Former WSU commit Tallis Toure flips to Stanford, following former coach Kyle Smith

PULLMAN – David Riley’s job keeps getting a little harder.

Washington State’s new head coach just lost one commit to former coach Kyle Smith, who pried 6-foot-9 center Tallis Toure away from WSU and flipped him to Stanford, where Smith became the head coach in late March.

Toure, a Sacramento, California-area native in the class of 2024, committed to the Cougars in mid-March. On April 3, though, he wrote on social media that because Smith took the job at Stanford, he would be decommitting from WSU.

Six days later, he announced his commitment to Stanford, which has swiped two former WSU pledges: Toure and Evan Stinson, a 6-7 wing from Cheney who followed the same path, making his announcement on Saturday.

For WSU, that makes three decommitments in the class, including the decision from three-star guard Adam Nije, who backed out of his commitment last August – shortly after the Pac-12 collapsed. A New York native, Nije has yet to announce his college home, but he does hold offers from Arizona State, Illinois, Mississippi State, Utah State and a host of others.

It leaves the Cougs with one player still committed in the class of 2024, Marcus Wilson, who signed with WSU last May. The 6-3 Wilson hails from Arizona.

WSU’s 2024-25 roster projects to include Wilson, rising sophomore guards Isaiah Watts and Parker Gerrits, rising sophomore forward Spencer Mahoney and potentially rising senior wing Jaylen Wells, who last week declared for the NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility. He has until May 29 to decide whether to turn pro or return to school.

The rest of the Cougars’ 2023-24 roster has entered the transfer portal, a list of 10 players. All do have the option to return to WSU.