DETROIT (10/22/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will have a new member from Australia on the squad, and you won't be able to miss him in 7-1 Xavier Istomin-Monroe.
 
But Istomin-Monroe's journey to Detroit has seen some hard steps after a process that looked so smooth early on hit a fit bumps in the road.
 
"I was recruited last year, I want to say starting in October," said Istomin-Monroe. "Coach (Mike) Peck was at a tournament in Canada, saw me play, liked how I played, and just kept tabs on me. From there, they kept talking to me the whole time throughout my senior year and offered me a chance to play."
 
It was the offer that he was looking for, a chance to play Division I basketball for a team he thought was up and coming.

"I was like, yes, I want to end up here, this is where I want to be. It was a new team, it's a new year, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we do this year," said Istomin-Monroe. "I really didn't know much about the school or the city. The city had a bad rap, my mom was worried at first, but it's really beautiful and I'm here, I'm happy, I wouldn't have it any other way."
 
Unfortunately, he had a bit of a delay getting to campus due to Visa issues that saw him take a 16-hour flight back home immediately after arriving in the states.
 
"Well, I got bounced back. I had the wrong paperwork when I flew from Australia to here and I came to the border, and I had to take the 16-hour flight back immediately. I had to wait another two weeks, get the correct paperwork, and fly over. I was behind all my classes and everything, but we did it and I'm just happy to be here now, to be honest. Everyone was good about it."
 
Istomin-Monroe grew up in Australia and played a number of sports growing up. His love of basketball grew once he got into his teams, but he knows that some of the other sports he did play will help him succeed on the court.
 
"I played everything, water polo, soccer, Australian football. I wasn't really, forced into playing basketball, honestly, but I feel like when I turned 14, I chose to move into it more seriously, but, I played a plethora of things," said Istomin-Monroe. "Australian football, Aussie rules. No pads like the NFL, you know, it's rough, it's raw, hits are allowed. It's a whole lot tougher and you got to be a whole lot tougher."
 
Being tough on the court has its advantages, but the tough part for Istomin-Monroe was deciding to leave Australia. He played at St Andrew's Cathedral School and was named to three First V Teams, but he decided to play his final year of high school elsewhere. As a teenager, he was leaving his family for a place that wasn't exactly across town. From Sydney, Australia, to the Royal Crown Academic School in Toronto, Canada. The time difference alone is 16 hours.
 
"It was hard to leave Australia for Canada for me and my family," Istomin-Monroe. "There were a whole lot of phone calls, at times I was telling my mom, I don't know if I could do this, it's hard, but I had to push through, you got to see it through, and she always said, 'you'll be fine'. And I did it, I did it this time last year, so I can do it this year, for sure. My mom was always up at like, in the early mornings, watching games when they were on. They were like, we're here, we're watching, you, I don't care how late or early it is, they watched every game, and they came out to see me a few times."
 
He won title in both his native Australia and Canada. Last year, he helped the school win a NPA title and tallied 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, catching the eyes of the Titan coaching staff. He was named the finals MVP after posting a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds in the championship game.
 
Since that season ended, he has been working on his own to get ready for Division I college basketball. He got here a bit behind with the rest of the team practicing together since the summer and that just made everything a bit tougher than a normal rookie would experience.
 
"I feel like the first month was definitely challenging, it was hard I'm not going to lie," said Istomin-Monroe. "I was in the off-season for like three months. I was doing all my own workouts back home and then to come here and everyone's in the swing of things, everyone has a routine, everyone's used to it, so the first month kicked me hard a bit. But now, I'm acclimated, so to speak, and all the guys are quite welcoming as well, which I really appreciate."
 
As for what he has seen out of the Titans and his new teammates.
 
"They're all just genuine people. There aren't any cliques in the team, which I can appreciate, and everyone just wants everyone to get better. Practice is hard, everyone's going at each other, but we are close, talking to each other on and off the court. Everyone's open, we all go to team events, and we just have fun," added Istomin-Monroe.
 
While basketball has taken him this far and he hopes to go a bit further, he knows that there are opportunities outside of the sport and that is what he is looking to do.
 
 
"I'm majoring in sports science, so hopefully I can get my master's in Physiotherapy, because I figured if I'm going to be around basketball so much, I may as well know how to patch myself up," said Istomin-Monroe. "If it doesn't work out, if I don't go pro, eventually, I can be a Physical Therapist, and there's good money in that.