One of the more intriguing big men in the 2026 college basketball recruiting class is Luigi Suigo, a 7’3 center from Italy. Like most European big men, Suigo is fairly skilled, capable of spreading the floor and making plays with the ball. He’s become one of the top young players from the country and has gotten the attention of scouts everywhere, including CBB.
7-3 Italian big man Luigi Suigo on his Indiana official visit.
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) July 2, 2025
Suigo has taken visits to Indiana, Purdue and Illinois so far. https://t.co/z3PyeQJ0nR pic.twitter.com/gls1DhCnY7
Suigo is all but guaranteed to be in the States a year from now. But which team will it be for? A few Big Ten programs have gotten in the mix early on, landing some official visits. Although other programs will try to land him as well, let’s take a look at how Suigo would fit with the early trio of contenders.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Coach Brad Underwood has a good history of center development and currently has a pair of Ivisic brothers in Tomislav and Zvonimir. Both of them have a couple of years of eligibility left, but that can work in Suigo’s recruitment since he can have a first-year developmental season before taking a larger role as a sophomore.
Indiana Hoosiers
New HC Darian DeVries landed a bunch of transfers this offseason, including two frontcourt pieces in Reed Bailey (Davidson) and Sam Alexis (Florida). Both of them will be seniors, so there’s plenty of future room for someone like Suigo in the 2026 class, even if the team lands a frontcourt transfer or two.
Purdue Boilermakers
There might not be a coach with a greater recent history of frontcourt development than Purdue HC Matt Painter, who just had two-time National Player of the Year center Zach Edey. On the current roster, the Boilermakers have South Dakota State center Oscar Cluff, along with Daniel Jacobsen, coming off a season-ending injury. Suigo can be the next great Boilermaker big man and have playing time available as a freshman once Cluff departs.