Meet the 2026 WVU Basketball Team: Exciting Center Mouhamed Sylla

After a rocky season from the WVU basketball front court, head coach Ross Hodge was tasked with completely overhauling the position. This included the signing of former Georgia Tech center Mouhamed Sylla.

Sylla was a highly-touted recruit, ranked No. 29 in his class going into his freshman year at Georgia Tech. He received high praise from then-head coach Damon Stoudemire, who predicted he’d be “one of the best freshmen in the country” prior to the 2025-26 season.

The 6-foot-10 big was off to a hot start, becoming just the third ACC player in the last 30 years to record a double-double in his first three career games. In his first game, he brought down the most rebounds by a Georgia Tech freshman in his debut with 15.

He averaged 9.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game through 16 appearances before his season was cut short by an ankle injury. Sylla was fully cleared for all basketball related activities on July 6.

One aspect of Sylla’s game that stands out on film is his aggression in the paint on offense. He consistently looks for opportunities to score, even fighting through double-teams to find the rim. His effort brought him to the free throw line often, but he shot just 42.9% on 49 attempts.

His 7.2 rebounds per game helped the Yellowjackets control the ball and create second-chance opportunities with two offensive rebounds per game.

Sylla also plays fearless on defense, as he averaged 1.2 blocks per game.

As a young and promising center, there’s no reason to think Sylla could not be a high-impact player on both ends of the floor for WVU basketball this season.

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