Marquette signs Louisville center Sananda Fru, team’s first portal addition in four years

Matthew Baltz, Assistant Sports Editor • April 15, 2026 • 1,311 Views

Photo by Marquette Wire

Sananda Fru is the first player to transfer to Marquette in four years.

For the first time since 2022, Marquette men’s basketball has an incoming transfer — and he fills the team’s biggest need.

Former Louisville big man Sananda Fru has reportedly committed to the Golden Eagles for his final year of NCAA eligibility, Jonathan Givony announced Wednesday afternoon. Marquette athletics announced the signing in a release on Tuesday.

NEWS: Louisville transfer Sananda Fru has committed to Marquette, agent Milan Nikolic tells DraftExpress.

The 6’11 German center was the ACC’s most efficient scorer, ranking among the conference’s top offensive rebounders and shot-blockers.

No. 7 player in the portal, per DXV. pic.twitter.com/ltfkBmlbLB

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 15, 2026

The 6-foot-11 center spent his first collegiate season with the Cardinals last year. In 35 games, Fru averaged 22 minutes, 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. He shot 75.3% from the field and 61.1% from the free throw line.

Per BartTorvik.com, his 14.9% offensive rebounding rate ranked 27th nationally. The Golden Eagles — who gave up 34.7% of available offensive boards, the No. 332 mark in the country — should benefit in a big way from Fru’s ability to crash the offensive glass.

Also according to Bart Torvik, Fru shot 78.3% at the rim on 152 attempts this season (including 62 dunks), far better than the 55.8% rim shooting of Ben Gold, Caedin Hamilton and Josh Clark combined.

Before committing to Louisville in Feb. 2025, the Berlin, Germany native Played for Loewen Braunschweig in the German BBL for four seasons. He started 35 of 39 games for Loewen Braunschweig in the 2024-25 season, including games in the FIBA Europe Cup.

Fru is ranked as the eight best power forward in the transfer portal, and the 36th best player overall according to 247sports.com. He is slated to be one of four Golden Eagle big men next season, joining Sheek Pearson, Hamilton and Clark.

Marquette now has 13 of 15 scholarship spots filled for next season. MU has been rumored to be showing interest in several other transfers, including Tulsa guard Tylen Riley, St. Thomas guard Nolan Minessale and BYU guard Kennard Davis Jr.

This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.

About the Contributor

Matthew Baltz, Assistant Sports Editor

Matthew Baltz is a senior from Colona, Illinois majoring in journalism and minoring digital media. He is an assistant sports editor for the 2025-26 school year. In his free time, Matt enjoys hanging out with his friends, golfing and going to baseball games. He is most excited to continue to refine his writing skills this school year.