THE FLATS – A 6-10 forward from Cēsis, Latvia, Ilja Kurucs has signed a grant-in-aid to join Georgia Tech men’s basketball, head coach Scott Cross announced on Friday.
“We are super excited about the addition of Ilja to our basketball roster,” said Cross. “Ilja will bring great toughness, grit and energy to our team. He is a very good athlete that knows how to play out of the pick and roll and does a great job sealing in the post. Ilja is an elite rebounder with very long arms that help him rebound out of his area. Our staff also believes that he is an ‘OKG: Our Kind of Guy’ that fits who we are as a basketball team!”
A talented international prospect, Kurucs brings a wealth of international playing experience from the Estonian-Latvian League, Latvian National Team and European Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit. This past season, Kurucs competed in the Estonian-Latvian league, playing for both Kalev and Liepajas. He appeared in 22 games with Liepajas, averaging 7.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Kurucs was recently selected to take part in the 2026 adidas Eurocamp in Italy this June.
In 2025, he took part in both the adidas NextGen EuroLeague and FIBA U18 Eurobasket in Serbia. With Zalgiris Kaunas, Kurucs helped win the 2025 NextGen EuroLeague championship, averaging 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, including a team-best 15 point-performance in the final. In seven games of the FIBA U18 Eurobasket, he contributed 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 points, averaging 25.2 minutes per game. Kurucs dropped in three games of double-figures in the tournament, highlighted by a 14-point, 17-rebound performance against Lithuania in the round of 16. He also played in the 2023 FIBA European U16 Championship.
Kurucs joins Cross’s signing class that consists of Kayden Allen (Long Island Lutheran/Lilburn, Ga.) Kaiden Bailey (Santa Margarita Catholic/Irvine, Calif.), Moustapha Diop (Overtime Elite/Thies, Senegal), Colby Garland (San Jose State/Magnolia, Ark.), Tylis Jordan (Ole Miss/Milledgeville, Ga.), Jackson McVey (Georgia/Ellijay, Ga.), Courtland Muldrew (Arlington, Texas), Victor Valdés (Troy/Monterrey, Mexico) and Nasir Whitlock (Lehigh/Brooklyn Park, Minn.).
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Scott Cross was named the 16th head coach in Georgia Tech men’s basketball program history on March 20, 2026. Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
