Pitt basketball lands first commit, 6-foot-7 forward Nate Santos

After losing five players to the NCAA Transfer Portal and not having any verbal commits going into April, Jeff Capel landed his first verbal commitment for the 2021 recruiting class.

That was first reported by ESPN's Adam Finkelstein:

Santos is a 6-foot-7, 205 lbs. forward. playing for the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Ct., though he's originally from Geneva, Illinois. He's rated as a three-star prospect by both Rivals and 247Sports, the latter of which ranked him 228th in the country, 4th best from Connecticut, and 44th best small forward. Though Santos lists himself as a guard on his Twitter profile.

He originally announced receiving his offer from Pitt on March 29:

Santos' commitment to Pitt came a week later, picking the Panthers over five other Division I programs, including Georgetown, Creighton and Xavier.

Santos brings size as a wing defender with the potential of being a deep shooter for the Panthers. That could make him a solid candidate to replace 6-foot-6 Au'Diese Toney who was Pitt's primary wing defender in 2020 who left in the NCAA Transfer Portal for Arkansas.

Both 2021 sophomores 6-foot-8 Noah Collier and 6-foot-7 William Jeffress pose as the biggest competition Santos faces for playing time next season. Depending on the decision from Justin Champagnie on whether to enter the NBA Draft, that room on the roster could open up even more.

Capel still stands to add several more players via the portal to give Pitt basketball more experience on its roster. But the biggest update to watch for is still center Efton Reid of Florida. Reid's mother posted via Twitter he would announce his commitment April 15:

One thing is for sure, Capel isn't done.