The Panthers find themselves at a crossroads of sorts as coach Jeff Capel enters his ninth season. Capel, who is 127-127 at Pitt, made significant changes after last year's dismal finish, including jettisoning his brother Jason from the coaching staff. The arrival of a pair of high-profile freshmen recruits in forward Chase Foster and guard Jermal Jones gives Pitt hopes better days are ahead. If things get away from the Panthers for a third straight season, athletic director Allen Greene will almost certainly move on from Capel, who has brought stability but mixed results since taking over a program in tatters in 2018.
The 6-foot-9 Foster is the kind of athletic, versatile big man the Panthers have sorely lacked in recent years. The Baltimore native chose Pitt over Villanova and Arkansas and will get plenty of opportunities to prove he is worthy of the hype. Junior swingman Jonathan Powell came to Pittsburgh searching for a more impactful role after serving as a reserve at North Carolina.
It's a sign of the times that forward Macari Moore is the only scholarship player back after Pitt's worst ACC finish since Capel's first year in 2018-19. Transfer Naithan George averaged a solid 11.1 points in three seasons at Syracuse. Senior forward Baye Ndongo averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds last year with Georgia Tech. Charleston Southern transfer guard A’lahn Sumler shot nearly 40% from 3-point range last year.
The Panthers open the season at home against Rider on Nov. 2. The nonconference slate includes hosting former Big East rival Villanova on Nov. 17 and neutral-site meetings with Penn State (Nov. 8) and West Virginia (Dec. 9), as well as games against Oklahoma (Nov. 24) and Missouri (Dec. 1). ACC play begins against 14th-ranked Miami on Jan. 2. Pitt also visits No. 2 Duke (Jan. 9) and No. 11 Louisville (Feb. 2). Conference play wraps up with a home date against North Carolina (March 2) and at SMU (March 6).
The Panthers are 13-25 in conference play over the last two seasons, with 26-14 combined in 2023 and 2024, one of the main reasons Capel is probably coaching for his job this season. ... Rebounding will be key, something Pitt struggled with during an exhibition against Providence on Oct. 17, when they were outrebounded 42-26 in a blowout loss. ... How big was the roster overhaul? Moore, the only returner, averaged all of 1.4 points while coming off the bench.
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FILE - Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel III looks on during the first half against Clemson in an NCAA college basketball game, Jan. 31, 2026, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior State Department official said Tuesday that Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will be granted U.S. visas after his weekend loss to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a hotly contested race that bucked a trend of conservative electoral results in Latin America.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to visa privacy laws, said “the State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States.”
Bolsonaro, who had President Donald Trump’s tacit support, had been under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil and had been ordered to surrender his passport.
The State Department official did not say if Bolsonaro had already left Brazil or if he and his family were en route to the U.S. Lula told a few dozen supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia that he did not have precise information of Bolsonaro’s whereabouts, but said he had left Brazil.
Bolsonaro's campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, said he hadn't spoken to the defeated candidate since early Tuesday morning.
“We had no news from Flávio or his lawyers about what happened,” Marinho said. “I received a text message from him, he said he wanted to take a break and then he would talk to us. That’s the only message I had from him.”
Brazilian media reported many Bolsonaro allies were unable to reach him. The Ministry of Security of Argentina denied the Brazilian senator had entered that country.
Bolsonaro’s brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, had publicly encouraged him to leave Brazil if he lost the election.
Flávio Bolsonaro has touted his relationship with Trump and visited the White House in May. The family connections go deeper: Brother Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison. A warrant was recently issued for his arrest.
Trump did not offer a full-throated endorsement of Bolsonaro in the runoff against Lula, as he has with some other right-of-center candidates in Latin America. But he suggested Monday, without providing evidence, that Brazil’s election was “rigged.”
Trump said early Wednesday that he would approve of Flávio Bolsonaro coming to the U.S., calling him and his family “fine people.”
“The election was really strange, and I thought it was terrible,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after returning from campaigning in Texas.
He stressed again, however, that he did not endorse a candidate in Brazil's election. Asked about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts, Trump said he had heard he was in Argentina.
Bolsonaro's decision to leave Brazil came as a deadline for him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday. It remained unclear whether he had complied.
Bolsonaro was served with the order to surrender his passports Monday. He said he received it outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula. After that defeat, Jair Bolsonaro fled Brazil for Florida. He returned three months later.
The sealed Supreme Court order, viewed by The Associated Press, was issued the day of the election Sunday. Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and has made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
Bolsonaro initially asked for the election results to be annulled after an evening of chaos at some polling places that prompted authorities to extend voting by two hours.
On Monday, he urged the electoral court to investigate alleged election fraud and nullify Lula's and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin's candidacies, which the electoral court has never done before.
“I never thought about leaving the country,” Bolsonaro said in a video published on his social media channels. “I will hand over my passports and I will defend myself from this aberration. It is a clear attempt to intimidate me. But I will not be silenced."
To overturn the result, Bolsonaro would have to present evidence of fraud affecting Lula's 4.4 million-vote margin and convince the eight-member electoral court before the results are certified on Dec. 18.
Lula received more than 64 million votes, compared with fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%.
Lula turned 81 on Tuesday and celebrated with a birthday cake shared with a few dozen supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia.
He was emotional in a speech, saying he had yet to recover his voice after a hard-fought campaign. He said Bolsonaro had left Brazil, though he did not know his precise whereabouts. “I find myself wondering what kind of guilt weighs on the conscience of a citizen who has just lost an election and flees his own country. What kind of guilt?”
Lula suggested Bolsonaro's departure fit a family pattern. Brazil is “the second country” of the Bolsonaro family, he said.
“The first is licking American boots,” Lula said. “Those who are not liable do not fear. A fellow that secretly leaves his country, that's because he is liable for something."
Bolsonaro said in a video posted Monday on his social media channels that he was attempting to organize opposition among his congressional colleagues to the election results. His eight-year term as a senator expires Jan. 31, 2027, which will also cause him to lose special jurisdiction at the country's Supreme Court.
Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil's Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in two cases. In one, he's accused of using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions paid to senior citizens. In the other, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker.
He has denied any wrongdoing in both cases, and has claimed Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is heading one of the investigations, is a Lula ally. Prosecutors suspect the funds from the banker were used to pay his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro’s, expenses and to promote Flávio Bolsonaro’s political agenda with the Trump administration, documents show.
Mauricio Marcon, a lawmaker of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, also questioned de Moraes’ objectivity on Tuesday. “Seven minutes after the election, Alexandre de Moraes ordered his passports to be seized,” Marcon said. Bolsonaro “will represent us in a free country. He will continue to be our leader.”
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro speaks after the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gives two thumbs up to supporters during a celebration of his 81st birthday outside the official presidential residence at Alvorada Palace in Brasília, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets supporters during a celebration of his 81st birthday outside the official presidential residence at Alvorada Palace in Brasília, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva blows out birthday candles during a celebration of his 81st birthday outside the official presidential residence at Alvorada Palace in Brasília, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro speaks after the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro arrives at his election night event after the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
