By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade backed up what he said 24 hours ago by adding a commitment to his roster for the 2026-27 season on Wednesday morning.
And then there were two.
NEWS: Maccabi Tel Aviv's Márcio Santos has committed to LSU, Arturs Kalnitis and @FFGBasketball tell DraftExpress.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 6, 2026
The 6'9, 23-year-old Brazilian big averaged 6.9 points in 14 minutes in the Euroleague, shooting 40% from 3.
Big addition for Will Wade and the Tigers. pic.twitter.com/Gf68ZNBuP0
Center Marcio Santos (6-foot-8, 250 pounds), a native Brazilian who plays professionally for the Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel, team in the EuroLeague, has committed to the Tigers. He joins No. 8-ranked small forward portal transfer Mouhamad Dioubate (6-foot-7, 220), a transfer from Kentucky who will be a senior for the Tigers next season.
Wade beat Kentucky for Santos, who averaged 7.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 18 minutes a game for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
WILL WADE HIRES DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
A busy man, Wade has also announced the hiring of veteran assistant coach Jay Smith, who was an assistant at Michigan from 2019-24 and at Eastern Michigan the past two seasons, as LSU’s new director of player development.
Wade had said on Tuesday that he was close to landing a new hire.
“He is one of the best, if not the best, big man coaches in the country,” Wade said.
BREAKING: Former LSU head coach Johnny Jones and ex-Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury to be on Will Wade’s staff at LSU.https://t.co/8arUVSwrT6
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 30, 2026
Smith is a previous head coach at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Kalamazoo, making him the fourth Wade hire with head coaching experience. The previous hires were former Mississippi State and Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury, former LSU, North Texas and Texas Southern head coach Johnny Jones and former Pacific and Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire.
Be the first to comment