Classic.

    ‘Overlooked’ Santino Harwood got his chance at an HBCU despite not being Black. Now he’s in the Swingman Classic.

    Santino Harwood was set on playing baseball at a Division I school but his chances were dimming when he started his senior year at Roman Catholic without a college offer. He had chances to play at Division II and Division III schools but the infielder from Mayfair always dreamed of Division I.

    “Kids these days want to hear that they’re a D-I player and going to a D-I institution,” said his father, Edgar. “I said, ‘That really does not matter.’ You need to go where you fit in and where you like the program. They feel like they’re disfigured if they’re D-II or D-III and they don’t have that status symbol next to them.”

    Santino played like a Division I player in high school, but he was just 5-foot-11, causing college coaches to overlook the shortstop. Finally, an assistant at Delaware State noticed. They didn’t have a scholarship for him but told him he could walk on. Deal, he said. And then the coach made sure Harwood knew that the school was a historically Black college and university.

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    “He said, ‘You have to understand that you’re going to be a minority’,” said Edgar, as his son is white.

    Santino didn’t mind. He just wanted a chance. He was in. The shortstop hit .296 this season, played crisp defense, and stole bases with ease for Delaware State, which reports its student body as 76% Black. Harwood grew up playing baseball with kids of various races — “Being from Philly, my friend group is mostly Black,” he said — so being a white kid at an HBCU was nothing new.

    “It’s a great environment to be around,” Santino said of Delaware State. “It’s a great energy. They make you feel comfortable … I feel like baseball has the most diverse community. We have a lot of Hispanic, Black kids, white kids. Everyone comes together and is here for the same reason. That’s why we all get along.”

    And next month, he will represent Delaware State at Citizens Bank Park days before the All-Star Game when he plays in the HBCU Swingman Classic on July 10.

    The event was developed by Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. to give players from HBCU schools — overlooked guys like Harwood — a chance to showcase their skills. Jimmy Rollins will manage a team, Griffey will be there, and Harwood will get his chance to star in a big-league park.

    “Our president Dr. [Tony] Allen, his goal is to create the most diverse HBCU at Delaware State University,” baseball coach Pedro Swann said. “If you walk around campus, you’ll see all types of shade. There’s a mixture of everything. Plus, Santino has a little drip and a little swag to him. So he fits right in and has no problem blending in with the HBCU culture. That’s what I love about him. He’s friends with everyone.”

    Santino Harwood (second from right) and his brother, Edgar; father, Edgar, and mom, Michelle after a game at New Foundations Charter School.Edgar Harwood

    The Santino Rule

    The 8- and 9-year-olds from Holy Terrors were called to the stage at the end-of-season banquet years ago when a table in the catering hall started to boo. Edgar looked around and saw it was another team from Northeast Philly that played in the age group above his son’s team. Fine, he thought. We’ll play up in age and beat them.

    Holy Terrors — a youth organization at Brous and Princeton Avenues — won the Department of Recreation title against 11- and 12-year-olds despite 8-year-old Santino batting leadoff. Opposing teams were livid.

    “I said, ‘Why are you mad? He’s 8 years old,’” Edgar said. “‘He’s my leadoff hitter. Just strike him out if you can. But that’s probably not going to happen.’”

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    A year later, Edgar said the league instituted a new rule that banned players from playing up in age.

    “The Santino Rule,” Edgar said. “The pamphlet came out, and, boy, they put that sucker in boldface lettering. It was really weird. For me, playing up is a bonus if you can do it and you can hold your water.”

    Edgar soon started a travel team called Falcons Baseball that practiced for three to four hours at fields in the Northeast. Even that wasn’t enough for his son, as the coach often would cap practice by driving his car up to the cage and turning on the headlights so Santino could get more swings after dark.

    “There was always that want and desire,” Edgar said.

    Santino Harwood after a game with the Bensalem Ramblers.Edgar Harwood

    Those Falcons teams were diverse — “Black, white, Hispanic,” Edgar said — and the players became more than teammates. They hung out at the Harwoods’ home, barbecued, and bonded like “brothers” over their love of baseball.

    “You have a melting pot of identities in the United States now,” Edgar said. “You have to get an understanding and learn to love one another and understand each other. Just like brothers, you’re going to bump heads. Everyone bumps heads whether you’re at work or on the baseball field or with your neighbor.

    “But you have to learn these things now that you have to understand each other. You have to have a respect for different attitudes, different thought processes, different identities, cultural or national.”

    Santino Harwood went to Delaware State without a scholarship.Mike Buscher

    Earning his way

    The Delaware State baseball team is full of players like Santino, who were overlooked by other programs before finding their way to the Hornets. The roster is racially diverse, just like that Falcons team.

    “Last season, we had a guy from Idaho,” Swann said. “You pair him with someone from like Teaneck, N.J., and it’s polar opposites. But the guys got along. When you get out on that field, it’s not about what color you are. It’s about how you catch and throw the ball.”

    Santino went to Delaware State without a scholarship, but his dad told him not to worry.

    “You need to be prepared for the opportunities that can get you to that scholarship,” Edgar said. “Whether or not you think someone in front of you doesn’t deserve it, that’s irrelevant. When you have your opportunities, can you showcase to the point where you get that same bonus or package?”

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    He hit .296 as a freshman in 2025, and his coach called him into the office after the season. He was no longer a walk-on. Harwood called home and told his parents. They were thrilled.

    He stole 15 bases last season as a sophomore with a .413 on-base percentage in 44 games. Swann told him early in the season that he was building a case to be picked in the Swingman game.

    “I said, ‘Man, that would be cool. You’d get to play in your hometown. That would be awesome,’” Swann said. “Then he ended up getting selected. He took the lead role in the infield this season and was our quarterback out there. He never backed down from any battle. He’s a Philly kid, so he has that fighting spirit and chip on his shoulder. I love the way he plays the game.”

    Delaware State shortstop Santino Harwood had a .409 on-base percentage and 15 stolen bases in 45 games last season.Mike Buscher

    Santino grew up an Atlanta Braves fan — his dad is from Georgia — but still is honored to play at Citizens Bank Park.

    “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said. “It’s a privilege to play there. I feel like that’s every kid’s dream. For me to get a taste of it in the Swingman is nothing more than a blessing.”

    Santino dreamed of playing Division I baseball but had to wait for his opportunity. Even then, he had to earn a scholarship. First, his coach had to make sure he would be comfortable. Santino didn’t think twice about it. The HBCU, he said, has felt like home. And he’ll represent it next month on a big stage.

    “I’m so happy to see him get an opportunity that he’s really worked so hard for,” Edgar said. “No one knows the hours and the days that we’ve been out there trying to get him better at this sport. And it doesn’t really matter if anyone knows or not, right? It’s an opportunity that me and his mom are going to enjoy.”

  • Tessa Janecke is selected third overall by Las Vegas; Penn State well-represented in the PWHL draft

    Tessa Janecke is selected third overall by Las Vegas; Penn State well-represented in the PWHL draft

    Tessa Janecke has had no shortage of big moments this year, from winning gold with the United States women’s hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Milan to playing in the Frozen Four on home ice in State College.

    On Tuesday night she added another, as Las Vegas of the Professional Women’s Hockey League selected Janecke with the third overall pick of the PWHL draft.

    The new team in Las Vegas was the fourth team to be announced as part of the league’s second round of expansion for the 2026-27 season, its fourth. which takes the league from eight teams to 12. Detroit; Hamilton, Ontario; and San Jose, Calif., are the other three.

    The Vancouver Goldeneyes picked Wisconsin star Caroline Harvey first overall. Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy went second to the Seattle Torrent, and Wisconsin’s Laila Edwards (San Jose) and Lacey Eden (Las Vegas) rounded out the top five.

    Ava Rinker played on the Junior Flyers girls’ hockey team. Now, she’s headed to the PWHL.

    After helping lead Penn State to its first women’s Frozen Four appearance, Janecke says she knows what it’s like to help build a program and is prepared to do the same in Vegas.

    “Me and my class have kind of built that place into what it is today, and hopefully into what it continues to be, and I’m really excited to be able to do that with Las Vegas as well,” Janecke said.

    Janecke added: “It takes so much hard work and adversity, even if you’re not winning games, to still make those around you feel like they belong and feel that sense of community in the team.”

    As Penn State’s leading goal scorer last season with 26 goals, the 5-foot-8 forward also led the team in points (48) and finished with 201 career points, the most ever for a Penn State hockey player.

    Tessa Janecke (right) finished with five assists in seven games for the U.S. women’s hockey team in the Winter Olympics earlier this year.Hassan Ammar

    She also became the first Penn State athlete to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics and had five assists in the United States’ seven games in Milan.

    Janecke also played for Team USA in the 2025 IIHF World Championships, where she scored the golden goal.

    The Orangeville, Ill., native was named to the Atlantic Hockey America conference first team four times and won three straight AHA player and forward of the year awards, making her the second woman in the conference to achieve that feat. She also became the first Penn State women’s player to be a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the top women’s college player. She was a top-10 finalist the previous two seasons.

    As her Penn State hockey career ends, Tessa Janecke believes she’s helped build the newest blue blood

    Janecke said she plans to carry her experience from Penn State to the next level.

    “I think there’s an edge to Penn State that people don’t always realize,” Janecke said. “They kind of fly under the radar. Maybe that’s a good thing and a bad thing, but I think I’m going to take that 200-foot play that I’ve developed at Penn State and bring that to Las Vegas.”

    Penn State representation and a local connection

    Wynnewood’s Grace Dwyer, a Harriton High School graduate, also was drafted in the first round, 10th overall to the Boston Fleet.

    The blueliner had 76 points (18 goals, 58 assists) during her four-year career at Cornell and was first-team All-Ivy last season. She also previously played for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers, along with Penn State’s Leah Stecker, who went 27th overall to Boston in the third round.

    Stecker, one of seven Nittany Lions to be drafted — the most from any one college — was a four-year contributor and played in all of Penn State’s games over the last three seasons.

    Penn State’s Katie DeSa (35) and Leah Stecker were selected Wednesday in the PWHL draft.Craig Houtz / For The Inquirer

    The Randolph, N.J., native finished her career with 57 points (12 goals, 45 assists), but was most productive in the defensive zone, with 83 career blocks.

    Maddy Christian, an Elk River, Minn., native, also was drafted in the third round to her hometown team, the Minnesota Frost. She had 84 points (46 goals, 38 assists) and 86 blocks in four seasons at Penn State.

    Goalie Katie DeSa was drafted with the first pick of the fourth round by the Goldeneyes after finishing her career with the most shutouts in program history (25). She also was AHA Goaltender of the Year in back-to-back seasons and had a career .932 save percentage.

    Penn State’s Frozen Four run ‘put the program on the map’

    Forward Katelyn Roberts was taken 43rd overall in the fourth round by the New York Sirens. She scored a career-best 16 goals as a senior and set a program record for most single-season game-winning goals (seven), which was tied for the second-most nationally. She is one of six players in program history to record at least 100 career points.

    In the fifth round, Kendall Butze joined Janecke with Las Vegas. Butze was named the AHA’s best defensemen in back-to-back seasons and is Penn State’s all-time leader in points by a defenseman (94).

    Hamilton, one of the other expansion teams, nabbed Mya Vaslet in the sixth round (66th overall). Vaslet, who’s from Sittsville, Ontario, finished with 60 points (30 goals, 30 assists) in 149 games with the Nittany Lions.

  • Charlie Sifford is known as the Jackie Robinson of golf. Now, a scholarship in his honor helps students attend HBCUs.

    Charlie Sifford is known as the Jackie Robinson of golf. Now, a scholarship in his honor helps students attend HBCUs.

    Coming from a single-parent household, with another sibling already in college, 20-year-old Philadelphia native Tommi Crump knew she would need a lot of scholarships if she wanted to attend Delaware State.

    So, one day, her mother, Erika Wines, sent her a social media post about the Charlie Sifford Scholarship Fund. Crump applied for and received the $5,000 scholarship before her freshman year in 2024 and earned it again this year. The fund was created to honor Sifford, a trailblazing golfer who got his start at West Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek Golf Course, and help fund college costs for students attending historically Black colleges and universities or for students focusing their education on a golf management program.

    “It truly made a great impact on me and helped me out a lot financially because attending an out-of-state HBCU is very expensive,” said Crump, who’s majoring in preveterinary medicine. “And my mom definitely doesn’t have the funds to provide $40,000 a year for me to attend school. So it really means a lot that someone is gracious enough to provide me with financial aid support.”

    Philly native Tommi Crump, a junior at Delaware State, is a 2026 Sifford Scholar.Sifford Scholars

    Sifford is known as the Jackie Robinson of golf and was the first Black person to play and win on the PGA Tour. His perseverance helped many other young golfers make their way onto the course, including his protégé, Tiger Woods.

    Now, his legacy lives on through the Sifford Scholarship Fund.

    “He faced a lot of obstacles that could have discouraged a lot of people,” said Houston native Lourraine De Luna, another 2026 Sifford Scholar. “But he continued forward, changing the landscape of his sport. I’m also an athlete, so his story reminds me of true leadership that isn’t just about personal success. It’s about creating opportunities for those who come after me. It’s the kind of legacy I hope to leave as well.”

    How Golfing pioneer Sifford got his start at Philly’s Cobbs Creek

    As a sophomore soccer player at Lincoln University, De Luna, 19, is a first-year recipient of the award. Before applying for the scholarship, she already knew of Sifford’s legacy from her father, Alfred Quarles, a huge fan of the golfer. De Luna also is interested in golf and has volunteered at her aunt’s golf tournament, the DMP Servant’s Heart Charity Golf Classic, in Houston.

    “Receiving this scholarship is an incredible honor because it connects me to a legacy bigger than myself,” De Luna said. “His impact continues to grow and inspire people every day, and I’m grateful to be carrying his legacy forward.”

    Lincoln soccer player Lourraine De Luna also is a 2026 Sifford Scholar.Sifford Scholars

    De Luna and Crump are two of 12 scholarship recipients.

    The Sifford Scholarship Fund was founded in 2022, during Sifford’s centennial year. Sifford, a Charlotte, N.C., native who moved to Philly as a teenager and lived there for nearly two decades, died in 2015 at age 92.

    Each tournament did something to celebrate Sifford’s centennial year. But organizers of the Hartford Open, now known as the Travelers Championship, wanted to do something more to honor his legacy. Sifford’s first PGA Tour win came at the 1967 Hartford Open.

    “They were the catalyst for starting the scholarship fund and they are the inaugural donor,” said Russell Crockett Jr., the managing partner of Just Let Me Play LLC, which manages Sifford’s estate. “They had a golf tournament on the golf course Charlie won the tournament on as a fundraiser for our scholarship fund. But, one of the criteria as part of a scholarship is that we had to have an already established foundation in order to manage the funds.”

    Golf pioneer Charlie Sifford, former Philly resident, dies at 92 | from 2015

    That’s where the Cobbs Creek Foundation comes in. The foundation is a nonprofit focused on restoring the Cobbs Creek Golf Course, which is known as the “great uniter,” welcoming everyone to enjoy the game of golf, including Sifford, who called it his “home course.” In addition to its driving range, learning facility and nine-hole short course, the complex recently opened the Little Horse Tavern, named in honor of Sifford.

    “This is where [my father] got his first start after experiencing what it was like to be a Black golfer in the segregated South,” Charles Sifford Jr. said at a Cobbs Creek event in April. “He began to see what might be possible. Even when opportunities were limited because of his skin color.

    “Cobbs Creek is more than a golf course. It’s a place of community, a place to play and compete, and a place to belong. I love the fact that not only is the golf course being restored to its original routing. It brought back its original purpose — a place where all Philadelphians can come and enjoy.”

    That connection made backing a scholarship to benefit HBCU students a no-brainer.

    “It was a natural thing for us,” said Enrique Hervada, the chief operating officer of the Cobbs Creek Foundation. “We met Russ Crockett and Charles Sifford Jr., and they were looking for some help to get the foundation started. So we became their fiduciary for them.

    “We try to support them however we can. It’s very rewarding for us at the foundation, the Cobbs Creek Foundation to see real things come out of the work we’ve done. We’re helping a lot of kids here as well, but as far as the Sifford scholarship, we’re thrilled to be a part of it. We think it’s a great mission and something we certainly believe in and are happy to help with.”

  • Ex-Villanova star Lucy Olsen continues her growth with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics

    Ex-Villanova star Lucy Olsen continues her growth with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics

    Former Villanova star and current Washington Mystics guard Lucy Olsen has picked up a lot of experience with different teams.

    Moving around so much means she’s learned numerous systems during her years in college and the pros, which is keeping her adaptable as her role shifts in the WNBA.

    “Going from Villanova to Iowa, that was a big jump, system-wise, trying to learn how to fit the system, but also keep your own game,” Olsen said. “That was pretty hard, and then I got another chance at it, coming to the Mystics. Then I feel like just going to another team, you just learn how to adapt faster.”

    Lucy Olsen is carving out a role in the WNBA. Former Villanova teammate Maddy Siegrist showed her how.

    In college, Olsen was the primary ballhandler at point guard and took on most of the scoring responsibility. But in the pros, she often has come off the bench and plays as an off-ball guard, shifting her focus away from scoring to the other things she can do on the floor.

    “Run the play, but also keep looking for the different avenues so that you can be aggressive and then dish it off to someone else,” Olsen said. “I’m reading the defense a little more, and I think [playing in] Australia [in 2025-26] helped with that, being able to see different types of defenses and work on just getting more reps of pick-and-rolls, and how the pros play.”

    Lucy Olsen (center) averaged 23.3 points per game in her final season at Villanova before transferring to Iowa in 2024-25.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    After three years at Villanova, the Collegeville native and Spring-Ford alumna transferred to Iowa for her final season. Shortly after her lone season with the Hawkeyes, Olsen was drafted in the second round by the Mystics.

    After her rookie season in Washington, she moved to Australia to play in the Women’s National Basketball League, where she won Sixth Woman of the Year and a WNBL championship with the Townsville Fire.

    Now, she’s back with the Mystics for her sophomore season, and even with just one year of experience, she’s something of a grizzled vet on a roster with eight rookies.

    “Everyone’s so young and eager, and they want to learn,” Olsen said. “I think that helps with the environment and getting better.”

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    Olsen is working to find her role in Washington and mostly comes off the bench in late-game situations.

    But there’s never been a better time for development in the WNBA. Previously, players had to come to the league fully formed. With extremely limited roster space — entering this season, the maximum number of players hadn’t been higher than 12 per team since 2008 — only a few draft picks each year would make a WNBA roster. Second-round picks like Olsen rarely got a chance.

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    Between 2009 and 2024, when the Golden State Valkyries tipped off, there were 12 teams in the WNBA. The league then added the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo this year. With three more teams entering the WNBA in the next four years — including the Philadelphia team set to begin play in 2030 — that’s six more full teams’ worth of roster spots as compared to the league in 2024. The roster maximum remains at 12 players, but the new collective bargaining agreement created two optional “developmental” roster spots per team.

    “How young our team is, I feel like that doesn’t happen a lot,” Olsen said. “There is so much opportunity, and there’s so much room for growth. There are more roster spots, so you can learn and actually build your game around the team.”

  • 3 Philly-area athletes, including 2 Syracuse football recruits, arrested in Old City attack

    3 Philly-area athletes, including 2 Syracuse football recruits, arrested in Old City attack

    Three Philadelphia-area athletes were recently arrested in connection with an April assault in Old City that left the victim with a concussion, a broken nose, and two chipped teeth, among other injuries.

    Charles W. Foulke and Masiia Acrey, both 18, have been charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment.

    Jalen Millevoix, 19, was charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy.

    Foulke is a former starting quarterback for St. Joseph’s Prep who transferred to Glassboro High School in the last school year. Acrey is currently a cornerback at St. Joe’s. Millevoix played football at Eastern Regional High School in New Jersey and graduated in 2025, according to his social media.

    As first reported by Syracuse.com, Foulke and Acrey are Syracuse University football recruits. The university’s athletics department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a source familiar with the football program’s thinking told Syracuse.com the school still considers Foulke and Acrey part of the 2027 football class.

    The incident started with a “noogie” just before 2:30 a.m. on April 12, according to Philadelphia police.

    The group of athletes encountered a man and woman outside waiting for their rideshare when one of the football players proceeded to rub his knuckles against the man’s head. The interaction appeared to have ended after the man told the group to knock it off.

    But as the rideshare arrived, one athlete gave the man another noogie. The man lunged in response, took a swing, and the group began to attack him.

    Police said the victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with abrasions to the left side of his face and body, requiring stitching for his nose, which was also broken. The rideshare car was also damaged in the scuffle.

    Millevoix was arrested May 23 and released without bail, with his preliminary hearing scheduled for June 22. His attorney, Gregory Joseph Pagano, could not immediately be reached for comment.

    Foulke was arrested May 26 with his unsecured bail set at $200,000 and his preliminary hearing scheduled for July 10. His attorney, Joseph Kelly, declined to comment.

    Acrey was arrested June 3 with unsecured bail set at $50,000 and a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 22. His attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., could not immediately be reached for comment.

  • A ‘proud’ Jay Wright revels in the success of his former Villanova pupils with the ’Nova Knicks

    A ‘proud’ Jay Wright revels in the success of his former Villanova pupils with the ’Nova Knicks

    Jay and Patty Wright attended a wedding Saturday night in Red Bank, N.J., and Game 5 of the NBA Finals was at halftime when it was time for them to head home.

    Watching Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart is like watching his own children, Wright said, and he wasn’t going to miss this. Patty took the wheel, Jay put the game on his phone in the passenger seat. The game was nearing its end when it was time to exit the Blue Route.

    They weren’t going to make it home in time, so the Wrights pulled off the main road and onto a side street. They watched the ‘Nova Knicks win their first NBA title and end a 53-year New York Knicks championship drought in a Radnor cul-de-sac.

    Wright intentionally stayed out of the spotlight during the playoff run. He did a spot on ESPN’s Inside the NBA because the guy who asked him to come on was his old producer at Turner Sports and Wright wanted to do him a solid. He reluctantly attended Game 4 because Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father and a Knicks assistant, asked him to. He sat near the court with Patty on one side and Billy Lange — the former St. Joe’s head coach, and former Villanova assistant who is now in the Knicks’ front office — on the other. The epic comeback was followed by singing Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z, hugs with his former players and celebrities like Stephon Marbury and Spike Lee. It was, Wright said, “one of my favorite sports moments of all time.”

    But it was maybe fitting that he watched the series end in the car with Patty, just the two of them, proud “parents” watching the guys who played a huge part in delivering the family and the school two NCAA national championships.

    “What I enjoy about coaching is just sitting back and watching them all grow and then being a small part of their lives when they make a change or are accomplishing something and they call me or text me to ask me advice or share something with me,” Wright said Monday. “That’s what you love. It just happens to be that these three are doing it on the world stage and you’re watching them handle it with such maturity.

    “It’s really heartwarming, like if you watch your own kids do it.”

    You can trace Jalen Brunson’s greatness and the Knicks’ NBA title right to Villanova

    Wright, 64, is a sort of basketball dad to Brunson, Bridges, and Hart. You don’t need to squint to see the style of play Wright and his coaching staff instilled in the trio during their time at Villanova. The staff would tell them that they would teach the “Villanova way” during their time playing college basketball, and it was up to them to take that to the next level and put their own spin on it.

    Jay Wright, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart during a 2016 Villanova win over Temple.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    “You see things that they specifically took from our program,” Wright said. “You see the mentality that they took from our program. You also see what they added themselves to that, their own individualism, their own level of maturity, their own level of knowledge of the NBA game that I don’t have. It was fascinating for me to watch that.”

    There was no doubt this trio would end up contributing in the NBA in some capacity. Hart, who graduated from Villanova in 2017, was a first-team All-American. Bridges and Brunson left a year later after another title. Brunson was the player of the year.

    Why signing Luigi Suigo is significant for Villanova, not just for 2026-27, but beyond

    Wright talked to scouts both years. Hart, he told them, would be one of the greatest competitors a team could find. They didn’t need to worry about what position to play him at. Bridges, he said, would be the type of player who was capable of being a leading scorer but had the IQ to understand winning was more important than anything.

    He was right about those two evaluations. But Brunson? Wright thought he could be a point guard on a championship team. And that would be fine if he left the evaluation there. He’s right about that. But Wright thought he would need a leading scorer next to him. Dallas, where Brunson played before New York, was the perfect setup, Wright thought. Brunson could be the lead guard, but Luka Dončić was there to provide the bulk of the scoring.

    “I didn’t think he would be the guy that would score 45,” Wright said.

    Brunson, the Finals MVP, joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 45 in a road clincher. He averaged 11.2 points in the fourth quarters of the five Finals games. He is now in a new stratosphere of fame and is on a Hall of Fame type of path.

    All of this has been a unifying moment for the university and for the former teammates of the trio. It was alumni weekend and the school held a watch party on campus Saturday night. Later that night, after the Wrights pulled away from that cul-de-sac and returned to their home, Wright got a text message with a picture. On the court with Bridges was Phil Booth, a former teammate who now works with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and former Villanova walk-ons Matt Kennedy and Tom Leibig.

    “Personally, it has been a thrill for me,” Wright said. “I’m proud of all of them.”

  • Why signing Luigi Suigo is significant for Villanova, not just for 2026-27, but beyond

    Why signing Luigi Suigo is significant for Villanova, not just for 2026-27, but beyond

    Late Saturday night, Villanova basketball stars of yesteryear took center stage when the New York Knicks won the NBA championship behind the MVP performance of Jalen Brunson and the significant contributions of Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. Champions at Villanova turned New York basketball heroes.

    The trio of Wildcats won in college at a different time, both in the sport and at their school. Villanova is on its second coach in the post-Jay Wright era, and while Kevin Willard’s first season was a step in the right direction after three consecutive NCAA Tournament misses, losing in the first round as a No. 8 seed was not cause to cue a cacophony of alarm bells to let the world know Villanova was back.

    But earlier in the day, hours before Brunson joined Michael Jordan as the only player in NBA history to score 45 points in a road clincher, a significant signing may have slightly altered the outlook for both the 2026-27 Wildcats and where the program stands in the New World of college basketball.

    Philly’s Mikal Bridges is in his second NBA Finals. His grit comes from his mom, who raised him as a single parent.

    Luigi Suigo, a 7-foot-3 Italian center, withdrew his name from the NBA draft process and signed to play at Villanova, joining a roster rebuild that already had the Wildcats rated among the best transfer portal classes in college hoops.

    There is at least some hyperbole happening here. It is June, after all. And if Suigo was truly the “Italian Wemby,” there would not have been any question about whether he would be taken in the first round of the draft. Suigo, 19, played professionally in Serbia this past season and entered the draft looking to go in the first round. There was no guarantee that would happen, though some experts and evaluators had Suigo going off the board in the mid-to-late-20s at next week’s draft.

    Consider what signing Suigo means. There is the short-term outlook: Villanova is a near lock to be considered among the top 25 teams in the sport heading into next season. Then there is the long-term meaning: Suigo surely wasn’t cheap. Players going off the board at the end of the first round still make $3 million-plus per season. The Wildcats had already committed quite a few dollars to signing top-end transfers like Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon) and Devin Royal (Ohio State). They likely had to buck up to give leading scorer Tyler Perkins his market value. Other players on the roster came at a cost.

    That there was still plenty of money left in the bag to lure Suigo to the Main Line is a sign that Villanova plans to spend — and has access to — the financial resources required to compete with the top programs in the sport. It’s hard to view the signing in any other way.

    Forget power conferences, the basketball spending at most Big 5 schools lags behind conference rivals

    Roster retool

    Suigo’s signing completes a roster rebuild that was pretty drastic. The Wildcats finished their 2025-26 season with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Utah State. Eight players touched the floor. Only one of them, Perkins, will be back on next year’s roster (Matt Hodge, who is returning, missed that game after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL).

    Two of the other seven — Duke Brennan and Devin Askew — are out of eligibility. The other five entered the portal.

    Willard hit the portal cycle needing, well, everything.

    How did he do? It’s hard to argue that the 2026-27 team isn’t better on paper than the roster assembled at this time last year. Suigo’s addition is a major factor in that.

    Start with the categories where Villanova was most deficient last season. It was against bigger, physical, more experienced teams that the Wildcats struggled. They played Hodge at the power forward spot when he’s probably better served as a shooter on the wing. After Tafara Gapare left the program in December, the team lacked the requisite size and athleticism inside to rebound. Duke Brennan was a machine on the glass, but at times he struggled defensively. Not that UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr., or St. John’s big man Zuby Ejiofor are easy covers.

    Oregon transfer Kwame Evans Jr. will have a big center standing next to him in Luigi Suigo.AJ Mast

    The first two portal additions aimed to fill frontcourt needs. Hodge may not be at 100% when the season starts, and his long-term future is probably at the small forward spot. So Villanova signed Evans, a 6-foot-10 forward, and Royal, who is a physical player with a bulky 6-foot-6 frame. Both of them will be seniors.

    Villanova couldn’t come to an agreement with point guard Acaden Lewis, so the Wildcats found a cheaper version of him. Elijah Crawford isn’t as flashy as Lewis, and isn’t anywhere close to him on the various lists of transfer portal players, but the Illinois-Chicago transfer, a rising junior who played sparingly as a freshman at BYU, thrives in ball screens and has similar analytical metrics as Lewis in terms of his assist and steal rates. Neither is a proficient three-point shooter. Lewis, who commanded a high salary in the portal and eventually landed at Miami, also struggled at times in Villanova’s biggest games.

    2026 men’s college basketball transfer portal tracker: Latest Big 5 moves, where Philly-area recruits are heading

    Bryce Lindsay scored 25 points and made six three-pointers in Villanova’s NCAA Tournament loss, but he spent the majority of the Big East campaign mired in a shooting slump. He seemed possibly destined for a bench role if he came back. Instead of Lindsay providing shooting off the bench, Villanova will have Cornell’s Jake Fiegen, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who scored 17.7 points per game and shot 41.4% from deep, and St. Bonaventure’s Buddy Simmons, a 5-foot-11 scoring guard who averaged 16.4 points and shot 42.4% from deep. Both of them will be seniors. They also have Adam Oumiddoch, a 6-foot-5 guard who is expected to contribute right away as a freshman.

    The projected rotation as it stands is Crawford, Perkins, Royal, Evans, and Suigo starting with a bench consisting of — in no order — Hodge, Fiegen, Simmons, and Oumiddoch. That’s three seniors, a junior, and a freshman center with first-round size and talent starting, and a four-man bench unit with two seniors, a soon-to-be-22-year-old redshirt-sophomore (Hodge), and a freshman. There are also deeper reserves in senior Abdou Samb, a Towson transfer, returning redshirt-freshman Nico Onyekwere, and incoming freshman guard Carter Fisk.

    Villanova guard Tyler Perkins is back with the Wildcats for 2026-27.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    For context, Villanova started a freshman, a redshirt freshman, a redshirt sophomore, a junior, and a senior last year. The 2026-27 team is bigger, older, and seemingly more versatile. Consider the team that cut down the nets in March. Michigan had 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara and a frontcourt that included big bodies in Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. Suigo, Evans, and Royal might not be that trio, but from a physical presence, it’s not far off.

    Suigo is still developing, but he’s a 7-foot-3 defensive anchor with some three-point shooting touch who should provide a big body for Willard to utilize in an offense that runs a high volume of ball screens.

    The makeup of this rotation gives Willard plenty of options to deploy “small-ball” lineups with Evans at center. He had limited choices down the stretch last season due to injuries and program departures.

    Villanova to begin a home-and-home series with Kansas starting this year at historic Allen Fieldhouse

    What the experts are saying

    All of this is a relatively rose-colored-glasses analysis of where the roster stands, but the high turnover rate in the sport makes so much of the roster analysis this time of year speculative.

    It’s meaningless rankings season. Portal players, portal classes, and so on. Last year’s portal class wasn’t ranked very high, yet Villanova won 24 games and earned a No. 8 seed.

    Kevin Willard’s Wildcats should be in the top 25 to start the 2026-27 season.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    This year’s portal class is among the best. Analytics expert Evan Miya had the Wildcats at No. 8. Other outlets like ESPN, 247Sports, and On3 rate Villanova’s portal class among the top 25 in the sport. Suigo doesn’t factor into those ratings. He is technically an incoming freshman.

    What does all of this mean in June? Nothing. No one gets a prize for winning the offseason. But it’s a start.

  • You can trace Jalen Brunson’s greatness and the Knicks’ NBA title right to Villanova

    You can trace Jalen Brunson’s greatness and the Knicks’ NBA title right to Villanova

    In a Rock Hill, S.C., restaurant last Wednesday night, during a recruiting road trip to the Nike 100 Camp, Ashley Howard locked his eyes on a television above the bar, enthralled by the most dramatic comeback in NBA Finals history, his mind recalling a more modest rally from nine years earlier.

    Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and the New York Knicks kept chopping into that 29-point San Antonio Spurs lead. Madison Square Garden kept getting louder. And as Game 4 slowly shifted from a series-tying rout to the surest sign that three former Villanova stars would soon bring about the end of a 53-year championship drought, Howard remembered a college basketball game from January 2017, from the season between ’Nova’s ‘16 and ‘18 national championships.

    An assistant under Jay Wright then, an assistant under Kevin Willard now, Howard reminisced with the friend sitting next to him — former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune, now an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets — about a 61-59 Wildcats victory over Virginia. Villanova had trailed that day by 12 points with less than 10 minutes to go, an imposing deficit given how Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers teams could slow a game to a crawl. But Hart and Brunson had pulled ‘Nova back from the brink, and Donte DiVincenzo had tipped in an off-target Hart layup at the buzzer, and Howard saw the residue of that win in OG Anunoby’s soaring-eagle tip-in and the Knicks’ 107-106 stunner in Game 4. In Brunson’s 45-point masterpiece Saturday night in the clinching Game 5. In the title run of a team that was smarter, tougher, and tighter than every other in the NBA playoffs.

    Jalen Brunson pours in 45 points as Knicks close out Spurs for first NBA title since 1973

    “After winning the first national championship, every game these guys played together in ‘17 was the biggest game for whoever they played,” Howard said in a phone interview. “They have everything to lose, and their opponent doesn’t. There’s a different type of mental toughness and mental fortitude you have to have to not only play under that pressure but answer the call in those moments.

    “Now they’re all back together, and it’s almost like déjà vu where that Villanova connection is back. The other pieces are different. The coaches are different. But when you look at that Knicks team, you say, ‘Yo, those dudes are playing Villanova basketball.’ It’s really all about how they play hard. They compete for the entire game. They never, never quit. They play unselfishly, and you can tell that they love each other. That just makes my chest stick out as wide as all outside.”

    Josh Hart (right) won the 2016 national title with the Wildcats.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    Howard was at the nexus of the origin of the ‘Nova Knicks, and the irony of his role in that story is that he, with such deep Philadelphia hoops roots, had left town when he made his first connections with Brunson, Hart, and Bridges. A standout guard at Monsignor Bonner and Drexel, he was climbing the college coaching ladder — first four years at La Salle, then four back at Drexel — when in 2013 he accepted the chance to assist Chris Mack at Xavier. It was a more highly regarded mid-major, a better shot to jump to a bigger program, and in that one year he spent in Cincinnati, Howard recruited that trio before reuniting with them again at Villanova.

    In Hart, Howard saw a relentless and tenacious guard who pulled down as many as 25 rebounds in games at Sidwell Friends in Washington and for his AAU club, Team Takeover. He also met a low-maintenance kid who, when Howard coaxed him to Xavier for an on-campus, didn’t need a fancy dinner at an exclusive restaurant. No, when Howard offered to buy him lunch, Hart instead was desperate for a sack of double-cheese sliders from White Castle. “Shows what a freak of nature he is,” Howard said.

    Philly’s Mikal Bridges is in his second NBA Finals. His grit comes from his mom, who raised him as a single parent.

    Bridges’ and Brunson’s recruitments were more personal for Howard, starting at Xavier and continuing after he joined Wright’s staff at ’Nova. Howard was friendly with Bridges’ cousin Bernard Tyler, who forwarded him a video of the kid’s highlights from Great Valley High School and Team Final, one clip after another of Bridges cutting to the basket and creating shots within Great Valley’s motion offense, with an enticing text: This is the next one. Make sure you get this dude. And Howard could only chuckle when Mack called him one day after attending a high school holiday tournament in Chicago and asked him, Hey, Ash, do you know Rick Brunson? His kid is really good.

    “Reached out to Rick,” Howard said. “We caught up, and I jumped on Jalen from that point on.”

    There’s a chicken-or-egg aspect to the greatness that Wright’s program achieved during that stretch in the mid-2010s and to the qualities that Brunson, Bridges, and Hart developed there and still carry with them. Would these players, because of their inherent strengths, have thrived in other programs? Or did they need to learn under Wright and his staff and his culture? A dash of both, of course, and the conditions and choices that led to their flourishing at Villanova — and to those two national championships — aren’t likely to be duplicated in college basketball’s current era of status seeking and coin chasing.

    Mikal Bridges was on both the 2016 and 2018 Villanova championship teams.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Bridges went to Wright and Howard and suggested that he redshirt as a freshman, that he sit out an entire season for the sake of his growth as a player and person. Hart started just three games over his freshman and sophomore seasons, could have transferred out of frustration and a search for more playing time, and didn’t. Brunson as a freshman took a secondary role alongside Ryan Arcidiacono, then ran the Wildcats’ show for two years before entering the NBA draft. Good luck being so patient in developing players and building a program now.

    “It was a period of time where you could build off your failure and mistakes and learn from them collectively,” Howard said. “You could develop young people over a course of time and nurture and appreciate the process. … All these guys in their own way trusted us and allowed us to push them to limits. Parts of their experience at Villanova, man, it was tough, but they allowed us to make them uncomfortable.”

    It was the perfect preparation for these playoffs, for these NBA Finals, for a remarkable run capped when Brunson took control of Game 5, when the sub-6-foot guard with the impeccable footwork, with the endless array of head fakes and midrange shots, with the glorious old man’s game was once again the coolest customer on the court.

    “You could see the Spurs getting tight,” Howard said, “and you could see Jalen saying, ‘Yo, get me the ball. I’m gonna make these plays.’ Me being around J, it’s like, ‘Here he comes. It’s on.’ When the stakes get high, that dude is coming.”

    It had been 53 years, long enough for any franchise and its fans to wait for that kind of ride, and all it took was something Ashley Howard and everyone at Villanova had seen a million times before. All it took was Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges doing what they’ve always done.

  • Villanova men’s basketball to sign 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo

    Villanova men’s basketball to sign 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo

    In search of its next center, Villanova went to northern Italy.

    The Wildcats will sign 7-foot-3 Italian professional Luigi Suigo, the school announced Saturday afternoon.

    Suigo, a 19-year-old from Tradate, in the Lombardy region, went through the NBA draft process and attended the combine but decided to withdraw his name from the pool and will play college basketball instead. Suigo faced a Saturday deadline to withdraw and maintain NCAA eligibility for the 2026-27 season.

    The draft projections for Suigo, who played professionally this past season with Serbia’s Mega Basket, were at the back end of the first round and into the second round. One mock draft at The Ringer recently had Suigo going 27th to the Boston Celtics. Another mock draft at ESPN had Suigo going off the board at No. 39.

    The Ringer’s scouting report called Suigo a “huge piece of clay just scratching the surface of his two-way impact.” His strengths include his major paint presence on the defensive end, where his 7-foot-6 wingspan is disruptive. That size also is useful in the pick-and-roll game. The scouting report notes that Suigo has soft hands and that his shooting form is better than his shooting percentages.

    In 26 games with Mega Basket this season, Suigo posted averages of 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1 block in 18.8 minutes. He shot 64.9% on his 111 two-point shots, 27.1% on 48 three-point attempts, and 64.7% on 34 free throws.

    Suigo, who reportedly considered signing with BYU, also has experience representing Italy in international competitions.

    Suigo is part of a growing trend of European pros coming to the U.S. to play college basketball in the modern world, where Division I hoops effectively is professional basketball. The Final Four in April featured multiple former European professionals, most notably on Illinois’ roster.

    The NCAA, according to a report from Sports Illustrated, recently distributed “eligibility requirement guidance” that could affect the eligibility of international professionals. It’s unclear how the guidance will be enforced, and when, or if players from the ABA League, in which Suigo played, will face difficulties with eligibility.

    For now, Suigo is the latest international player to choose college basketball in an era when the higher levels of the sport offer paydays that oftentimes exceed a player’s earning potential in the pros. The 30th and final pick in the first round of the NBA draft makes just over $3 million in his rookie season. Wooing Suigo to put off the draft to play in college may have a price tag higher than that, though it’s unclear what Suigo will earn at Villanova during the 2026-27 season. Financial agreements between players and schools are not made public.

    Philly’s Mikal Bridges is in his second NBA Finals. His grit comes from his mom.

    Villanova was among multiple high-profile programs in pursuit of Suigo. In addition to BYU, others included Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue.

    Perhaps the Wildcats used their season-opening game in Rome in part of their pitch. Surely money talked, too.

    Suigo will slot in as the starting center, which was the missing piece of Villanova’s roster overhaul this offseason. He’ll have 6-foot-10 power forward Kwame Evans Jr., an Oregon transfer, next to him, and 6-foot-6 Ohio State forward Devin Royal rounding out the frontcourt. Elijah Crawford (Illinois-Chicago) likely is the starting point guard with returning leading scorer Tyler Perkins the other starter in the backcourt.

    Suigo’s addition brings Villanova’s roster to 12. Villanova added another portal player Friday night in Towson forward Abdou Samb. Samb figures to fill out a deep reserve role for the Wildcats, who will have a solid bench rotation. That bench includes returning forward Matt Hodge, who is recovering from ACL surgery, transfer guards Jake Fiegen and Buddy Simmons, incoming freshman guards Adam Oumiddoch and Carter Fisk, returning reserve center Nico Onyekwere, and Samb.

    Coach Kevin Willard wanted to get bigger and more experienced after his younger Wildcats struggled at times against the top teams on their schedule last season. The roster rebuild accomplished that. Suigo may not check a box in the experience category, but there won’t be many bigger players in college basketball next season.