D2 guard Tijan Saine ready to ‘level up’ for Weber State men’s basketball
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- Western Washington guard Tijan Saine, right, sizes up a Central Washington defender during a win on Feb. 27, 2025, in Bellingham, Wash.
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- Western Washington guard Tijan Saine shoots a free throw against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 4, 2025, in Bellingham, Wash.
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- Western Washington guard Tijan Saine rises for a layup against Central Washington on Feb. 27, 2025, in Bellingham, Wash.
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- Western Washington guard Tijan Saine celebrates after a play against Simon Fraser on Feb. 22, 2025, in Bellingham, Wash.
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- Western Washington guard Tijan Saine drives the basketball against Simon Fraser on Feb. 22, 2025, in Bellingham, Wash.
A former walk-on at Western Washington University, Tijan Saine says his 2024-25 campaign was “a pretty good breakout season.” He describes his game as “electric,” “explosive,” and “crafty.”
So being voted to a first-team all-conference honor had Saine thinking about a move. His coach, veteran Tony Dominguez, agreed.
“It was time for me to level up, really. My coach encouraged me,” Saine said. “He was like, ‘if you were my son, I would tell you to go make some money.’ He helped boost my name to coaches … I needed all the momentum I could possibly have, and it paid off.”
His cousin and former WWU teammate BJ Kolly, who transferred to Montana State last year, tried to prepare Saine for what was to come — so much so that Saine bought a new phone to be ready for his name hitting the transfer portal in his attempt to move from Division II to Division I.
“At first I thought it would be a little slower because I’m an undersized guard. The first day hit, I would say I got about five calls,” Saine said. “But after that, every day — I was getting woken up, I couldn’t go to class without stepping out. So definitely a shock but I knew it was going to come in due time.”
Weber State was among those few first-day calls, along with Niagara and Portland State. Every WSU coach, he said, had contacted him within the next two days.
His finalists ultimately included Chattanooga, Northern Kentucky, Texas State, UTRGV and Missouri State. He also held an offer from Coastal Carolina and reported interest from dozens more schools, including Wyoming, Fresno State, UC San Diego and Oregon State.
Weber was his first visit and head coach Eric Duft made an impression.
“No head coach ever sent me that much love in the recruiting process, so I knew this was serious,” Saine said. “My brother kept telling me, the head coach makes the ultimate decision so if the head coach is directly telling you why he likes you and what he wants out of you, you’ve got to take that into consideration.”
The native of Everett, Washington, averaged 17.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 46.5% overall, 39.6% from 3 on 101 attempts, and 89.8% at the foul line.
Saine netted a career-high 37 points in a road conference game at Western Oregon by shooting 4 of 6 from the 3-point line and 15 of 15 at the free-throw line. He tallied a season-high assist mark of nine with three more eight-assist performances.
He says Weber State mostly wants him “to do my thing, facilitate, lead the team, be a veteran to go to in the time of jeopardy. Just to really be me, let me make the right play.”
Saine said his offseason work will focus on sharpening his game overall, especially shooting a higher percentage and improving as a finisher.
“Focus. A lot of focus, attention to detail and coachability,” he said. “It will be a good transition if I allow it to be — trust my coaches, come in with open ears and wanting to win.”
Saine committed on April 10 and is now one of two transfers WSU has officially announced as signed, including Seattle transfer forward Malek Gomma. Now, Saine will team up with Jace Whiting as veteran presences for Weber State’s guard line.
Whiting, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Burley, Idaho, announced his commitment to Weber State on Wednesday. Whiting played in 66 games at Boise State before transferring to UNLV this past season; he played in two games for the Rebels before a foot injury sidelined him for the season.
All three of those transfers have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Freshman guard Saadiq Moore also entered his name into the transfer portal Wednesday. Moore backed up Blaise Threatt last season. He joins Marko Sarenac and Nemanja Sarenac as outgoing transfers from the 2024-25 season. Nemanja Sarenac has signed with Division II Hawaii Pacific.
Weber State currently has one scholarship available for the 2025-26 season and likely needs to target a three-guard/swing man.
