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Dipping again into international waters, the UNM Lobos on Wednesday landed a commitment from 6-foot-9 Italian forward Federico Grani.
The 23-year-old played professionally this past season for Moncada Energy Agrigento in the Italian Serie B league, averaging 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 37 games this season and is now the 12 committed or signed player for the 2026-27 Lobo men's basketball season.
“Next stop: Albuquerque” was his message posted on his Instagram page Wednesday morning along with a picture of him in a Lobos jersey, his name at the top and the word “Committed” across the bottom with a UNM Lobos logo on the image.
By Wednesday afternoon, the same graphic with one noticeable difference was posted on the UNM Lobo men's basketball social media pages. The difference? The word "Committed" was changed to "Signed."
UNM and Grani are still working through just how long he will be allowed to play based on his previous experience at the professional level — where the college athletics system essentially isn't in place and turning pro, or playing for a professional club, is commonplace. Not all professional leagues, the NCAA has determined, automatically disqualify a player from retaining eligibility at a U.S. university.
It is the same process UNM went through over the past year for former Lobo starting forward Tomislav Buljan, who was also 23 and entering college for the first time after playing professionally in Croatia. He was initially granted just one season of playing eligibility, which UNM appealed, and won, getting Buljan an extra season to play. After the season concluded with the April 2 NIT semifinal loss to Tulsa, Buljan transferred to Big Ten school Maryland.
New offer
Former La Cueva High School student Eric Jacobsen, a 6-foot-11 forward who played this past season as a senior for Brewster Academy prep school in New Hampshire, received a scholarship offer this week from the UNM Lobos.
Extremely blessed to have received a D1 offer from The University of New Mexico!! Thank you to Coach Olen and Coach Roberts for believing in me! pic.twitter.com/bKYzVQpE09
— Eric Jacobsen (@EricJacobsen222) May 20, 2026
Eric Jacobsen is the younger brother of 7-4 Purdue center Daniel Jacobsen, who also attended the prestigious Brewster Academy. Eric had a torn ACL as a junior that hindered his recruitment (or ability for schools to see him play) over the past year, but he came on strong late in his senior season and in particular in the recent spring EYBL circuit — showing the knee is healthy.
Amzil a champion
Former UNM Lobo Musapha Amzil led KB Trepça to a 98-78 win over Bashkimi on Wednesday for a 4-0 sweep to clinch the Kosovo Superleague championship.
KB Trepça, located in Mitrovica, has won the league title three straight seasons.
In Wednesday's Game 4 victory, Amzil had 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Back in Game 1, the 6-9 forward went off for 21 points, 14 rebounds.
Former Lobo now an Aggie?
Former UNM Lobos student manager — and Santa Fe native — Isaiah "Zeke" Brooks-Sena was announced this week as a new assistant coach for Jason Hooten and the New Mexico State Aggies.
We are excited to add @I_brooks42 as an assistant coach to our staff!
» https://t.co/o9HbTwqQGO#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/rQNcZ2wkxN
— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) May 19, 2026
“We are extremely excited to welcome Zeke to our staff,” Hooten said in a statement from the school. “He possesses many of the same qualities I've seen in the young assistants who have gone on to become highly successful in this profession ii intelligent, hardworking, dependable, team-oriented and a true competitor.”
Brooks-Sena, who has a master's in recreation and sports administration, spent the past two seasons as the Director of Scouting and Analytics at Oklahoma State. He also had stops at Western Kentucky, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Akron after four years as part of UNM's respected men's basketball managers program.
Another win in the Pit
Lobos Chris Howell, who is returning for another season, and Milos Vicentic, who has exhausted his playing eligibility, collected two of the more than 3,600 degrees handed out by the University of New Mexico last week as part of spring commencement ceremonies.
Reach Geoff Grammer at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
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The 23-year-old played professionally this past season for Moncada Energy Agrigento in the Italian Serie B league, averaging 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 37 games this season and is now the 12 committed or signed player for the 2026-27 Lobo men's basketball season.
“Next stop: Albuquerque” was his message posted on his Instagram page Wednesday morning along with a picture of him in a Lobos jersey, his name at the top and the word “Committed” across the bottom with a UNM Lobos logo on the image.
By Wednesday afternoon, the same graphic with one noticeable difference was posted on the UNM Lobo men's basketball social media pages. The difference? The word "Committed" was changed to "Signed."
UNM and Grani are still working through just how long he will be allowed to play based on his previous experience at the professional level — where the college athletics system essentially isn't in place and turning pro, or playing for a professional club, is commonplace. Not all professional leagues, the NCAA has determined, automatically disqualify a player from retaining eligibility at a U.S. university.
It is the same process UNM went through over the past year for former Lobo starting forward Tomislav Buljan, who was also 23 and entering college for the first time after playing professionally in Croatia. He was initially granted just one season of playing eligibility, which UNM appealed, and won, getting Buljan an extra season to play. After the season concluded with the April 2 NIT semifinal loss to Tulsa, Buljan transferred to Big Ten school Maryland.
New offer
Former La Cueva High School student Eric Jacobsen, a 6-foot-11 forward who played this past season as a senior for Brewster Academy prep school in New Hampshire, received a scholarship offer this week from the UNM Lobos.
Extremely blessed to have received a D1 offer from The University of New Mexico!! Thank you to Coach Olen and Coach Roberts for believing in me! pic.twitter.com/bKYzVQpE09
— Eric Jacobsen (@EricJacobsen222) May 20, 2026
Eric Jacobsen is the younger brother of 7-4 Purdue center Daniel Jacobsen, who also attended the prestigious Brewster Academy. Eric had a torn ACL as a junior that hindered his recruitment (or ability for schools to see him play) over the past year, but he came on strong late in his senior season and in particular in the recent spring EYBL circuit — showing the knee is healthy.
Amzil a champion
Former UNM Lobo Musapha Amzil led KB Trepça to a 98-78 win over Bashkimi on Wednesday for a 4-0 sweep to clinch the Kosovo Superleague championship.
KB Trepça, located in Mitrovica, has won the league title three straight seasons.
In Wednesday's Game 4 victory, Amzil had 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Back in Game 1, the 6-9 forward went off for 21 points, 14 rebounds.
Former Lobo now an Aggie?
Former UNM Lobos student manager — and Santa Fe native — Isaiah "Zeke" Brooks-Sena was announced this week as a new assistant coach for Jason Hooten and the New Mexico State Aggies.
We are excited to add @I_brooks42 as an assistant coach to our staff!
» https://t.co/o9HbTwqQGO#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/rQNcZ2wkxN
— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) May 19, 2026
“We are extremely excited to welcome Zeke to our staff,” Hooten said in a statement from the school. “He possesses many of the same qualities I've seen in the young assistants who have gone on to become highly successful in this profession ii intelligent, hardworking, dependable, team-oriented and a true competitor.”
Brooks-Sena, who has a master's in recreation and sports administration, spent the past two seasons as the Director of Scouting and Analytics at Oklahoma State. He also had stops at Western Kentucky, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Akron after four years as part of UNM's respected men's basketball managers program.
Another win in the Pit
Lobos Chris Howell, who is returning for another season, and Milos Vicentic, who has exhausted his playing eligibility, collected two of the more than 3,600 degrees handed out by the University of New Mexico last week as part of spring commencement ceremonies.
Reach Geoff Grammer at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
Continue reading...
