Temple University Athletics
Matteo Picarelli Signs Aid Agreement with Temple Men's Basketball
4.17.23 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – Matteo Picarelli, a 6-2, 185-pound guard who played the last three seasons at UMBC, has signed a men's basketball aid agreement to attend Temple University. Picarelli, who will have two seasons of eligibility remaining, becomes the first signee by new head coach Adam Fisher.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Matteo Picarelli to the Temple Family," said Fisher. "Matteo is a terrific outside shooter and someone that will allow us to have great spacing offensively. His ability to stretch the floor makes Matteo a perfect fit for the style of play we want to bring to Temple University. He comes from a winning program at UMBC and brings a ton of international experience from his time with the Italian National Team.
We also put a heavy emphasis on identifying good people. Matteo is graduating from UMBC in three years and everyone we spoke with raved about his character and his dedication to the game of basketball. Please join me in wishing Matteo, Sergio Picarelli (Dad) and Elisabetta Negri (Mom) to the Temple Family. We can't wait for him to represent the Cherry and White next season!"
"Temple is a program with great history and tradition," said Picarelli. "Coach Fisher and the entire staff made me feel at home and welcomed to Temple from the moment I stepped onto campus. Coach Fisher has a great history of developing players and being part of winning programs. I decided I wanted to be a part of all of this, and I think Temple is the perfect fit for me, both from a basketball standpoint and an academic one."
A native of Milan, Italy (Inter-Community School of Zurich (Switzerland), Picarelli led the Retrievers and ranked fourth in the America East Conference in three-point field goals (67, 2.1 pg.) and three-point percentage (.394). The shooting guard became the first UMBC player to make five three-pointers in four consecutive games and connected on a career-best six threes in a win over Morgan State.
An America East All-Academic team honoree, Picarelli played in all 32 games during the 2022-23 campaign while starting three games. He averaged 10.1 points per game, third on the team, despite playing just 22.5 minutes per contest. He scored in double figures 12 times with three 20-point games. He tallied a career-high 24 points at Albany.
One of the most improved players in the conference, Picarelli averaged just 2.5 points and 8.6 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2021-22. He only appeared in nine games as a freshman in 2020-21.
In Italy, he competed with the Italian U16 and U18 teams at the European Championships, as well as in the 3x3 World Cup. He averaged 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals per game with Aquila Basket Trento at the Italian Next Gen Cup during the 2019-20 season. He also played club ball with Aquila Basket Trento and Grasshopper Club Zurich where he helped his team win the U19 Swiss Championship in 2017.
Picarelli joins incoming freshman guard Zion Stanford (6-5, 195), who scored 30 points in the Pennsylvania Class AAA Championship game to lead West Catholic High to its first-ever state championship.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Matteo Picarelli to the Temple Family," said Fisher. "Matteo is a terrific outside shooter and someone that will allow us to have great spacing offensively. His ability to stretch the floor makes Matteo a perfect fit for the style of play we want to bring to Temple University. He comes from a winning program at UMBC and brings a ton of international experience from his time with the Italian National Team.
We also put a heavy emphasis on identifying good people. Matteo is graduating from UMBC in three years and everyone we spoke with raved about his character and his dedication to the game of basketball. Please join me in wishing Matteo, Sergio Picarelli (Dad) and Elisabetta Negri (Mom) to the Temple Family. We can't wait for him to represent the Cherry and White next season!"
"Temple is a program with great history and tradition," said Picarelli. "Coach Fisher and the entire staff made me feel at home and welcomed to Temple from the moment I stepped onto campus. Coach Fisher has a great history of developing players and being part of winning programs. I decided I wanted to be a part of all of this, and I think Temple is the perfect fit for me, both from a basketball standpoint and an academic one."
A native of Milan, Italy (Inter-Community School of Zurich (Switzerland), Picarelli led the Retrievers and ranked fourth in the America East Conference in three-point field goals (67, 2.1 pg.) and three-point percentage (.394). The shooting guard became the first UMBC player to make five three-pointers in four consecutive games and connected on a career-best six threes in a win over Morgan State.
An America East All-Academic team honoree, Picarelli played in all 32 games during the 2022-23 campaign while starting three games. He averaged 10.1 points per game, third on the team, despite playing just 22.5 minutes per contest. He scored in double figures 12 times with three 20-point games. He tallied a career-high 24 points at Albany.
One of the most improved players in the conference, Picarelli averaged just 2.5 points and 8.6 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2021-22. He only appeared in nine games as a freshman in 2020-21.
In Italy, he competed with the Italian U16 and U18 teams at the European Championships, as well as in the 3x3 World Cup. He averaged 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals per game with Aquila Basket Trento at the Italian Next Gen Cup during the 2019-20 season. He also played club ball with Aquila Basket Trento and Grasshopper Club Zurich where he helped his team win the U19 Swiss Championship in 2017.
Picarelli joins incoming freshman guard Zion Stanford (6-5, 195), who scored 30 points in the Pennsylvania Class AAA Championship game to lead West Catholic High to its first-ever state championship.
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