Courtesy of David Schamis

SPOKANE — Center Samson Aletan ’27 hadn’t played in three straight games ahead of No. 13 Yale’s shock upset over No. 4 Auburn on Friday. 

But with starting big man Danny Wolf ’26 fouled out in the game’s final minute, Aletan’s name was called off the bench to protect Yale’s lead. With the Bulldogs up 78–76 with six seconds remaining, Auburn star Johni Broome caught an offensive rebound in front of the rim and seemed positioned to send the game to overtime. But his shot attempt caught Aletan’s arm on its way up and fell into the hands of Auburn’s Jaylin Williams three feet from the basket. As Williams attempted a floater, Aletan rose up and met him in the air to swat the shot back.

“At that moment I knew that the main reason why they got me here is to shot block and rebound,” Aletan told the News. “Saw the guy grab the ball and try to immediately go up with it so I said I’m gonna just go for it, jumped up and got it.”

Aletan had entered the game earlier as Yale head coach James Jones looked to contend with the Tigers rapid pace of play and deep bench. Early in the second half, Aletan found himself in space for what seemed like a wide open dunk before being blocked from behind by Broome. 

Playing for a Yale team where minutes for first-years are hard to come by, the 6’10” Dallas native played sparsely throughout the Ivy League season, appearing in eight conference matchups and averaged 1.6 points and 0.4 rebounds per game. 

“The coaches always tell me to be ready, I know that in certain matchups certain games they’re gonna unleash me. So when the time came I knew I was ready for the big moment ”

Last year, Aletan helped lead Lake Highlands High School to the Texas 6A State Championship game, where his seven blocks set the record for most blocks in a state tournament championship game. He was later named the district 7-6A Defensive Player of the Year. 

Upon committing to play for the Bulldogs in September 2022, Aletan became the highest-rated recruit in Yale basketball history. Ranked as one of the top big men in Texas, he received offers to play at high-major programs such as Texas, Houston, Nevada and Kansas State, among others.

“Samson comes and brings it in practice every day, he gets extra practice in, and he’s going to be ready for us down the road,” Jones said. “I look forward to him being a bright and big part of our future.”

Jones also said that most players as good as Aletan would find it “difficult to swallow” not having an opportunity to play due to the depth in front of him. 

The No. 13 Bulldogs are currently preparing for Sunday’s matchup against No. 5 San Diego State in March Madness’s round of 32. 

Ahead of that matchup, Aletan’s mentality will be exactly the same. 

“Gonna try to get every block, every rebound, finish inside and hopefully come away with the big win,” he said.

Sunday’s game against San Diego State is set to tipoff at 9:40 p.m. EST from Spokane Arena.

BEN RAAB
Ben Raab covers faculty and academics at Yale and writes about the Yale men's basketball team. Originally from New York City, Ben is a sophomore in Pierson college pursuing a double major in history and political science.