Federiko plans to enter the transfer portal

Pitt’s first entry to the transfer portal this offseason will come from the front court.

Federiko Federiko, who was the Panthers’ primary center this season, will enter the transfer portal.

Derek Murray initially reported Federiko’s intent to transfer, and Federiko himself confirmed to Panther-Lair.com that he will be entering the portal.

Sources previously indicated to Panther-Lair.com that Federiko was likely to go into the portal due to outside influences regarding his role. Federiko played all 33 games for Pitt this past season and started 26, averaging 4.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Those numbers were a slight drop from his 2022-23 stat line, when he averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.

Federiko joined Pitt prior to last season after spending a junior-college year at Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa. He was committed to West Virginia prior to attending Pitt, but he decommitted in the spring of 2022 and signed with the Panthers.

A native of Finland, Federiko played his final year of high school basketball at First Love Christian Academy in Washington, Pa.

Federiko’s departure makes Pitt’s center situation even more intriguing. Guillermo Diaz Graham started seven games ahead of Federiko and was the primary reserve at center this past season, but 96 of the 190 points he scored from the floor came from the 32 three-pointers he made. In all, Diaz Graham averaged 6.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

With Federiko gone, Diaz Graham’s top reserve at center would be Papa Kante; he was a four-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2023, but an injury sidelined him before the season started.

Pitt is also bringing three-star forward Amdy Ndiaye in with the 2024 recruiting class; he is 6’10” and 205 pounds, so he could be an option.