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Pitt basketball | Panthers land 3 commitments in portal
TL;DR
The Pitt men's basketball team secured three new commitments from the transfer portal: Jalil Bethea from Alabama, Dominique Diomande from Brigham Young, and Jonathan Powell from North Carolina. Bethea, a former McDonald's All-American, is noted for his scoring ability, while Diomande brings international experience from France.
The Pitt men's basketball team landed three commitments through the transfer portal this weekend.
Former Alabama guard Jalil Bethea, Brigham Young redshirt freshman forward Dominique Diomande and North Carolina sophomore guard Jonathan Powell committed to Pitt.
Bethea is a 6-foot-5 guard from Philadelphia and Archbishop Wood High School. He was a McDonald's All-American who won the slam dunk contest. Bethea, the 2024 Pennsylvania Gatorade and Class 6A player of the year, averaged 3.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game during his lone season at Alabama. Bethea competed in 26 contests. As a freshman at Miami, Bethea averaged 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 31 games. He tallied a career-high 21 points against Syracuse. Bethea is Archbishop Wood's all-time leading scorer with 1,693 points.
Diomande is a 6-7 native of France. In 2025-26, he appeared in 24 games, averaging 7.2 minutes per contest. He averaged 1.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. Diomande scored a career-high nine points in his collegiate debut against Holy Cross. He will have three years of eligibility.
He enrolled at Washington in January 2025 and redshirted. Diomande played in 26 games for ADA Blois in the France-ProA U21 league. He averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He made 51.9% of his shots from the field.
Powell is a 6-6 guard from Ohio with two years of eligibility. He averaged 4.8 points in 16.3 minutes per game for the Tar Heels in 2025-26. He one or more 3-pointer in 24 games with multiple treys during 10 contests. North Carolina was 10-0 when he hit multiple 3-pointers in a game. Powell tallied 17 points against South Carolina-Upstate, 15 against Virginia Tech and 12 versus Syracuse. He made a season-high four treys versus the Hokies. Powell was fourth on the team with 38 triples. Thirty-eight of his 53 field goals were 3-pointers. He shot 36.5% from beyond the arc, the third-highest percentage on the team.
In 2024-25, Powell played at West Virginia. He started the final 23 games for the Mountaineers, who won 19 games overall and went 10-10 in the Big 12. Powell averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game. He was second on the team in 3-pointers with 64 and fourth in scoring average. Powell scored in double figures 15 times with a season-high 17 against North Carolina Central and Oklahoma State. At Centerville High School, he averaged 19.7 points per game as a senior and was Ohio's Division I player of the year.
Guards Nojus Indrusaitis and Amari Witherspoon, who were members of the 2025-26 team, entered the transfer portal. Forward Roman Siulepa committed to Mississippi. Signee Anthony Felesi, a 6-6 wing from Utah, decommitted from Pitt. Forward Chase Foster and guard Jermal Jones Jr. plan to play at Pitt after signing in November.
Q&A
Who are the new players committed to Pitt basketball from the transfer portal?
The new commitments are Jalil Bethea, Dominique Diomande, and Jonathan Powell.
What are Jalil Bethea's achievements in high school and college basketball?
Jalil Bethea was a McDonald's All-American, the 2024 Pennsylvania Gatorade player of the year, and the all-time leading scorer at Archbishop Wood with 1,693 points.
How did Dominique Diomande perform in the France-ProA U21 league?
Dominique Diomande averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while playing for ADA Blois in the France-ProA U21 league.
