Colorado Buffaloes sign former Jacksonville State forward Iaroslav Niagu

7-foot forward Iaroslav Niagu signs with the Colorado Buffaloes for his fifth year of eligibility. (Photo via USC Athletics)

The Colorado Buffaloes have a new 7-footer in town. 

On Monday, former Jacksonville State Gamecocks forward Iaroslav Niagu signed with the Buffs for his fifth and final season of NCAA eligibility. 

The forward earned a fifth year of eligibility due to a ruling in a North Carolina court case. He joins dozens of other players in the freshman class of 2022 who were granted an extra year. 

His signing puts the Buffs over the 15-man NCAA roster limit, but since walk-on Nick Randall joined the squad prior to the current roster structure, Colorado is allowed to have a 16-man roster. 

Last season, the forward from Krasnodar, Russia, averaged 4.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 blocks in 20.8 minutes per game for the Gamecocks. The season prior, his first season with the Gamecocks, Niagu appeared in a career-high 36 games. He put up two points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game. 

Niagu has had a nomadic collegiate career. He spent his freshman year with the USC Trojans before transferring to the Charlotte 49ers for his sophomore year.  He played 16 games for the Trojans during his freshman year, averaging 4.8 minutes per game. During his sophomore campaign, the forward played 7.2 minutes per game over just 12 games for the 49ers. 

Despite transitioning from the Pac-12 to the AAC, the conference change did not have a major impact on Niagu’s production. It wasn’t until he joined Jacksonville State for the 2024-25 season, when he got his first collegiate start, that he became an integral piece of a roster.

Niagu brings much-needed size and physicality to the Buffs, especially on defense. He is now the tallest member of Colorado’s roster, listed at 7 feet tall, edging out freshman center Eric Jacobsen by an inch.

Last year, the Buffs' defense struggled across the board, allowing 79.8 points per game on 45.9 percent from the field, both of which ranked in the bottom 275 out of 361 D1 programs. 

Niagu joins forwards David Gomez and Goc Malual as newcomers aimed at strengthening the Buffs’ defense and making up for the missing production from last year.