Overseas-Heavy Roster Shows Different Direction Taken by Wayne Tinkle at Oregon State
When looking at the makeup of the Oregon State Beavers' basketball roster in 2024, it's notable that it's constructed mostly of international players – eight to be exact, or over half of the roster.
This includes Turkish wing Kaan Yarkut, German forward Michael Rataj, Iranian forward Parsa Fallah, English big Matthew Marsh, Danish big Johan Munch, Canadian forward Thomas Ndong, French wing Isaiah Sy, French forward Maxime Logue, and Lithuanian guard Liutauras Lelevicius.
The focus on players from overseas and Canada has become a staple of Wayne Tinkle's team this year as they have had some struggles recruiting American-born players. Outside of JaQuavis Williford, a Los Angeles native that signed with the Beavers out of high school, the rest of Oregon State's freshman class is international. Yarkut, Munch and Logue are all freshman-class players with four years of eligibility, while Sy is a sophomore after playing his freshman year at a junior college.
Another foreign-born member of the team is Fallah, an Iranian redshirt junior who played last season at Southern Utah, averaging 13.2 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 57% from the field. He's joined by returners Thomas Ndong and Michael Rataj, two more internationals, as well as the Wake Forest transfer and Cornwall, England native Matthew Marsh.
Tinkle's emphasis on these kinds of players serves multiple purposes – for one thing, Oregon State isn't competitive on the NIL market for American-born players, leading them to look elsewhere to find talent. Additionally, many of these players have played in European tournaments and have big-time basketball experience, comparable to that of players in the Elite Youth Basketball Scholastic League in the United States.
Overall, it will be a bit of an experiment this year with how the Beavers play. After losing so many players to the portal last season, including three of their top four scorers, it will not be easy to replace the talent they once had. Hopefully for Tinkle and company, the international market proves to be a place where they can continue to find players to move the program forward.
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Keenan Womack is a sportswriter native to Dallas, Texas, who has spent the last 12 years in Austin, the home of his alma mater, the University of Texas. Keenan has covered sports for SB Nation, Bleacher Report, Rivals/Orangebloods, a host of his own sites and now, Fan Nation. Focusing on basketball, Keenan was on the beat for the Longhorns hoops team for the last two-and-a-half years before moving on to pursue other opportunities. He is married and lives with his wife close to the Moody Center, so they can continue to catch games together.