Villanova Courting Italian Center Luigi Suigo; Crawford Signs

Villanova Men’s Basketball is looking overseas for their center of the future, recruiting Italian big man and NBA Draft prospect Luigi Suigo.

A 7-foot-3, 240 pound 19-year-old with professional experience in Serbia and stints on the Italian national team, Suigo hails from Milan. Current mock drafts project him as a second round pick but according to Nova Alerts, Suigo said in a live session on TikTok that he plans to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft if he isn’t projected as a top 20 pick.

That would clear the way for Villanova; during that same live session, Suigo brandished a Wildcats-branded hoodie and said “we will see.”

Suigo also has offers from North Carolina, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and BYU. 247Sports lists the Wildcats’ chances of securing his commitment as ‘warm.’ He averaged 18.1 minutes per game in the Serbian league during the 2025-26 season, putting up 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in that limited action. Suigo attempted one-third of his shots from three, providing a limited degree of floor-stretching ability and converting 26.7 percent of the time.

The European professional leagues play a similar style of team-oriented basketball to the United States’ Division 1, something that could help smooth Suigo’s transition if he ends up withdrawing from the draft.

Villanova still has six open roster spots to work with heading into the 2026-27 season. They need a center and a backup point guard; the other four spots could remain open or go to more reserves or redshirt candidates.

Crawford Inks With Villanova

Villanova also officially signed 6-foot-4 point guard Elijah Crawford, a rising junior transfer from UIC. A member of the ESPN Top 100 in his graduating class, Crawford averaged 14.1 points, 4.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 turnovers per game. He spent his freshman season as a backup at BYU, getting a taste of high-major basketball in the process.

“The addition of Elijah is another important step as we build our roster,” Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said in a press release. “He is a dynamic on-court leader with the vision to create shots for his teammates and the skill to score himself. Elijah is a great fit for our program, and we’re excited to have him join us.”