MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has added an international talent to the 2025-26 roster, as Nastja Claessens from Belgium has signed with the Wildcats.
A forward, Claessens most recently helped the Belgian Senior National Team win the 2025 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket in June. She saw action in six games and averaged 5.2 points on a .529 field goal percentage, including .429 from beyond the arc, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists.
Prior to aiding Belgium in winning the tournament in June, she was a member of the national team at the 2025 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers and played in all four games.
Claessens already holds Olympic experience on her resume, as she was a member of the 2024 Belgian National Team at the Paris Olympics and played in two games. She aided her home country in qualifying for the Olympics during the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament and carded action in three games.
In April of 2024, Claessens was selected in the third round with the 30th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. As an international player, she was automatically eligible for the WNBA Draft in the calendar year of her 20th birthday. Claessens elected not to sign with Washington to keep her options open and to have the opportunity to go to school and play collegiately in the United States.
Earlier in 2024, Claessens played in the FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket and registered seven games of play while notching averages of 17.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
In 2023, she played in four games and averaged 9.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists during the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers. In the 2023 U20 Women’s European Championship, Claessens registered 16.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists in six games.
Claessens also played in the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship and notched 16.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in seven games.
In addition to her international experiences, Claessens played with IDK Euskotren in the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto in Spain. During the 2025 Eurocup, she played in 10 games and averaged 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists including a high of 19 points, three rebounds and two assists against Proteas on November 27.
In league action with IDK Euskotren, Claessens averaged 3.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists.
During the 2024 Eurocup, she played for her hometown club of Castors Braine and averaged 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in five games.