WSU earns commitment from Iceland guard Tomas Thrastarson, Cougs add 2 assistant coaches
May 21—PULLMAN — Washington State coach David Riley isn't just getting creative with his offseason additions. Now he's going international.
WSU's newest commit is guard Tomas Thrastarson, a 6-foot-6 player from Iceland, where he averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game last season in the Iceland-Subway League, the top conference in his age range and region. The news came Tuesday from CBB Europe.
A class of 2024 prospect, Thrastarson shot 62% inside the arc and 31% on 3-pointers. His game tape shows he specializes in slashing and finishing at the basket, where he can use his size to score around bigger players. He made as many as four 3-pointers in one game last year, but he appears to prefer carving his way inside for baskets and putbacks.
Thrastarson's offseason commitment makes seven for the Cougars, who have also landed three players from Eastern Washington, Riley's previous squad: centers Ethan Price and Dane Erikstrup, plus wing LeJuan Watts. WSU has also landed Lapwai (Idaho) High's Kase Wynott — a Utah State flip — and transfers Rihard Vavers (Quinnipiac) and ND Okafor (California).
Riley is using those additions to help fill the void left by the 12 former Cougs who have entered the portal, including guard Myles Rice (Indiana); wing Andrej Jakimovski (Colorado); centers Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State), Rueben Chinyelu (Florida) and walk-on AJ LaBeau (Cornell); guards Jabe Mullins (Montana State), Dylan Darling (Idaho State) and Joseph Yesufu (West Virginia); and wing Kymany Houinsou (Loyola Chicago).
The only Cougars still in the portal include forwards AJ Rohosy and Spencer Mahoney, the latter of whom has announced he's fielded offers from UCF and Cal. Senior wing Jaylen Wells is also in the portal, but with a spot at the ongoing NBA draft combine, he appears to be all-in on the draft process.
WSU adds two assistant coachesRiley added two assistant coaches to his staff on Tuesday, according to a release, both from last season's conference-title EWU club: Blake Fernandez and Pedro Garcia Rosado.
That rounds out the WSU staff, which also includes assistants Donald Brady and Jerry Brown, both of whom also coached last season at EWU under Riley.
Fernandez, a native of Mountlake Terrace, Washington, worked on Riley's Eagles staffs as a graduate assistant and last season as an assistant coach, helping the Eagles repeat as Big Sky regular-season champions. Fernandez played Division II ball at Western Washington, leading the Vikings to the 2017 GNAC Championship.
"Blake is a talented young coach who has a pulse on basketball talent in the state of Washington," Riley said of Fernandez via release. "He's motivated and will bring a great tenacity to our staff and program that we know resonates with our team and culture. Blake's had the chance to work in all areas of a D-I program in a short time and will bring that valuable experience to WSU."
Garcia Rosado spent the past three seasons working at EWU, where he spent the 2021-22 season as director of operations. He then served as an assistant coach the following two seasons.
He gained the majority of his coaching experience overseas, though, coaching 15 years in Europe, including Spain and England. Garcia started at Unicaja Basketball Academy in Malaga, Spain, in 2006, before making stops at Leeds, Huddersfield and Reading in England. He also worked in Malaga before Valencia and the Canary Islands in Spain. Garcia was the head coach of UMF Sindri in Hofn, Iceland, before moving to the United States to join Riley.
"The international expertise Pedro brings to Washington State is an incredible asset to our program," Riley said of Garcia via release. "Not only does Pedro have a great basketball mind, but strong connections throughout FIBA and European basketball that will elevate our Cougar team. You can already see his impact in the makeup of our roster and Pedro's hard-working personality."
