Villanova will sign Luigi Suigo, a 7-foot-3 Italian center who pulled out of the NBA draft process and chose college basketball instead. The move gives Kevin Willard the kind of size Villanova has been hunting, and it comes with Suigo expected to step into the starting center role.
The timing matters because Suigo had to beat a Saturday deadline to withdraw from the draft and keep NCAA eligibility for the 2026-27 season. He is 19, played professionally this past season with Mega Basket in Serbia, and arrived at this point after also going through the NBA combine, where he showed enough to land on mock boards as high as 27th to the Boston Celtics in one version and No. 39 in another.
Suigo’s profile makes the pickup more than a depth add. In 26 games with Mega Basket, he averaged 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and one block in 18.8 minutes, shot 64.9% on 111 two-point attempts, 27.1% on 48 three-point attempts and 64.7% on 34 free throws. The Ringer called him a “huge piece of clay just scratching the surface of his two-way impact,” a description that fits the upside Villanova is buying into as it fills a major frontcourt need.
Villanova was not alone in the chase. BYU, Illinois, Indiana and Purdue were also in pursuit, and Suigo reportedly considered signing with BYU before landing on Villanova. The Wildcats also leaned on something only they could offer: a season-opening game in Rome, part of the pitch to an Italian player who has represented Italy in international competition and comes from Tradate in the Lombardy region.
There is still one wrinkle that keeps this from being a clean, done deal in the basketball sense. The NCAA has recently issued eligibility guidance affecting international professionals, but enforcement remains unclear, and Suigo’s path is not fully insulated from that uncertainty. For now, Villanova is planning as if the 19-year-old will be there to anchor the middle, with Kwame Evans, a 6-foot-10 power forward already on the roster, giving Willard a frontcourt piece that looks far more complete than it did a day ago.
That is why this signing lands as a roster change with immediate weight. Villanova did not just add a name from the European pipeline; it added a likely starter with pro experience, elite length and a draft profile that showed how far his stock had risen before he turned toward college. The remaining question is not whether Suigo can matter. It is whether the eligibility rules around him stay as open as Villanova is hoping they are.
