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Former Pitt Center Transfers to Texas A&M
Feb 13, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers center Federiko Federiko (33) dunks the ball past Virginia Cavaliers forward Jordan Minor (22) during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images Amber Searls-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH — A former Pitt big man is headed to the SEC for their final year of college basketball.

Tobias Bass of The Athletic reported that Federiko Federiko transferred to Texas A&M for the 2025-26 season.

Federiko played for Northern Oklahoma at the junior college level before joining Pitt ahead of the 2022-23 season. He would go on to appear in 68 games as a Panther, starting 53, over two seasons. He averaged 5.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and shot 65.4% from the field while playing 22.4 minutes per game. 

He excelled in his first season, serving as an important part of a lineup, with talented guards like Jamarius Burton, Greg Elliot and Nelly Cummings, plus forward Blake Hinson, that allowed him to score down low. He also defended the rim extremely well, keeping out some of the best big men in the country from having good performances routinely.

Federiko entered this past season reprising his role as the starting center for the Panthers but head coach Jeff Capel removed him from the starting lineup midway through the season.

With his struggles offensively, such as finishing around the rim and turning the ball over, as well as his post defense dropping off from the previous season, Capel replaced him with sophomore forward Guillermo Diaz Graham.

The rotation eventually became a platoon with him and Diaz Graham splitting minutes and, upon occasion, combining in a double-big lineup. 

Federiko would enter the transfer portal after two seasons with Pitt and landed with Texas Tech this past season.

He started six of the 35 games he played in for the Red Raiders , averaging 18.9 minutes, 5.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 74.3% from the field and 49.2% from the foul line.

Federiko would help Texas Tech to a 28-9 record and 15-5 record in the Big 12, second-best in the conference. Texas Tech also made it to the Elite Eight, where they lost by five points to eventual National Champions in Florida.

He entered the transfer portal on April 18 and found his new school in less than three weeks.

Federiko has one year left of eligibility, as Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia filed an injunction against the NCAA, which allows JUCO players an extra year of eligibility for next season if they exhausted theirs prior.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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