Will Rayman ’20 is taking his professional journey to Europe, where he signed a contract with Tartu Ülikool in the Latvian-Estonian League.
The league, which consists of 14 teams, holds its 40-game regular season from September–April. Rayman is one of two American players on the team’s roster
“My main goal is to prove that I am able to play at the highest level,” Rayman says.
One of the most successful organizations in Estonia, Tartu Ülikool has claimed 26 Estonian Championships since its inception in 1938. They most recently captured the 2014–15 title after competing in the newly established FIBA Europe Cup. The team was ranked eighth in the conference in 2019–20 before the season was suspended.
The latest signing marks Rayman’s second stop in professional basketball after playing for Boeheim’s Army this summer in The Basketball Tournament — the annual $1 million, winner-take-all summer basketball event on ESPN networks.
A two-year captain for the Raiders, Rayman earned Patriot League postseason honors in all four years. He was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2017, then posted back-to-back All-League Second Team seasons, before wrapping up his career with Defensive Player of the Year and First Team honors in 2020. The New York City native averaged 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in a Colgate uniform. Rayman etched his name in the Raider record books as the all-time program leader in career starts, games played, and minutes played, plus he is the only player in Raider history to score 1,800 points and 900 rebounds.