Villanova landed a 7-foot-3 Italian center who turned down the NBA, and his college debut will be a homecoming.
Luigi Suigo, 19, from Tradate in northern Italy, signed with the Wildcats after withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft. He arrived at the Radnor Township campus July 28 and will open his college career Nov. 1 against Notre Dame at the Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome, roughly six hours from his hometown.
"He's probably by far the most talented and skilled big that I'll ever coach," head coach Kevin Willard said during the BIG EAST Summer Check-In Series on July 30.
Willard added that Suigo has great hands, passes well, shoots from three-point range and still loves posting up. He compared the buzz around Suigo's arrival to that of Tim Thomas (1996), Jason Fraser (2002) and Jalen Brunson (2015), three of the most heralded recruits in program history.
From Serbia to the draft combine to the Main Line
Suigo spent last season with KK Mega Basket in Serbia, averaging 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds across 26 games. That performance earned him an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine in May, where he measured 7-2¾ barefoot at 289 pounds with a 7-5½ wingspan, according to KSL Sports. He was the second-tallest player at the combine.
Mock drafts pegged him as a likely second-round pick. Suigo told reporters he would need to be "probably top 20" to stay in the draft. He wasn't, and a spring meeting with Willard and general manager Baker Dunleavy sealed the decision.
"The way Coach wants to use me in the offense is going to give me a chance to show the things I can do," Suigo said in Villanova's Nova Notebook feature published Aug. 11. "I thought Villanova was the best place to help me take the next step."
A path shaped by loss
Suigo grew up tall and drawn to basketball over soccer. His father Massimo drove him 45 minutes to Milan regularly so he could train with Olimpia Milano's junior team after his mother died when he was 11.
By 2024, Suigo helped Italy win a FIBA U17 World Cup silver medal. He describes himself as a stretch five who can shoot from three, pass out of the post and handle the ball, though he acknowledges his ball-handling still needs work.
Debut in Rome
Visa paperwork delayed Suigo's arrival until July 28, one day after Villanova's annual Summer Jam Open Practice. He has been working out each morning in the Davis Center with sports performance coach Kyle Tarp. On his third day on campus, he came down with a virus he blamed on the omnipresent American air conditioning.
The Nov. 1 opener against Notre Dame in Rome tips off at 9:30 a.m. ET on FOX, according to a joint university press release. The game marks the opening day of the 2026-27 college basketball season. The Rome trip also includes a planned papal audience with Pope Leo XIV, a Villanova alumnus.
Suigo joins a retooled roster that includes transfers Elijah Crawford, Kwame Evans Jr. and Devin Royal alongside returnees Matt Hodge and Tyler Perkins.
"To play with my new team in my country will be awesome," Suigo said of the Rome debut.
