Three-star center Nico Onyekwere, out of Long Island Lutheran (NY), announced on his Instagram that he was committing to Villanova on the evening of Monday, April 28.
It is head coach Kevin Willard’s second recruit from the class of 2025 high school recruiting class. Onyekwere will join Willard’s other high school commit, Chris Jeffrey.
Onyekwere was originally committed to Florida State University but received a release and decommitted after head coach Leonard Hamilton resigned.
He is listed as seven-foot-one and 240 pounds on Nike EYBL Scholastic’s website.
With Onyekwere committing and seven-foot Grand Canyon transfer Duke Brennan transferring in, it will be the first time Villanova has had two seven-foot-tall players on its roster since 1991-92. That season, the Wildcats had seven-foot-two Paul Vrind and seven-foot Anthony Pelle.
This past 2024-25 season in high school, he averaged 6.2 points and five rebounds across 15 games. He also collected 22 blocks on the season.
Onyekwere is another piece to a completely new roster after only two Wildcats from last season remain on the Main Line – rising junior guard Tyler Perkins and rising redshirt freshman Matthew Hodge.
With the transfer portal now closed, Villanova has limited options to complete its roster. The Wildcats have four remaining roster spots that need to be filled.
Onyekwere will have four years of eligibility coming out of high school.
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