James Salazar
Staff Writer
With another season in the books, USF men’s basketball has shifted its focus to building next year’s squad and has recruited three graduate transfer students with signed scholarship agreements to attend the University in the fall.
In a statement on the Dons Athletics’ official website, head coach Todd Golden said, “We are very excited to add these three graduate student-athletes to our program. Yauhen, Gabe, and Pat will raise the bar for our program immediately.” He continued, “All three are high-quality young men, college graduates, and have all achieved great individual basketball success at the Division I level. They will be great additions to our program both on and off the court.”
Yauhen Massalki, 6’10”, Forward, University of San Diego, San Diego, California
A four-time letter winner at USD, Massalki played in 97 career games for the Toreros, starting in 42 of those appearances. Over the course of his career, he shot 59.3% from the field and averaged 6.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Massalki also helped lead the Toreros to back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19 as well as an appearance in the 2019 National Invitation Tournament.
Gabe Stefanini, 6’3”, Guard, Columbia University, New York City, New York
Stefanini has not played since the 2018-2019 season due to a left foot injury sustained during his junior year compounded with the Ivy League’s cancellation of winter sports during his senior year. However, in his two years with the Columbia Lions, Stefanini played in 55 games and made 28 starts. He averaged 9.9 points per game and shot 43.5% from beyond the arc. Stefanini also earned Second Team All-Ivy League honors during his sophomore year.
Patrick Tapé, 6’10”, Forward, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Tapé spent three seasons at Columbia with Stefanini and one season at Duke where he became the program’s first-ever graduate transfer. Tapé, who was an All-Ivy League Honorable Mention honoree at Columbia, played in 69 career games. He shot 61.3% from the field and averaged 6.9 points per game and 5.1 rebounds. At Duke, Tapé played in 10 games for the Blue Devils and made one start.
