Lobos Strengthen Post Play with Signing of German Prospect Fynn Lastring
Photo of Fynn Lastring courtesy of the Artland Dragons Facebook Page
UNM men’s basketball addressed its biggest offseason need in emphatic fashion this week, signing 6-foot-11 German big man Fynn Lastring to anchor a completely rebuilt frontcourt.
Lastring, an 18-year-old stretch big with professional experience and international pedigree, fills a critical void inside after UNM lost all three frontcourt players from last season and had yet to land a true post presence capable of protecting the rim and controlling the glass.
He completed a recruiting visit to UNM in December and was reportedly being recruited by Nebraska, Wisconsin, Cal and others.
Lastring is only 18 years old (turning 19 in May), but he appears to check some of the boxes of what UNM needs from a big-man. He also looks like a stretch-big who can punish defenses with 3-point shooting in pick-and-pop situations, similar to how the Lobos used JT Rock last season.
His breakthrough season came last summer when he competed in the FIBA U18 Euro Games where he averaged 12.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest for Germany. Lastring shot 38% (12-of-31) from the 3-point line across 7 games, and put in a tournament-high 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks vs Sweden on July 7, 2025.
Lastring is coming off a heavy season of professional basketball in the German ProA and German ProB leagues, which are the second and third tier leagues in the German professional basketball system.
In the German ProA league, Lastring competed in 25 games for the Artland Dragons, where he averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the 3-point line (19-of-43).
His season in the German ProB league overlapped, and Lastring had a much more productive year numbers-wise for Club Vechta 2, where he averaged 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 45% from the 3-point line (45%) across 13 games.
Lastring’s youth and inexperience playing college basketball may lead to a learning curve and the need to develop over the course of the season. Even Tomislav Buljan admitted last year that there were challenges for him in adjusting from the top pro-league in Croatia to Division I College Basketball
“It’s a lot different,” Buljan said when comparing the Croatian league to college basketball. “There you play against guys who sometimes also work. They’re old, 30-years old so they cannot keep up with the pace. Here, everybody plays physical, everybody plays hard especially on defense. It’s way-way different…”
