Federiko signs with Red Raider basketball program

Release Provided By Wes Bloomquist Texas Tech Athletics

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland has officially announced the signing of transfer Federiko Federiko who played the past two seasons at Pitt where he averaged 5.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. A 6-foot-11, 225-pound center, he transfers to play for the Red Raiders with one season of eligibility remaining.

“I’m super excited to come to Texas and play for Coach McCasland,” Federiko said. “He’s an amazing coach that I felt a connection with from the first call, along with the amazing staff he has. Texas Tech is a program with a winning culture that I want to be a part of. The players welcomed me with open arms, and the group’s connection showed that everyone had great personalities.”

Federiko is coming off a junior season where he started 26 of 33 games and produced 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 points per game. He had two 10-rebound performances, including against NC State in ACC play and had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double against North Carolina A&T in a game where he also had four blocked shots. Federiko finished the season shooting 65-for-102 (63.7%) from the field to lead the team in field-goal percentage and also had 32 assists and 17 steals as a junior.

As a sophomore at Pitt, Federiko averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and had 1.7 blocks per game and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and ACC Honor Roll. He scored his career-high with 22 points against North Florida and had a career-high 14 rebounds against Sacred Heart during his first season playing for the Panthers. He also had a team-best shooting percentage of 66.7% after going 94-for-141 from the field. He was third in the ACC in blocked shots and finished the season with eight double-figure scoring performances. Federiko received votes for ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC All-Defensive Team.

“I believe my great personality will contribute positively, and I hope to help the team improve defensively,” Federiko said. “Offensively, I’ll be more aggressive within Coach Grant’s system. My experience and leadership will be valuable assets to the team.”

Born in Cairo, Egypt and raised in Helsinki, Finland, Federiko represented Finland in the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship in international play and played his final year of high school at First Love Christian Academy in Washington, Pennsylvania. His collegiate career began at Northern Oklahoma where he earned NJCAA All-America honorable mention after averaging 11.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He finished his one season in junior college with 10 double-doubles.

Federiko is the second player to sign with Texas Tech this offseason, following Kevin Overton who signed on April 17 after playing his freshman season at Drake. The Red Raiders are coming off a season where they advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished tied for third in the Big 12 standings in McCasland’s first season leading the program. The Red Raiders were 15-2 at home and reached the Big 12 Championship semifinals before falling to NC State in the NCAA Tournament to end its season at 23-11 overall. It was the 17th time in program history with 20 or more wins and the sixth time in eight tournaments to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

WES BLOOMQUIST