Robin Pingeton has officially put together her first roster for the Wisconsin women's basketball program. She did it by adding the "last piece to the puzzle" from the international basketball scene, which has been a growing trend in college athletics the last few years as NIL has changed how programs bring the best players in from all over the world.
Today, Wisconsin announced the addition of Dorja Zaja, a 6'3" center from Croatia who last played in the FIBA U20 league. As she is already 21 years old, it's uncertain how many years of eligibility she will have.
Wisconsin has added center Dorja Zaja from Croatia to the women's basketball program
Dorja Zaja has played for Croatia on the FIBA U20 team since 2018, where she has a career average of 12.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. FIBA plays only a handful of games a year in international competitions, so Zaja has also played for Croatia-Premijer League for Tresnjevka.
According to the Wisconsin Athletics press release, she is currently playing in the postseason for her current professional team. She will wrap that up before joining Wisconsin in the fall.
The 6'3" center is a much-needed addition for the Badgers, who have been making a flurry of guard additions lately. The Badgers have yet to add height at the forward or center who also has high-level experience. Wisconsin did add Gift Uchenna in the transfer portal, who's also 6'3", but her most recent experience was at Southern Illinois, so it will be interesting to see how she transitions to the Big Ten.
Wisconsin also added 6'3" Shay Bollin, but Bollin is listed as a guard, and while the height is there doesn't typically play a lot down low. Thus, the addition of Zaja will help a ton in the front court for the Badgers.