Kentucky coach Mark Pope is recruiting an Italian 7'3 center in the 2026 class

Mark Pope has made it clear early into his tenure as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats that he is going to be looking for players all over not only the United States but also the world.

On the 2025-26 roster, Coach Pope brought in power forward Andrija Jelavic from Croatia, and now the coaching staff is pursuing a 7'3 Italian center named Luigi Suigo in the 2026 class.

If Kentucky was able to land Suigo, he would be one of the tallest players Kentucky has seen in a long time.

When watching film on Suigo, he moves a lot better than the average 7'3 player. Generally, every inch taller a player gets over seven feet, they seem to get a little bit slower, but that isn't the case for Suigo. The Italian center moves really well for his size, which will help him in college ball.

Obviously, at 7'3, Suigo is great around the rim on both sides of the ball, making him a great in the paint and an elite shot blocker. While these are the strengths of his game, he does have a jump shot that, for his size, looks solid.

According to Joe Tipton of On3 Kentucky, Louisville, Texas A&M, and Purdue are the schools making a big early push after Suigo. Purdue is the school to watch, knowing their success with seven-footers, but Pope would love to add Suigo to his 2026 recruiting class.

This is a name to remember over the next few months as the Kentucky coaching staff looks to start adding to the 2026 recruiting class.