Men's Basketball | August 23, 2019

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle University head men's basketball coach Ashley Howard has announced the addition of graduate transfer Moustapha Diagne to the roster for the upcoming 2019-20. Diagne, a 6-9 forward who played his last two collegiate seasons at Western Kentucky, will be immediately eligible to compete for the Explorers.

"We are excited to add Moustapha Diagne to our La Salle basketball family," Howard said. "Moustapha was a highly-touted recruit coming out of Pope John High School in New Jersey and has now found a new home to continue his college basketball career. He has experience, intelligence and character that we need to help our young team grow."

Diagne was ranked as the No. 58 overall recruit in the class of 2015 by ESPN.com, and signed a letter of intent to attend Syracuse following a distinguished career at Pope John XXIII High School in New Jersey. He averaged 14.7 points, 12 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a senior and was selected to compete in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game at Barclays Center, helping the Black Team to a 125-112 win.

A native of Rufisque, Senegal, Diagne never played with the Orange but ended up attending Northwest Florida State College where he started 31 games and averaged 10.2 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 48.7 percent from the field in 2015-16. Diagne then enrolled at Western Kentucky, where he sat out the 2016-17 season. As a redshirt sophomore, he appeared in 20 games for the Hilltoppers as they won 27 games and advanced to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Overall, Diagne played 33 games for WKU over two seasons.

Diagne is the final piece of the puzzle for the 2019-20 La Salle University men's basketball team, which looks to build on a promising close to last season. Four of the top five scorers return from last year's squad, including seniors Isiah Deas and Saul Phiri. The full non-conference schedule has been released, with the home opener scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 against Iona.

Season tickets are available now and can be purchased by visiting goexplorers.com/seasontickets or by calling 215-951-1999. Packages start as low as $175.