As Love Island USA Season 7 star Jose 'Pepe' Garcia continues his journey on the reality TV show, leading up to the season finale, his basketball career remains in focus. Pepe Garcia, before embarking on his show business journey, used to be a pro basketball player. He played college basketball extensively before embarking on his professional journey in European basketball leagues.
In this article, we'll look at Pepe's basketball career, starting in high school at Los Alamitos, to college at Cal State Fullerton, followed by the 6-foot-3 former point guard's stints in European leagues.
Love Island Star Pepe's Basketball Career
Love Island star Pepe Garcia, who is from Madrid, Spain, and is raised in California, had a long basketball career in the United States and European and South American leagues till the 2022-23 season.
According to a report by Blavity, Pepe Garcia started his basketball career at Los Alamitos High School, where he averaged 18.8 PPG. He then joined Cal State Fullerton and mostly filled in as a bench player. His profile on ESPN's college basketball page shows that he played two seasons for Cal State Fullerton, the 2018-19 and the 2017-18 seasons. He played for a total of nine minutes across two seasons. His stat line at Cal State stood at 3.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and a field goal percentage of 33.3%.
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{{/usCountry}}Pepe Garcia reportedly declared for the 2021 NBA draft, but went undrafted. His professional records show that after being undrafted in the 2021 NBA season, he ventured abroad, playing for a third-tier professional basketball team in Spain, called CD Enrique Soler Melilla.
He mostly played as a bench player in Spain, and averaged 5 points, 33% shooting, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover in 12 minutes per game.
In between his basketball career and current venture in Reality TV with Love Island USA Season 7, Pepe kicked off his career as a fitness trainer. He opened the gym in 2023 called Pro Gainz Training, a business he still runs.