A record number of French players in NCAA in 2025-2026: Nearly 70 players, but who are they?

NCAA - Ilias Kamardine, Kezza Giffa, Yohan Traoré, Roman Domon, Halvine Dzellat-Diakeno... Nearly 70 French players are committed to NCAA Division I programs for the 2025-2026 season. Here's a complete list.

By@Gabriel Pantel-Jouve

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A record number of French players in NCAA in 2025-2026: Nearly 70 players, but who are they?

Mar 20, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; High Point Panthers guard Kezza Giffa (1) brings the ball upcourt against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Photo Credit : © Eric Canha-Imagn Images

College teams are preparing for their 2025-2026 season, with exhibition games already underway. More than ever, these NCAA teams include French players. At the start of this season, there are nearly 70 players, exactly 68, with possibly a few overlooked despite reviewing all 361 NCAA rosters.

The introduction of name, image, and likeness (NIL) has revolutionized college sports, which was previously 100% amateur (at least officially). With the French market known for its potential talents, college programs have focused on recruiting every possible French talent. This is how established professional players like Ilias Kamardine and Roman Domon find themselves in NCAA at 22 and 20 years old respectively. Alongside players who have been established in the United States for several years, like Kezza Giffa or Yohan Traoré, they form a true diaspora that should continue to grow in coming years. We’ve listed all 68 French players one by one in the tables below.

French players are also in NCAA II and NAIA, among others

Additionally, there are several hundred more players competing in NCAA II (second division) or NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), such as Jakob Milling (brother of Kane and son of Kyle), former Orleans point guard Maxence Massadila, or lesser-known players like Parisian Lu-Ca Ntamag Mahop, Saint-Quentin’s Mathieu Cardot, Bordeaux’s Raphael Dupouy, former Nanterre player Maxime Ekono who is teammates with Robin Discamps (ex-Toulouse, Boulazac etc.) at Lincoln (MO), Rennes’ Anthony Djami, Noah Fassinut (ex Les Sables) and Raphael Gay (ex-Clermont, Vichy, Limoges) who team up at Central Methodist, Toulouse’s Yanis Mahoundo, Yaya Sidibe and former Nantes player Jakob Vigneault, to name a few.

But before listing them all, we focused on the 68 French players currently engaged in DI. Here they are:

[Tables content translated and preserved with same structure]

Please report any errors or omissions in the comments section of this article or at the following email address ([email protected])

Gabriel Pantel-Jouve

Gabriel Pantel-Jouve est le fondateur et rédacteur en chef de BeBasket, qu’il anime depuis 2010 (sous le nom de Catch & Shoot). Passé par l’Ecole Publique de Journaliste de Tours, puis deux universités en Amérique du Nord, il a pu développer son expertise sur le basket français, de la Ligue Nationale aux divisions amateurs, durant ces 20 dernières années. En parallèle, il est aussi engagé dans le développement de clubs du côté de Montpellier.