Mid-majors have traditionally been very good cultivators of international basketball talent. In recent years, the bigger programs have begun to catch on to the value of global scouting. They’ve gotten crafty, experimental, and most importantly, better at identifying and developing international prospects to give them whatever edge they need.
Still, the mid-major schools hauled in their share of top imports. Here are the top international recruits heading to mid-major campuses next season:
1. Izan Almansa, 6-foot-10 center/power forward, Gonzaga (Spain)
A big man with experience at the highest levels of FIBA, G-League, NBL, and EuroLeague competition, Almansa, if admitted, would become an immediate All-American contender. At 21 years old, he has three major FIBA event MVP awards, a 24-game run with EuroLeague runners-up Real Madrid, and a quiet afternoon in the 2025 NBA Draft green room. Almansa’s career has already had a lifetime’s worth of twists and turns. He won MVPs of the 2022 U17 World Cup, 2022 U18 EuroBasket and the 2023 U19 World Cup, becoming the first to ever win all three awards. He beat future NBA players Zaccharie Risacher and Dylan Harper for the honors in two of the three events.
Almansa is a savvy big man with a deep bag of post moves, great rebounding instincts, and a professional touch inside. He’s limited from the outside, but his dominance in the paint makes up for it. Almansa’s eligibility is still in limbo at the moment as the NCAA decides if he has too much international experience to be eligible. However, under the newly passed five-for-five eligibility bill, Almansa would be able to play for two more seasons beginning in 2027-28 if he is not granted eligibility this year.
2. Alex Constanza, 6-foot-8 shooting guard/small forward, Pepperdine (Dominican Republic/United States)
Ranked as a top-50 prospect in the Class of 2026 by ESPN, Constanza shocked a lot of scouts when he flipped commitments to Pepperdine last month. Considered one of the highest upside prospects in the class, Constanza is set to be the biggest deal in Malibu since that Reba show went on the air. He chose Pepperdine over Kansas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Illinois, St. John’s, and his original commitment, Georgetown. Constanza is arguably the highest-rated recruit to ever join the Waves.
During his junior year at Westminster Academy in Florida, Constanza averaged 29.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists before transferring to the Nike EYBL-affiliated school Spire Academy in Ohio for his senior year. On the AAU side of things, Constanza averaged 29 points and 11 rebounds for Team Scoot U17 last summer and was named Puma Pro16 First-Team All-Circuit. Constanza is full-blooded Dominican through both his parents, though he’s worked out with Team USA and, although he has the ability to, hasn’t yet associated with the Dominican Republic national basketball federation. In a largely wide open WCC this season, the table is set for Pepperdine to reinvent itself, and Constanza could be just the guy to get the Waves to the Big Dance for the first time since 2002.
3. Felipe Quiñones, 6-foot-6 guard, FAU (Puerto Rico)
Considered a top 75 recruit in the nation by ESPN and a unanimous four-star guard, Quiñones has flashed his electrifying talent and positional versatility for several years. Hailing from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Quiñones has cemented himself as the crown jewel of the Island’s 2008-born class. At last month’s FIBA U18 AmeriCup tournament against over a dozen five-star prospects, Quiñones took home All-Star 5 honors and led Puerto Rico to a fourth-place finish, upsetting Argentina in the quarterfinals before an injury forced him to exit early in the quarter of the Semifinals against the eventual champions, Canada. Across the tournament, Quiñones averaged 14.0 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks in contests where he played at least 20 minutes.
Quinones was the primary point guard on the nationally ranked Christopher Columbus High School basketball team in Miami this past season. He competed alongside five-star forward Caleb Gaskins and just one year after the Boozer twins led the program to a Chipotle Prep National Championship. Quiñones is a very intelligent ballhandler with a large frame and a deep bag of dribble moves. His most impressive accomplishment was earning All-Star 5 honors at the Basketball Without Borders Global camp. He should make immediate waves for the Owls this season.
4. Jackson Kiss, 6-foot-8 forward, UNLV (New Zealand/Tonga/Fiji)
An incredibly unconventional player in a number of aspects, Jackson Kiss has a number of scouts intrigued. Born in Auckland to a Tongan mother with Fijian heritage, Kiss was simply too big a star to keep domestically. In his junior year of high school, he moved to play at the Utah Prep Academy in the Nike EYBL Scholastic circuit, starring alongside future first overall NBA pick AJ Dybantsa. Kiss dropped 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game at the 2025 Peach Jam tournament and intrigued scouts with his unique skill set.
The Kiwi big man is a gifted ball handler and playmaker, but his range leaves much to be desired. He’s an athletic above-the-rim scorer with great putback instincts but few strong post moves. His strongest ability is a crossover dribble that he releases mid-first step and great hands, but he can’t finish over size. All together, he’s a problem for defenders, and with his 7-foot wingspan and strong frame, he can guard three positions. Kiss is rated as a 4-star recruit by all major scouting services and originally committed to Iowa State before flipping to the Running Rebels in May.
5. Felipe Minzer, 6-foot-6 shooting guard, Austin Peay (Argentina)
Minzer is the new-age poster boy of Argentinian basketball. At the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, he was outstanding for the Argentines, averaging 17.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.0 steals per game on 54.7 percent shooting from the field and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
There’s a calmness to Minzer’s game, but that is not to say he is uninterested. His double-double averages at the 2024 U18 AmeriCup and 2023 U17 South America Championship show he’s a relentless competitor on the boards. Minzer earned All-Star honors at the 2024 Basketball Without Borders Americas camp and competed against many great European talents with Casademont Zaragoza of Spain’s top division before transferring to The Academy of Central Florida last year to prepare for college. He will play the role of a big fish in the Governor’s pond.
6. Roger Fabrega Urpina, 6-foot-1 point guard, Fresno State (Spain)
Fabrega is a late bloomer in the Spanish basketball development circuit who burst onto the scene for Amics Castello of the Segunda FEB, Spain’s professional third division. At just 19 years old, Fabrega led the entire league in assists, propelling his side to league promotion. For this, Fabrega was named the League’s Prospect of the Year and Domestic Player of the Year, the first to win both awards in a single season. Fabrega initially began playing within the FC Barcelona youth system, though he was eventually signed away by another Spanish third league side, Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, before finding Amics Castello last season.
He’s only represented the Spanish youth national team once, at the U20 Eurobasket in 2025, where he averaged 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and a second-best 7.9 assists per game. He’s proven to be a highly efficient ball handler with great court vision and decision-making. His hands are quick on the defensive end, though he is hesitant to pull the trigger himself. Fabrega still has much to develop on the scoring side and will have to adjust to the quick pace of college basketball, but he should have plenty of time to do so as an incoming freshman for Fresno State.
7. Nikolas Sermpezis, 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward, Florida Gulf Coast (Greece/Germany)
An exciting prospect from the legendary FC Bayern Munich system in Germany, Sermpezis has been terrorizing German youth leagues the past few seasons. In the 2025-26 season, Sermpezis played at three different levels of the FC Bayern Munich system.
Sermpezis is a significant caliber above most players his age. He’s an extremely fast and polished player with plug-and-play capabilities; his offensive game is very developed and doesn’t require constant feeding of the ball, despite his high point totals. He’s an instinctive defender who thrives on closing passing lanes and intercepting long passes. With the Eagles joining the debuting UAC this season, the caliber of his competition is not yet known, but don’t be surprised to see him transferring up to a serious contender in the years to come.
The Big 12’s Top 10 Incoming International Players
West Virginia leads the way with three players ranked in our list of the Big 12’s top 10 incoming international players
8. Jordan Charles, 5-foot-11 point guard, UC Santa Barbara (Canada)
Canada’s breakout star of the 2025 U19 World Cup, the pint-sized point guard wowed scouts and audiences alike with his speed, composure and tenacity. Somewhat overshadowed this year by 5-star Canadian point guard Miles Sadler at both Bella Vista Prep and Canadian basketball coverage, Charles is nonetheless an extremely promising prospect. Competing at consecutive FIBA World Cups in 2024 (U17) and 2025 (U19), Charles averaged 15.9 points and 13.0 points, respectively. His defense shone through as well with 2.1 steals and 1.7 steals per game at the two events.
Although largely overshadowed by the remarkable Canadian age group directly behind him, Charles took part in the 2025 Basketball Without Borders Global camp and proved he belonged among the global elite. His college options spanned a dozen schools including heavy hitters Arizona State, TCU, Murray State, and Nevada, but he settled on the Gauchos of the Big West, playing under veteran head coach Joe Pasternack.
9. Ethan Lin, 6-foot-5 point guard, Penn (Sweden/Taiwan/Hong Kong/United States)
Born in Sweden to a Taiwanese Olympic tennis player and a Hong Kong interior designer, Ethan Lin has an extremely unique background. A background that led him to Fran McCaffrey’s Quakers in Philadelphia. Playing at Montgomery High School in New Jersey, Lin has made a significant name for himself as one of the top Asian-American hoopers in the nation, averaging nearly 20 points per game on 40 percent shooting from deep. Ranked as the No. 24 point guard nationally in the Class of 2026, Lin had plenty of college coaches offering him scholarships, but to him, the most important factor was academics. He had offers from Yale, Princeton, and Brown but picked McCaffrey’s squad, which reached the NCAA tournament last season.
He’s a shifty and large point guard with a high IQ on and off the court. Lin’s shooting stroke is highly developed; he has fast-twitch and changes speeds and tempo at a high level. He has the kind of game that should perfectly translate to the next level. Lin has made clear that his degree is a top priority, which should give McCaffrey plenty of time to mold him into the centerpiece of Penn’s offense for the next half decade.
10. Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa, 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward, Gonzaga (France)
A late addition to a rapidly restructuring Gonzaga class, Ekanga-Ehawa is a talented wing who only recently burst onto the French scene. At 18 years old, Ekanga-Ehawa started 22 games for JL Bourg’s U21 side in the French Espoirs-ELITE league in 2025-26. There, he averaged 19.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 69.8 percent inside the arc and 30.6 percent outside of it. He earned five games as a depth piece for the French first league side through his efforts, becoming one of the youngest in JL Bourg’s history to do so. He rightfully earned the Espoirs-ELITE league’s Most Improved Player award.
Ekanga-Ehawa earned his first French national team nod for the 2026 U20 EuroBasket tournament, which is ongoing at the time of this article’s publishing, and has commanded significant minutes. With the NBA Draft decision of Gonzaga commit Jack Kayil (picked 39th overall by the Houston Rockets) and the unexpected departure of projected starter Mario Saint-Supéry, Gonzaga has had to quickly scramble for top talent late in the NCAA recruiting window, and Ekanga-Ehawa seems to be a product of this. The Freshman is certainly raw, but his upside is uncapped, and in the long term he could very well become a star for Mark Few in Spokane.
Meet your guide
