Dayton adds Pitt transfer to 2023-24 roster

Santos becomes the 12th scholarship player on Dayton’s 2023-24 roster. UD still has one scholarship open. Coach Anthony Grant said earlier this month, just before the visit by Santos, the coaches were “still actively recruiting.” Last season, Dayton left one of its 13 scholarships open.

Santos averaged 1.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 7.3 minutes last season for Pittsburgh. He appeared in 25 games but did not see action in six of the team’s last eight games.

The Panthers finished 24-12 and beat Mississippi State in the First Four at UD Arena. Santos did not play in that game but did play four minutes in the next round in a victory against Iowa State. He did not see action in the second round in a loss to Xavier.

As a freshman, Santos averaged 2.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game in 25 appearances. Over two seasons, Santos made 16 of 81 3-pointers (19.8%).

Dayton recruited Santos when he was in high school. He received a scholarship offer from UD in April 2020.

At the time of his commitment to Pitt in April 2021, Santos was a three-star recruit who ranked 227th in the class of 2021, according to 247Sports.com. He originally was in the class of 2020 but reclassified to 2021 when he left Geneva High School in the western suburbs of Chicago to attend Loomis Chaffee in Connecticut starting in the 2018-19 season.

Santos was a teammate of former Dayton guard R.J. Blakney, who will play at Old Dominion next season, while at Loomis Chaffee. Santos missed half of his sophomore season at Loomis Chaffee after tearing his ACL. He averaged 17.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game as a junior at Loomis Chaffee. His team played only three games in his final season of high school because of the pandemic.

When Santos signed with Pitt, coach Jeff Capel said, “Nate is an exciting player with a knack for putting the ball in the basket. He has shown the ability to score at all three levels in a very good high school basketball league. We like his shooting ability, size and competitiveness. Nate’s desire to be a terrific teammate and impact winning in any way possible will be a great addition to the culture we are building. We look forward to helping him continue to develop in our program.”

Santos is the fourth transfer to join Dayton’s roster since the 2022-23 season ended in March. He’s the seventh member of the 2023 recruiting class, which also includes:

• Marvel Allen, a 6-foot-4 guard from Montverde Academy and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., committed to Dayton on May 8.

• Isaac Jack, a 6-11 center, committed to Dayton on April 24 after one season at Buffalo.

• Javon Bennett, a 5-11 guard, committed to Dayton on April 10 after one season at Merrimack.

• Enoch Cheeks, a 6-3 guard who played the last three seasons at Robert Morris University, committed to Dayton on March 30.

• Vasilije Erceg, a 6-foot-10 forward from Novi Sad, Serbia, committed to Dayton on March 24.

• Jaiun Simon, a 6-7 forward from Mableton, Ga., committed to Dayton on Oct. 28 and signed in November.