By Samantha Clark
When Rider men’s basketball’s 2025-26 season tips off, one of the ten fresh faces will also be one of the most experienced. From junior college to southern schools, senior forward Mohamad Diallo has played collegiate basketball across three divisions before stepping foot in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. His constant movement and continued adaptability brings a new level of leadership and experience to the Broncs.
A nomadic player
After graduating from Southwest DeKalb High School in Decatur, Georgia in 2020, most of Diallo’s original collegiate offers had fallen through due to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, so he took his talents to Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas.
As a result of the pandemic, Diallo’s collegiate career in basketball did not fully begin until the 2021-22 season. With not many players left on the team, he stepped into a bigger role on the court, starting in all 19 games, averaging 10.3 points a game and leading the team in rebounds, making waves as a fresh name on the roster.
Then, Diallo transferred to play for Morehouse College, a Division II school in Atlanta, where he started in 20 out of 26 games, achieving two double-digit scoring matchups.
Born and raised in the city, Diallo enjoyed being close to home. Diallo acknowledged how his family “did not come from a lot,” which motivated him after moving around so much. He realized that this game could change his and his family’s lives. However, Morehouse was not his forever school.
“It wasn’t really what I was looking for coming straight out of a junior college,” Diallo said. “At the time, I was young, I didn’t really understand how the whole transferring stuff worked.”
His search for something better took him just 20 minutes away, to Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, another Division II school. In the 2023-24 season, the team won six games, only three in the Peach Belt Conference, pushing Diallo to move schools for the fourth time in four years.
Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Florida was Diallo’s final stop before becoming a Bronc. As a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, FMU was the last step of the ladder for him to play at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level.
“I learned a lot from the coaches there. The connection, it was just better over there. We really bonded like family,” Diallo said.
After adjusting to four different schools, Diallo struggled with the decision of continuing to play college basketball. However, the sport he played since sixth grade sparked a dream to play in the NCAA one day, so he took his talents to Lawrenceville.
Adapting and adjusting
Associate Head Coach Dino Presley and Assistant Coach Kim Waiters went to Atlanta to watch Diallo play in summer 2025 where they looked to fulfill his hopes of playing Division I basketball.
“I thought he was a humbled young man looking for an opportunity,” Head Coach Kevin Baggett said. “He wanted the experience of trying to play at the Division I level, and after talking to him about what he was looking for, it was just about coming somewhere where he could get better.”
Competing at four schools prior to Rider, Diallo brings a heightened level of experience that the program was looking for this season. With only four out of the fifteen players on the roster being returning Broncs, Baggett aimed to add veteran players to the team ahead of the 2025-26 season, a trait he found in Diallo.
Despite the challenges of adapting to different coaches, teammates and school cultures, Diallo’s experience with change has allowed him to be comfortable in the discomfort, adjusting and transforming with each new chapter.
Bringing equal amounts of leadership, experience and humor, Diallo brings a sense of childhood nostalgia to the collegiate court. According to Baggett, “he’s like a little kid playing around with his teammates,” with the “kid-in-him” coming out during preseason practices.
Even with his child-like humor and carefree personality, Diallo has a sponge-like work ethic, always working to better himself through listening, learning and development. Earning his spot as the team’s projected starting center through his drive and effort on the court, Baggett sees Diallo as becoming a stand-out player in and out of the Alumni Gym.
Baggett said, “I just think that he’s gonna be somebody that people are gonna want to come and see, and they’re gonna enjoy watching his development throughout the year… I think people are gonna be presently surprised by his talent.”