NC State reportedly in the fold for 17ppg Weber State PG Tijan Saine Jr

Jeff Borzello is reporting that NC State is one of 7 schools that Weber State PG transfer Tijan Saine Jr has heard from.

Weber State transfer Tijan Saine Jr. is hearing from Washington, Missouri, NC State, Mississippi State, San Jose State, LSU and Texas State, his agent Scott Nichols of Rize Management told ESPN. First-team All-Big Sky selection averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists last season.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 29, 2026

Saine Jr is a 5’10” junior point guard who made an immediate impact in his first (and only) season with the Weber State Wildcats. Starting all 32 games, Saine emerged as the team’s clear leader and earned First-Team All-Big Sky honors while being named Weber State Athletics Male Newcomer of the Year.

He averaged 17.5 points per game, 4.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals while playing 32.6 minutes per contest. Saine shot 45.4% from the field, 34.7% from three-point range, and an outstanding 89.6% from the free-throw line.

Saine was even more dominant in conference play, leading the Big Sky in scoring at 20.8 points per game. He reached double figures in 27 of 32 games and hit 20 or more points 15 times, including a stretch of seven straight 20-point outings in league action. His season total of 561 points ranks 27th in Weber State single-season history. Beyond the stats, Saine earned Academic All-District and All-Big Sky Academic honors while majoring in Professional Sales.

The performance turned heads all season and now it’s culminating into some nice portal buzz for the rising senior. Undersized but explosive, Saine consistently creates paint touches, applies rim pressure, and serves as a high-level decision-maker and playmaker.

From D-II Standout to Portal Candidate
Before arriving at Weber State, Saine built his reputation at NCAA Division II Western Washington University. A product of Mariner High School in Everett, Washington. He initially joined WWU as a walk-on but quickly proved his worth.

In his freshman season, Saine earned GNAC Freshman of the Year honors while averaging 10.9 points per game. As a sophomore in 2024-25, he elevated his game dramatically, posting 17.3 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game on efficient shooting, including 89.8% from the free-throw line. He earned First-Team All-GNAC honors that year and helped establish himself as one of the conference’s top guards.

Saine entered the transfer portal in spring 2025 after two seasons of eligibility at Western Washington and ultimately chose Weber State. The move to Division I paid off immediately with his All-Conference breakout. Now, as a junior with remaining eligibility, he has once again entered the portal, this time with significant Power-conference interest.

Why would NC State be interested?
NC State has Preston Edmead locked into the starting PG role, but Saine Jr really fits the mold of the type of PG we believe Gainey will target in his system. We’ve been calling these guys ‘chaos creators’ because of their ability to stay low, get into the lane, and create havoc (either scoring or distributing). Remember, Tennessee had a nice run with Zakai Zeigler at PG, and he was just 5’9.

I’d assume that if NC State were to get serious with Saine, it would be to add depth to the PG role. They have Edmead, who you’d assume wins the starting role, and you also have Kingston Whitty, the incoming freshman who just committed to Gainey this past week. I’m not sure how ready they believe Whitty is and if they are ready to trust a freshman with the backup PG duties, but if not,m then adding Saine would make sense.