KAEO Abdullah Ahmed

[MikeUMA]

UM announced a portal signing: Abdullah Ahmed, 6'10" Center from Egypt
https://umassathletics.com/news/2026/5/ ... llah-ahmed

This guy has a path we've never seen before, in that he played in the G League.

Career:
2025-26: I guess he got a waiver to get college eligibility back, as he played with BYU
2024-25: Played 15 games with the G League's Westchester Knicks. Highlight reel
2023-24: Played 21 games with the W Knicks
2019 Won U16 African Championship

Single source for his stats: https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Ab ... ary/175525

BYU bio: https://byucougars.com/sports/mens-bask ... llah-ahmed
College stats: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... med-1.html
G League stats: https://gleague.nba.com/player/1641830/abdullah-ahmed

Didn't get a lot of time at BYU, just 12.3 minutes average over 20 games. He became eligible after the Fall semester ended.
Game log: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... melog/2026
Only took a total of 20 FGAs, hit 10. Trouble from the stripe at 5-12 (.417).
Pulled down 53 boards and blocked 27. Those are promising if you project to the Per 40 Minutes metric, but also has 5.7 fouls per 40.

Prior to the BYU commitment, he was getting some high-level offers https://www.verbalcommits.com/players/abdullah-ahmed

At the time of his signing, BYU coach Kevin Young said this for their press release:

“He’s an elite rim protector and rebounder with great size, length, and skilll," Young said. "We love his defensive mindset, his ability to run the floor and the energy he plays with around the basket. He’s going to help anchor our defense, finish plays at the rim and give us a real presence in the paint, along with skill that fits in great with our style of play.“

Some comments after he left BYU

Ahmed showed some flashes early with his shot-blocking ability, but ultimately never materialized close to what BYU had hoped. Ahmed brought little offensive game, was late on rotations, and didn’t come through with big rebounds when needed.

https://www.vanquishthefoe.com/byu-bask ... fer-portal
https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketb ... ?rdt=50265

Immediately I'm getting Malek Abdelgowad flashbacks, but that's admittedly just based on him being from Egypt and similar sized. Hopefully Frank sees some differences from the lessons learned from Malek.

Some of the meat in UM's release:

"Abdullah, or Bido as we all know him, is an elite shot blocker who brings a true big man presence," said head coach Frank Martin. "His vast experience playing international basketball and G League will be great for our team. He is a true low post player, who will fit perfectly in how we use our big men."

Last season with the Cougars, Ahmed appeared in 20 games, including one start while averaging 1.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. A big-time shot blocker, Ahmed owns the fourth-most five-block games in a season in program history (2) and fifth most four-block games (2). Ahmed's five-block efforts came against Arizona State and Colorado. He went on to finish with the 10th most blocks in a conference season in program history (25) and 16th most blocks per contest in a single season (1.35) in BYU's storied history.

The blocks ability makes me think of Shahid Muhammad. That dude swatted everything in his season before UM, but his season with us was a bust.

I wish Abdullah well and hope he succeeds here. BUT, this signing does not inspire confidence. Abdullah already has locker room material to prove me wrong.

[69MG]

I have no idea what to expect from him. When he was granted his waiver from the G League, he was down to BYU and Houston, 2 pretty strong programs. It does appear that he can block shots, as he did it against high level competition. That's the difference between him and Shahid. Shahid put up his gaudy shot block numbers against JuCo players and got pushed around in D1.

I'm still wondering how we score more than 65 points a game. Frank's kid and the kid from Iceland better be as good as their reputations. We lost 60 points a game due to graduations and transfers. I'm hoping the next recruit is a 6'5 SG who can give us 18 a game, 40% from 3 and 80% from the line. Not sure if there are any of these out there.

[Juice Stand]

Alright, welcome to the party, Bido. Like Mike, I'm getting major Rivera/Abdelgowad/Shahid vibes from this roster, and particularly this signing, but I'll give him a pass. He joined BYU midseason which was the AJ Dybantsa show. If he can get here and spend the summer session and the fall working with the coaches and his teammates, and play against a different level of competition than what BYU faced, he might turn out to be a real good piece.

I'm hoping the next recruit is a 6'5 SG who can give us 18 a game, 40% from 3 and 80% from the line. Not sure if there are any of these out there.

Yup, fingers crossed.

[inthescoop]

The fact that he got offers from Houston, UCLA, Auburn, and Louisville gives me hope

[Floyd]

^ then why would he choose UMass? Not for the money
Seems like we have 4 guys 6-10 to play the center spot. Someone (s) not gonna be happy

[69MG]

His offers all came in October, 2025 just after the NCAA changed their policy about allowing G-League players to play. 6 high major offers, so there must have been something about his G-League performance that got their attention. I'm sure money was a part of his decision, and maybe a real shot at a starting role. He may have been coming off the bench at the other schools.

From a NY Times article about the whole process of changing the rule and why players are going back to college:

The stark financial contrast is noteworthy. In the G League, players often sign contracts for less than $50,000. In college, a combination of NIL and rev-share has led athletes to regularly make more than six figures.

[inthescoop]

^ then why would he choose UMass? Not for the money
Seems like we have 4 guys 6-10 to play the center spot. Someone (s) not gonna be happy

These offers were prior to committing to BYU

[InnervisionsUMASS]

The BYU page has a nice little feature to help with learning how to pronounce the names of their players... Abdullah's name isn't difficult, but thought this was interesting none the less.

https://byucougars.com/sports/mens-bask ... llah-ahmed

There's a little "play" button on his bio page and he states his name.




I don't know if he'll do well here, but I do wonder if his playing time and production were diminished a bit due to playing with/behind AJ. We shall see.

[Juice Stand]

...I do wonder if his playing time and production were diminished a bit due to playing with/behind AJ. We shall see.

Certainly could be that, but I think midseason transfers have a hard time getting acclimated in general. Can anyone think of any midseason additions that came in and played well for us? Jesse Morgan comes to mind, but it looks like he sat out the fall semester for (academic?) eligibility issues. Dibaji Walker was a midseason addition in 2019/20 and did a nice job.

I think having the full offseason and being able to play on day one should benefit Ahmed.

[deke]

Can anyone think of any midseason additions that came in and played well for us?

Ok, I know he sat out the transfer year and still probably worked out with the team/coaches, but couldn't help it.

[kdogg8173]

Wasn’t Dante Milligan mid season addition?

[Floyd]

Can anyone think of any midseason additions that came in and played well for us?

Ok, I know he sat out the transfer year and still probably worked out with the team/coaches, but couldn't help it.

Will "The Thrill" Herndon. Those baseline lobs where he came out of nowhere for those dunks were electric. Talk about igniting a crowd. That's what this team needs

[minutefanjsf]

Wasn’t Dante Milligan mid season addition?

yes.

[TheInsider]

Can anyone think of any midseason additions that came in and played well for us?

Ok, I know he sat out the transfer year and still probably worked out with the team/coaches, but couldn't help it.

Will "The Thrill" Herndon. Those baseline lobs where he came out of nowhere for those dunks were electric. Talk about igniting a crowd. That's what this team needs

Every team in the country needs a guy like him. They just dont come around very often. 6'3 220 and built like a linebacker that will catch a lob over your 6'10 center. The stuff he pulled off on a consistent basis was mind-blowing.

[GOODY]

I had more fun watching him then almost anyone else except the Doctor of course !