Stetson big man Mahamadou Diawara transferring to Oregon

Oregon has made a late summer addition to its front court that should help its star center feel more at home.

Wednesday, the Ducks landed a commitment from Stetson senior big man Mahamadou Diawara. The 6-foot-10 center, who is originally from the same city in Mali as senior N'Faly Dante, has made 81 starts in his career and played in over 115 games. However, only five of those starts came last year.

He played in 30 games during the 2022-23 season and averaged 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds.

The Ducks will have attempt to dip back into the success Diawara had as a freshman when he averaged a career-best 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over the course of 33 games — with 31 starts.

His production has taken a dip since that first season, but he showed a knack for still having his scoring touch in what would be his final game with the Hatters.

Diawara scored 18 points (5-of-10 FGs) to go with 20 rebounds in a CBI postseason loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the spring giving Dana Altman and his staff a glimpse into some potential value with the late addition to the roster.

He's averaged 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in his four-year collegiate career at Stetson.

The Ducks now have 12 of their 13 allotted scholarships accounted for in the upcoming season with the addition of Diawara, who, like Dante, comes from Bamako in Mali.

Diawara was rated as a three-star prospect out of Massanutten Military Academy in Virginia as a member of the 2019 class. Penn State, East Carolina, Rhode Island and UMass were some of the schools that offered him as a high school recruit.

The Ducks picked up Diawara after he entered the transfer portal just last Friday. Diawara is a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility remaining, and as of now Oregon has not yet announced his addition.