Gainey, NC State Need to Consider Bringing Back Musa Sagnia

RALEIGH — The last time NC State fans saw Musa Sagnia, he fouled out of the First Four loss to Texas in a matter of a few minutes. It was yet another disappointing moment in the only year of the Will Wade era with the men's basketball program. After he left, Sagnia, like nearly everyone else from last season's roster, entered the transfer portal.

With Justin Gainey in charge of the Wolfpack now and Wade back at LSU, Sagnia is still looking for a home in the 2025-26 season. The Gambian forward left things open for a potential return to NC State, but it wasn't clear how interested the new regime would be. With a large part of the roster filled from the transfer portal, there's still a glaring hole in the frontcourt, as the program needs another player with size. Sagnia could fill that need.

Growth potential

NC State Wolfpack forward Musa Sagnia (13) passes the ball to NC State Wolfpack guard Matt Able (3) Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, during the NCAA men’s basketball game against the Clemson Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The upside with Sagnia was always on the defensive end. At 6-foot-10, he moves well and can guard multiple positions, but there were growing pains as he adjusted to less lenient whistles in American basketball after playing professionally in Spain before. His physicality was a big reason for foul trouble, just like he had in the First Four loss. Sagnia still blocked 17 shots and racked up 20 steals while playing 12.4 minutes per game.

The downside for the big man came on the offensive end. Sagnia struggled to catch passes and possesses limited touch around the rim. With a point guard like Quadir Copeland, who whipped the ball around the court with speed, Sagnia struggled to ever carve out a consistent role in the dunker spot. That led to more minutes for Ven-Allen Lubin while Sagnia played a reserve role.

Feb 9, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) drives to the basket against NC State Wolfpack forward Musa Sagnia (13) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated N.C. State 118-77. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Sagnia averaged 2.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game under Wade. His athleticism and versatility likely appealed to Gainey when he first arrived, but the Wolfpack's new coach and his staff focused on building up the backcourt depth and making some splashes in the frontcourt out of the transfer portal when they first arrived. Kyle Evans, the nation's leading shot blocker at UC Irvine in the 2025-26 season, signed on to be a part of the Pack.

However, NC State has just four frontcourt pieces on the roster at this point and could use one more true big man to complete the roster. Sagnia could offer Gainey a cheap option at the four or five and already has familiarity with the school and the program. Now that Paul McNeil is back in the mix, look for NC State to pursue the former Spanish professional more in the coming days.

Add us as a preferred source on Google