{
  "id": 12674847,
  "title": "LSU Still Lists Just Four Players on Eve of First Exhibition Game",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/lsu-still-lists-just-four-players-on-eve-of-first-exhibition-game",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-07T17:42:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Front Office Sports",
    "slug": "front-office-sports",
    "url": "https://frontofficesports.com/article/lsu-basketball-still-lists-just-four-players/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade prepares for Thursday night's preseason exhibition game against McNeese State, his roster remains short-handed, listing only four players. Austin Nunez, Abdi Bashir Jr., Mouhamed Dioubate, and Divine Ugochukwu are currently the only players officially on LSU's roster. Last month, Wade claimed to have assembled a full roster, naming and speaking about several players during a press conference. However, he has refused to release the complete list of players. An LSU spokesperson did not provide a list of available players for Thursday's game. Wade has expressed confidence in his team's ability to play regardless of the roster size, stating that they will go through with the game if they are selected to do so. In addition to the four listed players, nine others have either stated on social media or have deals indicating they will play for LSU this year, bringing the total number of confirmed players to 15. These players, including Donovan Dent, Skyy Clark, and international players Michael Ruzic, Saliou Niang, and Brice Dessert, have all signed revenue-sharing and NIL deals and have been practicing with the team since September. Three other players are also reported to be on the team: Gilad Levy of Israel, transfer Luke Stansbury, and incoming freshman Jordan Bender. The reasons why these players are not listed on the roster are unclear, with Wade stating that it is in the best interest of these players for certain reasons.",
  "summary": "LSU still doesn't list enough players to fill out a starting five.",
  "key_points": [
    "LSU men's basketball team lists only four players for preseason exhibition game.",
    "Four players include Austin Nunez, Abdi Bashir Jr., Mouhamed Dioubate, and Divine Ugochukwu.",
    "Nine other players confirmed to play, totaling 15 players for the game."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}