UF freshman center Caterina Piatti, by way of Italy.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Scandiano, a town in Italy with roughly 30,000 residents, rests at the foot of the scenic Apennine Mountains. To the west lies France, about 250 miles away, while Switzerland is situated approximately 300 miles to the north.
Gainesville, however, is much farther — nearly 5,000 miles from Scandiano. Yet Caterina Piatti, a native of the Italian city, shares that the University of Florida — and in particular the recognizable Gator head emblem — is “very well known” back home.
“Very famous, yes,” Piatti explained in her improving English. “If you are a [regular] person, maybe you do not know. But if you are a player or athlete, yes, you know about Florida.”
Her community in Scandiano will soon have even more reason to recognize the connection. Standing at 6-foot-4, Piatti built her reputation competing for Italy’s FIBA U18 and U20 national squads, including the 2024 team that secured a bronze medal at the 2024 Women’s EuroBasket Championships. After years representing Italy in its traditional green, white, and red, she now transitions to the University of Florida, where she will don the Gators’ orange and blue as part of the Southeastern Conference this season.
Although Caterina Piatti is still adjusting to life in the United States, her on-court transition has gone smoothly. Her instincts, technique, and confidence around the basket have already positioned her as the likely starting center for the University of Florida. As the 2025–26 Gators prepare for their season debut on November 3 against North Florida at Exactech Arena/O’Connell Center, Piatti is expected to play a central role.
Communication has not posed an issue.
“Basketball is a different language in itself,” Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley said.
That perspective benefits the 2025–26 Gators, whose lineup of 12 includes seven international athletes. The team represents seven nations across four continents, creating a diverse mix of cultures within the program.
“We say the United Nations is right here,” UF assistant coach Jackie Moore said. “We have all kinds of flags and all kinds of languages and accents.”
Charting the Gators: UF's 2025-26 international players
| Player | Pos / Ht / Class | From | Etc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emilija Mills Dakic | Guard / 5-10 / Freshman | Australia | Attended Australia Centre of Excellence same basketball program that produced Alex Condon. Won '24 gold medal with U18 FIBA Asia Cup team. |
| Sarah Deng | Guard / 5-10 / Junior | Australia | Transfer from Eastern Arizona Community College after helping team to national JuCo semifinals. Defensive PoY in her conference. |
| Alexia Dzeko | Forward / 5-11 / Grad | Switzerland | 2023 national two-year player of year at South Georgia Technical; averaged 5.0 pts, 1.9 reb pg. |
| Gift Ezekiel | Center / Freshman / 6-1 | Nigeria | Will provide additional depth in the post. |
| Daviane Mindoudi Ongbakahoumb | G / Sophomore / 6-1 | Spain | Late addition to '24-25 squad averaged 6.2 minutes in 23 games. Will play bigger role this season. |
| Caterina Piatti | C / Freshman / 6-4 | Italy | Considered one of the top forward prospects in Europe. Will start at center. |
| Nyadieng Nidi Yiech | Forward / Freshman / 6-3 | Canada | Top 75-ranked prospect in her class. |
Having a roster with international representation is not unusual in today’s college basketball scene. Now in her fifth year guiding the Gators, Kelly Rae Finley has consistently coached teams with at least two and sometimes as many as five international athletes. She and her staff are well-versed in bridging cultural differences.
For example, last season they had to explain — and later remind — freshman guard Daviane Mindoudi Ongbakahoumb, who came to Florida by way of Spain, that her usual siesta hours coincided with practice time.
“We're around teammates who are in the same boat,” said freshman guard Emilija Mills Dakic from Australia. “We're able to lean on each other when you need to because you have so many teammates going through the same thing.”
What sets this year’s group apart is that all 12 players only arrived on campus together at the start of the fall semester. Many of the international athletes spent the summer either at home or competing with their national teams. While that provided valuable experience, it also delayed opportunities to build team chemistry both on and off the court.
To address this, Finley and her staff have emphasized intentional efforts to accelerate bonding.
“It's really important, every day, to do something to create a common language because everybody's experience the last 18 years of their life has been unique and different,” Finley said. “What something looks like in Minnesota is not the same as what it looks like in Italy, and what it looks like in Italy is not going to look the same in Nigeria. The time we've invested in has been well spent and our chemistry is going to be built through that time. In our practices, you'll see a lot of up and down, you'll see mistakes, but also a lot of learning each other in what we do.”
Florida brings back five players, including three starters, from last year’s squad that finished 19-18 and advanced to the WBIT semifinals in Indianapolis. Point guard Liv McGill lived up to her billing as the program’s highest-rated recruit, setting a freshman scoring record while averaging 16.5 points, 5.2 assists, and earning SEC All-Freshman Team recognition. Junior guard Laila Reynolds (10.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and graduate forward Alexia Dizeko (5.0 ppg) also return as starters. Additionally, 6-foot-4 sophomore Me'Arah O'Neal (4.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 13.8 minutes per game) is aiming to step into a larger role in her second season.
Caterina Piatti is expected to play a major role for the Gators — in every sense of the word.
Ra Shaya Kyle, who held the starting center position for much of the past three seasons, departed for Miami last spring after averaging 12.1 points and 7.8 rebounds. Her exit created a significant opening in the paint, one that Florida is counting on Piatti to step into as a freshman, only a few months into her time in the United States.
“She’s a different type of player [than Kyle],” Moore said. “We can move her around. Cat is a really good passer, knows the game and has a basketball IQ that is off the charts. You show her something once and she gets it.”
UF assistant Jackie Moore
Caterina Piatti (14) with her Italian national team during the 2024 FIBA U20 competition.
Her fellow players share confidence in her abilities.
“It's going to be different for her because she's not been put in those situations before, but I think Cat is going to do great,” Dakic said. “She's strong, she's got a really good spin move and she's smart. We're going to continue to believe in her and help her lift up her game.”
Back in Scandiano, fans will be keeping an eye out for the Gator emblem. The community already became familiar with it last spring when the men’s team at the Hugh Hathcock Basketball Complex staged an international showcase of their own.
Emilija Mills Dakic
“All the people who know I came here, they see the men's basketball team and they were like, 'You going there too,'” Piatti said. “Yes, they know about the Gators.”
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu Find his story archives here.
