Inside The Panthers

Australian Forward Arrives at Pitt

One of the newest members of Pitt Panthers basketball has finally arrived.
Owen Lenson|
Pitt Basketball Secures the Commitment of Australian forward Roman Siulepa
Pitt Basketball Secures the Commitment of Australian forward Roman Siulepa | Roman Siulepa on Instagra

In this story:

Pittsburgh Panthers

Australian forward Roman Siulepa has officially arrived in Pittsburgh. Pitt Panthers basketball's social media accounts made sure to let everyone know.

There was some curiosity over the situation of when Siulepa would arrive, as he wasn't seen in any of the footage of the team working out posted on Pitt basketball's social media accounts.

Siulepa is from Brisbane, which is on the eastern coast of Australia. Siulepa played in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) for the South West Metro Pirates and the Tasmania JackJumpers.

Siulepa represented his country in the FIBA U16 Asian Championships, FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in 2022 and the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship in 2023.

Most recently, Siulepa earned Second Team All-Tournament in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. He averaged 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds in the tournament, getting numerous double-doubles as well.

Siulepa is also an acclaimed multi-sport athlete, being a top high school rugby player in Australia. He will have four years of eligibility at Pitt, but he may not stay too long as he has been scouted by NBA teams since he was 16 years old.

Siulepa is actually Pitt basketball's second commit from Austrlia. Henry Lau, who is from Sydney, committed to Pitt in May. Lau was practicing in Pittsburgh as early as July.

If that's not enough international prospects, Pitt also signed Canadian center Kieran Mullen to the team in April. Mullen is a very promising prospect, but will redshirt his freshman year.

Omari Witherspoon from St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C. and Macari Malone from Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan are the other freshman committs to Pitt.

Pitt's new web-series, "Pitt Basketball: Unscripted", will likely show behind-the-scenes of these new players getting situated and forming a team with the existing members. The new transfers to the team are also something to watch for in the web series.

As Pitt looks for a major improvement over last season, Siulepa and the other young players will give a spark of life to the team. Pitt's schedule is full of exciting games and reignitions of old rivalries before ACC play even starts.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter: @InsidePitt

Published
Owen Lenson
OWEN LENSON

Owen Lenson is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in media and professional communications and minoring in political science. He has a passion for making stories out of journalism and reporting.

Home/News