Rutgers basketball has landed its first pickup of the 2026 transfer portal as former New Mexico State and international transfer guard Lewis Duarte has decided to commit to the Scarlet Knights, per Pete Nakos of On3. Duarte spent one season at New Mexico State in 2023, but did not appear in a single game for the Aggies.
Duarte is a native of the Dominican republic who played for Overtime Elite, an Atlanta based professional basketball league for 16-20 year olds, after his high school career at Victory
Christian Center School. As a senior, he was named the NCISAA 1A North Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Year and received NCISAA 1A All-State honors.
He spent one season in Overtime Elite’s development program. When he opened up his recruitment to colleges, he was rated as a three-star recruit and earned ten D1 offers.
After spending 2023 with the Aggies, Duarte has spent the last two seasons as a starter for San Lazaro Jobo Bonito, a professional basketball team in the Dominican republic. On the teams website, he is listed as 6-foot-5, 196 pounds. In total, Duarte played 38 games in the Dominican Republic, averaging 8.9 points, three rebounds and 1.4 assists.
