Former Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle is heading to a new stop overseas.
Battle signed with KK Cibona in the ABA on Monday, moving to Zagreb, Croatia, where the club finished 25-8 in the regular season last year.
The switch comes on the heels of a productive first season in Italy with Trentino in LBA Series A, the top professional league in the country. Battle, 26, averaged 13 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 36.1% from three, and he also got a taste of EuroCup play.
Cibona is coming off a season in which 22-year-old forward Luka Skoric left the roster to come stateside and play in the Pac-12 at San Diego State. American Justin Roberson led the team, putting up 13.5 points in his sixth pro season after a strong run at Louisiana-Monroe.
Battle’s path to this point has taken him through a long college journey before he landed in Spokane for his final season in 2024-25. He averaged 13.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 26.8 minutes per game for Gonzaga, where he played alongside Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman.
He carved out a role as a downhill driver and one of the nation’s best free-throw shooters, finishing third in the NCAA by hitting 93.2% from the line.
Battle had several standout performances in a Gonzaga uniform. He scored 26 points in a blowout win at LMU, added 21 in a tight loss to UConn in New York, and posted 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal in Gonzaga’s 89-68 NCAA Tournament win over Georgia.
He also had 17 points in Gonzaga’s Round of 32 loss to Houston, and after the game he was consoled by Houston coach Kelvin Sampson.
Before Gonzaga, Battle spent his freshman season at Butler, then three injury-marred years at Temple in the AAC. He played 45 total games there and averaged 17.8 points while shooting 36% from three.
Battle then transferred to Arkansas under coach Eric Musselman, where he averaged 14.8 points for the Razorbacks. His finish there was especially loud: he averaged 29.6 points over his final seven games, including 42 against Missouri and 36 against Vanderbilt.
He joins a growing list of former Gonzaga players earning their living overseas. This offseason, Battle’s former teammate Ben Gregg re-upped with Sig Strasbourg in France, while Rasir Bolton landed in Spain.
And while Graham Ike is likely headed to the NBA or at least the G League, there’s a chance more of Gonzaga’s recent seniors follow Battle abroad. Tyon Grant-Foster, Jalen Warley and Adam Miller could all be on that path next season.
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