Brazilian center Márcio Santos commits to LSU over Kentucky

Mark Pope flew across the world to recruit Márcio Santos, but the Brazilian center has opted for a different SEC program.

Santos committed to head coach Will Wade and the LSU Tigers on Wednesday morning, reports Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. The 6-foot-8 stretch big man who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel received an in-person visit from Pope last week. Kentucky appeared to be in a good position coming out of that visit, but the likes of LSU and BYU remained in the hunt. A full week later, Santos elected to go with the Tigers over the Wildcats.

Santos, who will be 24 years old at the start of the 2026-27 season, has been playing professionally for years now, winning championships and making All-Star teams in various leagues along the way. He would have provided immediate depth to Kentucky’s frontcourt, but LSU could offer him an immediate larger role. In fact, Santos is only the second player to join Wade’s roster for next season, sliding in next to former Wildcat forward Mo Dioubate.

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NEWS: Maccabi Tel Aviv's Márcio Santos has committed to LSU, Arturs Kalnitis and @FFGBasketball tell DraftExpress.

The 6'9, 23-year-old Brazilian big averaged 6.9 points in 14 minutes in the Euroleague, shooting 40% from 3.

Big addition for Will Wade and the Tigers. pic.twitter.com/Gf68ZNBuP0
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 6, 2026

Kentucky already has 12 out of 15 possible roster spots filled for the 2026-27 campaign, but some holes could still be filled. One of them is a backup center to Malachi Moreno, who is testing the NBA Draft waters but is expected back in Lexington. That would have gone to Santos had he chosen the ‘Cats. Pope could also use one of his final spots to add another sharpshooter or someone who can soak up minutes on the wing, especially if that wing is a star talent like Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic, who is also going through the NBA Draft process.

With Santos off the board, the available options for Kentucky (and the rest of the college basketball world) are beginning to dry up.

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