EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's basketball Head Coach Brian Barone has filled out his roster with a pair of international standouts.
Iwo Baganc, a 6-foot, 7-inch forward from Poland and Corentin Efono, a 6-4 guard from Belgium have each joined the Cougars.
Baganc comes to SIUE from the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City, Mexico. Bagnac averaged 12 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament earlier this summer.
"The addition of Iwo is exciting," Barone said. "He is a skilled player with size. His ability to shoot from the perimeter will be a great asset to our program. He comes from the well-respected NBA Academy where he played well against elite competition. He is another young player that has great experience that is willing to continue to develop."
"I chose SIUE because it is an amazing opportunity for me to make the next step in my basketball career and to develop my game," Bagnac said. "It's a great team with a great coaching staff and I will do everything I can to help the team reach its highest goals."
Efono has played four FIBA tournaments with Belgium over the last four years. In 2025 he averaged 8.4 points and 3.7 assists at the U20 EuroBasket tournament. In 2024 he averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists at the U18 EuroBasket tournament.
"Corentin Efono is an exciting addition to our program," Barone added. "He has a lot of high-level experience at a young age. He represented his national team the last few years and performed well. He will bring versatility to our back court and is another good young player in our program. I'm looking forward to having him be part of our team."
"I chose SIUE because I liked the coaching staff and the way the team is put together," Efono said. "A major factor is that they made me feel like family."
Bagnac and Efono bring the number of new signings since the season ended to six. Joining Oral Roberts transfer Darius Robinson, Mississippi State Transfer Harrison Alexander, Southern Indiana transfer Jack Campion and Nelson University transfer CJ Hall. Junior college transfer Tyler King (North Central Missouri) and true freshman Dehrio McCaskill (Vashon HS) signed with the Cougars in the fall.
SIUE is coming off the program's first Ohio Valley Conference championship and appearance in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The Cougars finished the year at 22-12, marking the most wins in a single season at the Division I level.
