Men’s Basketball Announces Signing of Giovanni Santiago
4/19/2019 9:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio- Kent State University head coach Rob Senderoff has announced the signing of Giovanni Santiago to the 2019 recruiting class.
Santiago was born and raised in Puerto Rico and came to the United States to pursue his dream of playing in the NCAA. He starred at Cincinnati Hughes High School and played his junior and senior year. As a senior, he averaged 15.1 points per game and led the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference in assists. Santiago anchored the Big Red to their second-straight 20-win season and first District Championship appearance since 2013.
The 6-0 guard recently completed his participation in Hargrave Military's prep program. At Hargrave, Santiago averaged over 12 points and five assists per game.
"I'm really excited to add Gio to our roster. He comes from a great program at Hargrave and had been well coached by Lee Martin," said Senderoff. "Gio has a high basketball IQ and has a great vision for the game. He will add depth to our backcourt. Gio has a great story coming to the U.S. to pursue his dreams of playing in the NCAA and we are excited that he is going to be a part of our program at Kent State."
Recently, Santiago earned a spot on Puerto Rico's National team and averaged 11.8 points and 5.3 assists. Puerto Rico went 3-3 and finished fourth, but Santiago turned heads coming off the bench for head coach Omar Axel Gonzalez, averaging 11.8 points and 5.3 assists per game. He scored a tournament-high 17 points against the United States and posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists in a 14-point win over the Dominican Republic.
