Inside The Panthers

Pitt Basketball Hosts Top 100 2026 Recruit

The Pitt Panthers brought in one of the top basketball recruits in 2026.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Basketball hosted 2026 4-star wing Ethan Mgbako on a Visit last weekend
Pitt Basketball hosted 2026 4-star wing Ethan Mgbako on a Visit last weekend / Ethan Mgbako on Instagram
In this story:

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers hosted one of the top men's basketball recruits in the Class of 2026 recently.

Ethan Mgbako, a wing in the Class of 2026, made his official visit to Pitt last weekend and posted pictures of it on his Instagram.

Mgbako received an offer from Pitt on May 19 and this served as the first official visit from a Class of 2026 recruit for the program and also his first official visit too.

He plays for powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., just north of the Virginia-North Carolina border. The likes of 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant and NBA Champions in Rajon Rondo and Stephen Jackson have played at the school.

Mgbako hails from Somerset, N.J., 35-40 miles southwest of Newark, and previously played for Roselle Catholic High School for his freshman and sophomore seasons.

He averaged 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while making almost two 3-pointers per game as a sophomore in the 2023-24 season.

Mgbako also currently plays for his AAU team, Team Melo on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit. Former Pitt star Bub Carrington, who earned NBA All-Rookie honors with the Washington Wizards last season, also played on Team Melo.

He stands 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds and can score all across the floor, pulling up from mid-range and from behind the arc or driving to the rim for a layup and a strong finish.

247Sports, On3 and ESPN rank Mgbako as a four-star, with 247Sports ranking him No. 75 in the nation, the No. 29 small forward and No. 3 recruit in Virginia, On3 ranking him No. 63 in his class, No. 23 at his position and No. 3 in the state and ESPN ranking him No. 86 in the country, the No. 31 small forward and No. 5 in the commonwealth.

Mgbako holds Power 5 offers from Big East schools in Creighton and Georgetown, SEC schools in LSU, Mississippi State and Texas A&M plus Florida State and West Virginia. He also holds mid-major offers from George Washington, Kent State, Pepperdine and Quinnipiac.

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
Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.

Home/Recruiting