Portland State Men's Basketball Coach Jase Coburn has announced the signing of Yaroslav Nikonov for the 2026-27 academic year.
 
Nikonov is from Russia and most recently competed in the Russian Superleague. A 6-5 guard, Nikonov was team captain of CSKA-2 Moscow, averaging 17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.2 minutes to lead the league in scoring. He shot .479 from the field, .833 at the line and made 47 three-point field goals (.376) in 24 games.
 
"We feel that Yaroslav is an extremely talented player. He has a great ability to put the ball in the bucket and can really score in a variety of ways," said Coburn. "To be able to be one of the top scorers in his league says a lot about his ability. He has the toughness, physicality and spirit that matches our program and how we do things. We are really looking forward to Yaroslav joining our program."
 
Nikonov is 21 years old and has spent five years in the CSKA Club in Moscow. CSKA-2 is considered the "Farm Club" for the CSKA Superleague team. He is the third foreign player to join the Viking program for the coming season.
 
Nikonov joins a Portland State program that won the Big Sky Conference regular season championship in 2025-26 (20-11/13-5) and is led by Big Sky Coach of the Year Jase Coburn. 
 
BASKETBALL SIGNING
Yaroslav Nikonov, G, 6-5, 195, FR, Gelendzhik, Russia (CSKA-2)
 
PREVIOUS SIGNINGS
Gantas Križanauskas, G, 6-4, 200, FR, CL, Vilnius, Lithuania (Rytas Vilnius) – May 26
Koren Johnson, G, 6-1, 180, SR, TR, Seattle, WA (Garfield HS/Washington/Louisville/Ole Miss) – May 13
Jaquay Randolph, F, 6-10, 240, SR, TR, Tallahassee, FL (Maclay School/Southeastern/Southern Wesleyan) – May 2
Luke Kearney, F, 6-7, 220, SR, TR, Phoenix, AZ (Bella Vista Prep/Air Force/Utah State) – April 28
Francesco Corato, F, 6-8, 220, FR, CL, Venice, Italy (Umana Reyer)  - April 21
Antonio Pusateri, F, 6-7, 200, SR, TR, San Francisco, CA (Riordan HS/CC of San Francisco/Lubbock Christian) - April 17
Nehemiah Pollard, G, 6-4, 205, SR, TR, Tacoma, WA (Mount Tahoma/South Puget Sound CC/Western Washington) - April 17
Dennis Johnson III, G, 6-3, 185, SO, TR, Seattle, WA (Phoenix Prep/Western Washington) – April 16
Trevor Frank, G, 6-1, 180, SR, TR, Katy, TX (Paetow HS/Dallas Baptist) – April 15
Emil Skyttä, G, 6-5, 200, SR, TR, Helsinki, Finland (PHYK/Sacramento State/North Dakota State) – April 15

Pronunciations:
Gantas Križanauskas: - GAUNT-us kri-ZHUH-nos-kiss
Emil Skyttä - A-meal SKEW-uh
Antonio Pusateri – POOS – uh- terry
Francesco Corato – fran-CHESS-ko CORE-ah-toe
Yaroslav Nikonov – YAR – o – slahf  NEEK- o – nahf