VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota men's basketball head coach Eric Peterson has announced the signing of Melo Sanchez to the 2026-27 roster. The 6'4 guard transfers from Central Connecticut and has one year of eligibility remaining.

A sharpshooter from deep, Sanchez knocked down 59 3-pointers (2.0/game) for the Blue Devils in 2025-26 on a 42.8 percent. He averaged 9.6 points per game in 29 games played and had a season high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting with six 3-pointers against Le Mayne on February 19. Sanchez had 15 double-digit point games and nine contests with three or more triples. In a win over New Haven, he was nearly perfect from deep going 6-of-7 for 18 points.

Sanchez started his collegiate career at Hawai'i Pacific where he was named to the All-PacWest Second Team as a sophomore in 2023-24. He ranked ninth in the PacWest and led the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and was second with 70 made 3-pointers and 3-point percentage at 34.6%. He poured in a career-high 32 points against Slippery Rock with six 3-pointers. As a true freshman, Sanchez ranked seventh in the NCAA Dll with a 46.1 3-point percentage and totaled 77 made triples while averaging 14.4 points per game. He had four 30-point performances in his time at Hawai'i Pacific.

He transferred to Arkansas after two seasons at Hawaii Pacific where he appeared in two games.
 

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