LAS CRUCES, N.M. – With four months left before the Aggies take the floor, Head Coach Jason Hooten's main focus in recruiting is bolstering the front line. On Tuesday, Coach Hooten announced the signing of Australian big man Yaak Yaak.
 
Yaak brings with him an impressive list of junior career accomplishments, having represented Australia in the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup among other notable achievements.
 
Yaak Yaak | Fr. | 6-11 | C | Adelaide, Australia | NBA Global Academy

• Joins the Aggie program after spending two years as a scholarship holder with the NBA Global Academy – an elite training center located at Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence at the Australia Institute of Sport in Canberra, Australia.
• At the NBA Global Academy, Yaak trained under the supervision of NBA-hired coaches along with Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence team and coaches. The NBA Global Academy also helped produce current Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey and New Orleans Pelicans forward Dyson Daniels.
• Additionally, Yaak was selected to attend numerous Basketball Australia Development camps and has won numerous state championships at the club and high school level.
• In 2021, Yaak represented Australia in the U19 FIBA Basketball World Cup held in Latvia despite being only 17 years old. While playing for the Land Down Under, Yaak averaged 10.8 minutes of action while scoring 3.0 points and grabbing 2.3 rebounds per game.
• Yaak was also selected to represent the state of South Australia in U16s, U18s and U20s Australian Junior Championships.
• During the recruiting process, Yaak also received interest from BYU and Iowa State among others.

QUOTABLE | Head Coach Jason Hooten
"We are thrilled to announce the signing of Yaak Yaak. Yaak has had a great start to his young career in the Australian NBA Global Academy. We're very lucky to have him in our program now and can't wait to work with him on a daily basis. For his size and height, Yaak is very skilled and can do so many different things on the floor. As time goes on, Yaak will continue to grow and mature into a great Aggie basketball player!"