WITH plenty of paths laid ahead for his exciting career, promising young talent Roman Siulepa has chosen the collegiate route, heading over to the NCAAM to join the Pittsburgh Panthers in the coming seasons.

Joining fellow talents Luke Fennell and Jacob Furphy in heading over to the United States, Siulepa will be one of Australia’s most exciting exports, with the Queensland native leaving his home country having already made a name for himself as one to watch for the future.

A multi-sport athlete, Siulepa turned down a career in Rugby to pursue basketball, and has been able to thrive at junior competitions around the country. He has done his best work at the National Championships in recent years, playing a starring role for Queensland and acting as the central figure on both ends of the floor.

Once poised to be an NBL Next Star with the Tasmania JackJumpers, Siulepa never ended up joining Australia’s professional competition, although it certainly still would have been an option for the future had he wanted to stay on Aussie shores.

Instead, he is heading overseas to join the collegiate system, which has recently seen Aussies thrive, with the most recent success story proving Tyrese Proctor, who was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers at the 2025 NBA Draft in the second round following a strong career with the Duke Blue Devils.

Recently, Siulepa is well-known for his international exploits, having burst onto the scene by winning the MVP award for the 2022 Basketball Without Borders Asia camp, and most recently led the Aussies to a sixth-placed finish at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. During that tournament, he averaged 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and earned all-second-team honours.

As a player, Siulepa is a physical forward, who stands an impressive six-foot-seven and is not afraid to throw his weight around in the paint. He uses his size and physicality to crash the glass consistently, constantly proving a double-double threat on a nightly basis. The Aussie is relentless when driving into the paint, and can knock down a jumper as well, while his defence is built on the energy he plays with, as he can explode into a two-way threat at any given moment.

Siulepa joins Henry Lau as the two Aussies on Pittsburgh’s roster, with the latter a Sydney native who is also a forward and is known for his inside scoring and rebounding, and the pair are the first Aussie signings in the program’s history.

Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel said the team was eager to sign Siulepa for a while, and is confident he will fit in nicely to the team.

“Roman has the strength, athleticism, and skill set to be an impact player,” said “He is an excellent rebounder on both ends of the floor, attacks the rim with force off the dribble, and has a nice shooting stroke from beyond the three-point arc. Roman plays the game with an energy and aggression that fits in well with the team we are building here at Pitt.”