CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team announced the signing of Sergio Nanu (F/C, 6-9 210, Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic Academy) to a National Letter of Intent. Nanu is the second signee for the Golden Eagles, joining Zach Westphal (G, 6-2 155, West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo Sheyenne H.S.).

"I am excited to announce the addition of Sergio Nanu to our program," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "Sergio played for a close friend and college teammate of mine Jose Winston while he was at Kenosha St. Joseph High School. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Winston. Every time Coach Winston and I would talk over the past few years, he would always talk about Sergio and how we need to get him to Minnesota Crookston. Sergio has had a rough go as far as injuries go and our first priority is to get him healthy. Sergio was heavily recruited before getting injured. He will redshirt next season in order to get him healthy. We are excited to bring in a versatile big that can play inside and out and really fits what we do and the type of person we try to bring in. Sergio comes from great parents and we welcome his entire family to the Golden Eagle Basketball Family."

Nanu adds size to the post position for the Golden Eagles heading into the 2018-19 season. He is a player with a great frame and potential to add strength and size moving forward. He also has the ability to stretch the floor with his shot. Nanu will join a post core that returns NSIC Defensive Player of the Year Gable Smith (R-Sr., F/C, Lodi, Wis.), along with Chase Johnson (R-So., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.), Josh Collins (Sr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) and Javier Nicolau (Sr., F/C, Castellon, Spain). In addition, Joey Meyer (R-Fr., F/C, Shullsburg, Wis.) will add competition in the post after missing last season due to injury. Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) and Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) also have the ability to play at a forward spot.

The Golden Eagles return 13 players from last season's roster as they have the strongest core returning that the program has had in Coach Weisse's time at Minnesota Crookston. Leading the way for Minnesota Crookston is returning D2CCA All-America honorable mention pick Harrison Cleary (Jr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who led the league in scoring at 24.2 points per game. Cleary also led the nation in free throw percentage at 96.0 percent and was an All-NSIC First Team pick. The Golden Eagles also return Smith, who finished second nationally in blocked shots at 3.76 blocks per shot. The Golden Eagles also return experienced starters in Ben Juhl (So., G, Clive, Iowa) and Knickerbocker along with four other players who notched significant minutes, two redshirts from last season and two other players who saw time on the court.

Nanu continues the pipeline for Minnesota Crookston to Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles now have five players from the Badger State with Cleary, Meyer, Johnson, Smith and Nanu. Minnesota Crookston has great ties to the state as Coach Weisse is originally from Oshkosh, Wis., while assistant coach Bryan Beamish is a Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., product and assistant coach Krayton Nash is originally from Mequon, Wis. The Golden Eagles have always had the philosophy to focus on top players in the region and that has continued this season with Westphal from North Dakota and Nanu from Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles currently are represented by 14 players from the region with Nicolau from Castellon, Spain as the only player not from the central region.

Sergio Nanu (F/C, 6-9 210, Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic Academy)
Nanu played in five games as a senior before missing the rest of the season due to injury. He tallied 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for St. Joseph Catholic Academy. He had a season-high nine points against Racine St. Catherine's. As a junior, Nanu notched 9.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for St. Joseph Catholic Academy. He tallied 18 points against Dominican, including going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Nanu put up 14 points on 7-of-14 from the field against Martin Luther. He helped his team to the WIAA Regional Final as a junior.

The son of Corina and Dan Nanu. He plans to major in biology at Minnesota Crookston. He was born Feb. 10, 2000.

"I am very excited that Sergio Nanu will be attending the University of Minnesota Crookston," said St. Joseph head coach Jose Winston. "Sergio is dependable, trustworthy and driven. As a coach, Sergio was one of my favorite players because of his work ethic. He always arrived early and he always stayed late. Sergio is a kid with a very high ceiling and he will continue to advance his skill set being able to learn from Coach Dan Weisse. When Sergio shared with me that he would be continuing his basketball career at Minnesota Crookston with Coach Weisse, I knew he was making the right decision. I have known Dan for over 15 years and he has always been a leader. Coach Weisse is not just a basketball coach, he prepares his players to be successful on the court and as productive citizens off the court."