Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd dipped back into the international recruiting pool to round out his potential 2025-26 post rotation with rangy big man Sidi Gueye of Senegal.
The 6-11 Gueye, who won’t turn 18 until just before next season, developed a reputation as one of the best international players born in 2007 while playing for Real Madrid and its youth club in recent seasons. Arizona confirmed on Wednesday he signed to continue his career with the Wildcats.
“Gueye is an elite defender who is often tasked with guarding smaller players on the perimeter,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony wrote. “He has a 7-foot-4 wingspan, which gives him significant versatility on that end of the floor, and he was a prolific shot blocker at the European junior level.”
Gueye moved from Senegal to Spain in 2019 to play for Real Madrid, the same club that developed former UA big man Henri Veesaar before he spent the past three seasons with the Wildcats.
Gueye
Gueye will become the 10th international player Lloyd has recruited at Arizona, while Lloyd also re-recruited Kerr Kriisa (Estonia), Christian Koloko (Cameroon) and Azoulas Tubelis (Lithuania) from the Wildcats’ previous coaching staff upon his arrival in 2021. Gueye and Dutch forward Dwayne Aristode will join three Americans — forward Koa Peat plus guards Brayden Burries and Bryce James — in UA’s 2025 recruiting class.
“Coach Lloyd is one of the top coaches in college, and he has coached many international players before,” Gueye told ESPN. “He made me feel comfortable and showed me how I can improve and produce in his system.”
During the 2024-25 season, Gueye averaged 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks over four games in the U18 NextGen Euroleague while earlier playing briefly in seven games for Real Madrid’s senior club in both the Spanish ACB league and Euroleague.
“To play for Real Madrid was amazing,” Gueye told ESPN. “They are a great organization and have helped me so much in my basketball development. It is exciting to go to the United States for college, and so many more top players are coming over, making the decision easier. I wanted to continue to get better, and college seemed like a good next step.”
Madehoops.com scout Ngijol Songolo called Gueye one of the top international prospects in his class, while Wilko Martínez-Cachero of Floor and Ceiling posted that Gueye is one of his favorite big men in the class.
“Fluid, rangy defender with overlooked feel as a passer,” Martínez-Cachero posted. “ Doesn’t shoot, but can make decisions on both ends.”
In 2023-24, Gueye averaged 7.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while helping Real Madrid U18 win the 2024 NextGen tournament along with then-teammate Egor Demin, a standout freshman guard at BYU in 2024-25 who is a projected first-round 2025 NBA Draft pick.
Sidi Gueye helped Real Madrid U18 win the 2024 NextGen championship.
During that event, international basketball writer Ignacio Risotto said Gueye was already one of the top international 2007-born players.
“Tremendous combination of size, length and agility,” Rissotto wrote. He has “potential as an elite lob catcher and rim protector. Has shown flashes of ball-handling and versatile defense, as well.”
At Arizona, Gueye is expected to bring a developing rim-protecting presence to a post rotation that includes Tobe Awaka, Motiejus Krivas and five-star freshman Koa Peat.
Arizona now has 10 players on its tentative 2025-26 roster, not including forward Carter Bryant, a projected first-round NBA pick who is testing the draft. College basketball teams can carry up to 15 total players under a new NCAA rule, and the Wildcats have three returning walk-ons who may rejoin them.
Ringer projects Bryant at No. 9
The Ringer listed Bryant at No. 9 in its first 2025 NBA Mock Draft on Wednesday, the highest any of the major mock drafts have projected Bryant going.
Arizona forward Carter Bryant (9) celebrates a three-pointer from teammate guard KJ Lewis (5), the final dagger in a 113-100 win over Arizona State in their Big 12 game in Tucson on March 4, 2025.
Bryant averaged just the seventh-most minutes (19.3) on the Arizona roster last season, while averaging 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds, but he shot 37.1% from 3-point range and his athletic 6-8 frame also suggests 3-and-D potential in the NBA.
“It will be hard for teams to pass up Bryant’s baseline skill set,” The Ringer wrote. “He offers the full vision of a versatile role player without major compromises in size, shooting ability, or defensive acumen. The lack of meaningful on-ball reps could cap Bryant’s ceiling at the next level, but honest-to-goodness 3-and-D starters are hard to come by. Carter has all the tools to be next in line.”
UA summer camps set
Several UA players are expected to be on hand for this year’s Arizona Basketball Camps during three four-day sessions: June 2-5, June 9-12 and June 23-26.
Open to those entering first through eighth grade in the fall, the camp is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during operating days, with autograph sessions on Thursdays. The fee is $406.50 per week and $438 if registering after Thursday, May 1.
