The Cincinnati Bearcats were already slated to have a strong roster heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season.
After going 19-16 last year, head coach Wes Miller and company added a trio of prospects who should make the team even more formidable this season. Cincinnati competes in the Big 12, and will need a strong group to withstand battles against the nation's top teams and players on a regular basis.
Fortunatly for Miller, the Bearcats brought in FAU transfer Baba Miller, UCF transfer Moustapha Thiam, five-star prospect Shon Abaev and, most recently, Spanish wing Jordi Rodríguez. Together the trio should be able to give Cincinnati a strong chance to make the tournament, while each player attempts to play their way into the 2026 NBA Draft.
Rodríguez joined the Bearcats roster in the past few days, officially signing with the team on Thursday.
Welcome to Cincinnati, Jordi Rodríguez! 🏠
📝: https://t.co/T8ywA3Jnz3 pic.twitter.com/eWVy7H3lBy
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) August 7, 2025
Born April 2004, Rodríguez will be 22-years-old at the time of the 2026 NBA Draft.
After spending time overseas and now getting a season of college basketball under his belt in one of the nation's top conferences, the wing prospect should have enough high-level experience to intrigue scouts if he performs well for Miller's team.
Listed at 6-foot-6, the Spanish prospect averaged 11.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in FIBA U20 EuroBasket competition last summer. Playing for Club Joventut Badalona in Spain's top professional league, Rodríguez shot 41% from 3-point range in 34 games during the 2024-2025 season.
If Rodríguez can continue to knock down triples consistently at the NCAA level, his size and perimeter shooting touch should garner attention from NBA teams in the upcoming draft class.
Rodríguez will have to compete with three other newcomers, though, for touches. Baba Miller, Rodrígeuz's teammate on the Spanish national team, Thiam and Abaev will likely see a good portion of the team's offensive usage.
Miller and Abaev will be more direct competition for Rodriguez, as all three play on the wing. Abaev, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Florida, was ranked the No. 22 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and earned McDonald's All-America honors.
Miller averaged 11.3 points, seven rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game last year at Florida Atlantic, shooting 48.6% from the field and 34.2% from beyond the arc.
While Miller has more experience at the collegiate level and Abaev was a more highly touted prospect than Rodríguez, the 21-year-old offers something that his competition hasn't developed yet: a consistent shot from deep.
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