The Washington Huskies’ international class has already hit a snag.
Croatian forward Boris Tisma, one of the three overseas commits Washington added this offseason, has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA and will instead continue his professional career in Europe. According to a post on "X" from Husky Hoops (@UnivofWA), that ruling clears the way for Tisma’s next move, and a supporting update said he has signed with Spanish club CB Estudiantes.
Tisma’s path makes the NCAA’s decision pretty easy to follow. He’s 24 and has spent more than a decade in pro basketball overseas, beginning when he signed with Real Madrid at 13 and joined its youth academy. There, he was teammates with Luka Doncic, who has been in the NBA since 2018.
Washington’s roster situation had already gotten complicated earlier this month when the Huskies added Nevada transfer point guard Tayshawn Comer, who earned a fifth year of eligibility after successfully filing suit against the NCAA over its new eligibility rules. That move came as something of a surprise because Washington was believed to be at capacity.
The Huskies had nine openings to get to the roster limit of 15 players, and they filled those spots with one Class of 2026 commit, five transfer additions and three international signees. Six players from last season’s team returned.
The eligibility question around the international group was always the real issue. Earlier this offseason, the NCAA issued guidance saying players who received financial compensation from professional leagues "above necessary expenses" would not be eligible for college basketball.
All three of Washington’s international additions had played professionally. Brazilian forward Wini Braga played in Novo Basquete Brasil, Australian guard Tristan Devers played in the National Basketball League, and Tisma played for multiple teams in Spain, Montenegro and Croatia.
Now Tisma is out of the picture for Washington, and the focus shifts to the other two. It remains unclear whether Devers or Braga will also be ruled ineligible.
Both are 21, but their professional backgrounds are not identical. Devers spent most of his time in the NBL on a development contract, though the league still runs under a Collective Bargaining Agreement, which means he received a minimum salary.
Braga’s situation is different again, since the NBB operates under Brazil’s General Labor Laws rather than a CBA. There have been rumors that Braga has run into trouble enrolling in college, but it’s not clear whether that stems from his own situation or from an NCAA decision still to come.
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Washington Still Has One Big Problem After Its Get-Right Win
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The concern, though, was hard to miss even in a comfortable victory. Washingtons defense piled up too many mistakes, getting flagged for seven of the teams eight penalties and spending too much time under a cloud of pass interference calls, ejections and other discipline issues. For a team trying to build momentum, the improved offense was encouraging, but the ongoing penalty problems left a much bigger question hanging over the result. [Read more 🡒]