The Huskies went into their international recruiting pipeline again and landed 24-year-old, 6-foot-9 big man Boris Tisma
The Washington Huskies men's basketball team is just one player away from having a full roster for the 2026-27 season.
Per a report from DraftExpress, the Huskies earned a commitment from 6-foot-9, 24-year-old Croatian forward Boris Tisma on Tuesday, bringing their roster total to 14 out of a maximum of 15.
Tisma played with KK Zadar in the Adriatic League and Croatian Premier League last season. He averaged 10.7 points across 65 games on 53.8% shooting from the floor (39.9% from 3-point range) in addition to 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Tisma played with current Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic with the Real Madrid youth academy in 2015. He debuted as a 17-year-old with the Spanish team in the 2019-20 season.
The 24-year-old briefly considered an attempt at the NBA and entered the 2021 draft before withdrawing his name from consideration and signing a multi-year team with SC Derby.
From a skill set perspective, Tisma will give UW a floor-spacing big who is capable of playing on the wing, a skill set returning forward (and Serbian native) Nikola Dzepina is also capable of having.
Tisma is the third international commitment of the offseason for Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle. The other two were 21-year-old Brazilian forward Wini Braga and 20-year-old Australian guard Tristan Devers.
Braga and Tisma's respective skill sets seem to be similar to that of the program's 2025-26 leading scorer and rebounder Hannes Steinabch, who entered the NBA draft and could end up a lottery pick.
Washington forward Hannes Steinbach shoots a free throw during a Big Ten tournament game against Wisconsin on March 12 at the United Center in Chicago. | Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn ImagesNot only does Tisma's commitment give the Huskies three older players with experience playing in international competition. It also represents a staunch rebuttal from the program and university on a recent rule from the NCAA.
The NCAA issued a guidance in May that would suspend eligibility for players who had received compensation from professional leagues "above necessary expenses."
International leagues, such as EuroBasket (which Dzepina played for) and the National Basketball League (which Devers played for) are included in the guidance. Per a statement to Roundtable Sports from a UW spokesperson, the guidance doesn't impact players already enrolled such as Dzepina.
However, per the spokesperson, it's unclear whether or not the guidance would impact Braga, Devers and now Tisma.
If the NCAA rules the aforementioned international recruits ineligible, Washington would be down to 11 eligible players either signed or committed for the 2026-27 season. If all three players are ruled eligible, the Huskies will have one of the older rosters in the Big Ten next season.
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