UNM LOBOS BASKETBALL
Lobos add freshman Hall, St. John's transfer Suljanovic
UNM lands California guard and Austrian forward, bringing 2026-27 roster to six players
The Lobos officially added two more names to the 2026-27 men's basketball roster on Wednesday.
Dax Hall, a 6-foot-1 senior point guard at Santa Fe Christian high school in Solana Beach, California, announced on Wednesday he has signed with the UNM Lobos next season — even as his older brother Jake Hall’s future with the team remains in limbo.
Meanwhile, 6-8 forward Imran Suljanovic, whose decision to transfer to UNM was leaked by the website On3.com on Monday night, officially made his personal announcement on Wednesday, becoming the second native of Austria in the past week to announce their plans to join the Lobos (6-9 Beni Schuch announced last Tuesday).
Both Dax Hall and Suljanovic will have four seasons of playing eligibility remaining — Hall as an incoming freshman (he gets five years to play four) and Suljanovic as a freshman who just used a medical redshirt season at the Big East's St. John's, where he dislocated a knee cap in an October practice and missed the entire season.
Dax Hall is more playmaker and pass-first than his sharpshooting older brother, who is currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Welcome to UNM ! The CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year joins the Lobo freshman class!
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB)
Dax Hall is the 2026 CIF San Diego section Player of the Year, leading his team to 26-5 record while averaging team-highs in scoring (27.0), rebounding (7.5), assists (7.3) and steals (3.4).
"He sets the table first," his high school coach and former University of San Diego star Johnny Dee told the Journal on Wednesday. "He initiates the offense, he runs the offense and he makes the right pass. He makes the right read pretty much every time, which is so fun to coach. ...
"I've always thought that once this kid gets to the college level, with the spacing the way it is and with the right coach and a good big who he could throw the ball to up over the rim, that's gonna unlock a lot more of his play making ability."
Suljanovic is another "playmaker" type in his versatility, at least according to Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, who flew overseas last April to recruit Suljanovic in person to play for the Johnies.
Welcome to New Mexico Imran Suljanovic! The 6-8 Austrian comes to UNM after spending last season at St. John’s!
— Lobo Basketball (@UNMLoboMBB)
"I was watching Imran on film and had to see him in person," Rick Pitino said in a story posted by the school last April. "I traveled outside Bologna, where he impressed me more with his overall game than what I watched on film. He shoots, passes, handles and is extremely agile. (Imran has) great potential."
Suljanovic averaged 22.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in seven games he played in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament in 2024 and has played on the Austrian Senior National team. He did both along with Schuch, a versatile 6-9 forward from Austria who told the Journal on Wednesday is good friends with Suljanovic from their time together on the Austria National Team.
UNM now has six players expected to be in the 2026-27 roster: returning guards Uriah Tenette (5-11 point guard) and Chris Howell (6-6 guard), transfers Hudson Mayes (6-5 forward, UC San Diego) and Suljanovic (6-8 forward, St. John's), and incoming freshmen Dax Hall (6-1 point guard) and Schuch (6-9).
The NCAA's transfer portal window — which gives a player the possibility to transfer out — closes on April 21. Players do not need to be signed to their new teams by then, but any player not in the portal by that time cannot transfer and still be eligibly for next season.
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) .