From virtually unrecruited to the NBA.
John Tonje’s remarkable rise in the basketball world continues.
The former Colorado State player was picked in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft on June 26. Tonje was selected with the No. 53 overall pick by the Utah Jazz.
Tonje joins the Jazz as a Wisconsin player after spending the 2024-25 season with the Badgers, but he played four seasons at Colorado State.
The 6-foot-5 wing went from averaging 3.6 points per game as a freshman to 14.6 in his final season (2023-24) at CSU. Overall, Tonje played 122 games at CSU, averaged 8.6 points per game and helped the Rams make the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Tonje was eligible to play another season after his four at CSU due to COVID. He transferred to Missouri but played in just eight games due to injury and was able to get another year of eligibility.
Tonje transferred to Wisconsin and had an All-American season with the Badgers in 2024-25. He averaged 19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for Wisconsin. Tonje played 167 career college games.
CSU was one of the few that saw the big potential in Tonje. He was an unranked recruit out of high school by 247Sports with hometown Nebraska-Omaha and Missouri Western State his only other reported Division I offers.
Tonje went from 1.6 points per game as a sophomore to Nebraska large schools’ top scorer as a senior.
He’s the second former Ram picked in the 2025 NBA draft after Nique Clifford was picked in the first round by the Sacramento Kings.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.