Tracking Will Wade's 'unconventional' roster at LSU: Who's eligible and who's on the outside looking in?

With the 2026-27 college basketball season just over a month away, LSU coach Will Wade is still trying to finalize his roster, which currently has just four players on the team's official website. On Tuesday, news broke that Márcio Santos — a player LSU recruited and hoped to get eligible for the upcoming college basketball season - had signed a two-year contract with Kosner Baskonia, a professional team based in Spain.

Santos was part of LSU's intentional recruiting class that features five players: Santos, Saliou Niang (Virtus Bologna), Brice Dessert (Anadolu Efes), Michael Ružić (Joventut Badalona) and Gilad Levy, a 7-foot-3 center from Israel. 

Heading into this week, none of those players had been cleared to play this season. 

Last week, Wade spoke to reporters for the first time this offseason and called his roster and how they're going about the process "unconventional."

"What we're doing is unconventional," Wade said. "I understand that. But, 20 years ago, Airbnb was unconventional. Everybody stayed in a hotel. Fifteen years ago, you rode in a taxi everywhere. Now you take Uber. So, like, just because it's unconventional doesn't mean it's not going to work. Now, it may not work. If it doesn't work, write about what an idiot I am. I understand that. But just because it's unconventional, like I told our guys, we're going to be unconventional. We're going to be unapologetic about it. It is what it is. We're going to be unapologetic. This is who we are. This is what we're doing. This is the path that we charted. We're going to go down it."

Will Wade explains LSU's 'unconventional' four-player roster: 'We're going to be unapologetic about it'

Cameron Salerno

The path to getting the other players Wade recruited from the international ranks eligible for this season, as well as RJ Luis Jr., Donovan Dent, and Skyy Clark, could get complicated. The same can be said for Niang, who was drafted No. 58 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2025.

So, who is eligible to play and who is still in eligibility limbo? Here is where every player on LSU's roster stands right now.

Incoming transfers 

Skyy Clark (Transfer from UCLA)

Current status: Eligible for now

Clark is currently cleared to play by the California court. Clark, who previously played for Illinois, Louisville and UCLA, is coming off a season in which he averaged 11.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 26 games. As a freshman at Illinois, Clark appeared in just 13 games and left the program midseason, citing personal and family reasons.

Donovan Dent (Transfer from UCLA)

Current status: Eligible for now*

Dent was a preseason CBS Sports All-American after transferring to UCLA from New Mexico last season. Dent, who is one of the best pure point guards in the sport, initially retired after the conclusion of this past season from basketball but decided to pursue a fifth year of eligibility. If he's cleared, he would have a strong argument as LSU's best player.

Mouhamed Dioubate (Transfer from Kentucky)

Current status: Cleared to play

Dioubate will be playing for his third SEC school this season after stops at Alabama and Kentucky. He transferred from Alabama to Kentucky last offseason and made 31 appearances (10 starts) for the Wildcats. Dioubate will likely be in the starting lineup on opening night.

Divine Ugochukwu (Transfer from Michigan State)

Current status: Cleared to play

Ugochukwu will be playing for his third school in three years, following stops at Miami and Michigan State. Last season, he started 12 games for the Spartans and averaged 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

Abdi Bashir Jr.  (Transfer from Kansas State)

Current status: Cleared to play

Bashir is one of the best 3-point shooters in college basketball. He connected on 44.4% of his attempts from beyond the arc last season in 18 games at Kansas State. Before joining the Wildcats, he played two seasons at Monmouth, where he averaged 20.1 points as a sophomore.

Austin Nunez (Transfer from UTSA)

Current status: Cleared to play

Nunez will be playing for his fourth different school this season after stops at Arizona State (twice), Ole Miss and UTSA. Nunez is coming off the best statistical season of his college career after averaging 9.8 points in 22 games at UTSA.

RJ Luis Jr. (Transfer from St. John's)**

Current status: Eligible for now*

Luis is the most complicated case on LSU's roster. Although he didn't play in the summer league back in 2025 after going undrafted, the former Big East Player of the Year did play in three NBA preseason games with the Boston Celtics before missing the entire 2025-26 season due to injury. Luis passed up a chance to return to college last offseason and instead stayed in the NBA Draft, despite being projected to go late in the second round. Luis wasn't drafted, but signed a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Celtics before the season started.

He is currently eligible to play after a Baton Rouge judge granted him a preliminary injunction last month. However, like most players in eligibility limbo on LSU's roster, it won't be that simple. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been outspoken about Luis' case and filed an affidavit asking the court to uphold NCAA rules that prevent athletes from returning to the college level. The SEC also drafted new rules that prevent players, like Luis, who previously declared for the draft or signed a professional contract, from returning to college.

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*Dent and Clark are part of five-for-five cases and are currently eligible

**Luis is cleared to play via the courts. However, the SEC's rules preventing former professionals from returning to the college ranks will complicate his case.

International players

Márcio Santos

Current status: Won't play for LSU

Santos is the first international player from LSU's recruiting class who won't be suiting up for the Tigers. Santos signed a two-year contract with Kosner Baskonia, a professional team based in Spain. He committed to LSU back in May, but his path to becoming eligible was complicated after going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and playing in summer league with the Atlanta Hawks before returning to play for Franca Basquetebol Clube.

Saliou Niang (Italy)

Current status: Unknown

Niang is the lone player on LSU's roster who was previously drafted. He was selected No. 58 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025 NBA Draft, but he didn't sign with the organization. Instead, he played for Virtus Bologna the following season.

Brice Dessert (Anadolu Efes)

Current status: Unknown

The 6-foot-11 big man committed to LSU back in May after receiving interest from Kansas and Auburn, among others. During the 2025-26 season, he played for both the EuroLeague and the BSL. He appeared in 17 games for Anadolu Efe.

Michael Ružić (Joventut Badalona)

Current status: Unknown

Ružić currently plays for Joventut Badalona, a professional team based in Spain. He previously participated in the 2025 NBA Draft Combine before opting to withdraw his name from the draft. His eligibility for the upcoming season is unknown.

Gilad Levy (Israel)

Current status: Unknown

The 7-foot-1 big man was LSU's most recent intentional commitment. The 24-year-old has played three years of professional basketball in the Israeli league. His eligibility for the upcoming season is unknown.

An overview of LSU's current roster