There’s no single path to Division I basketball.
Ahead of the 2026–27 season, K-Snax spoke with six Asian men’s basketball players about when reaching this level first became a realistic goal, what their heritage means to them, the players they grew up watching, and what they’re looking forward to this season.
One of the players in this group is about to play his first college game. Another is entering his fifth year after four seasons at Stanford. There’s an All-Ivy senior at Harvard, two Ivy League players at Yale and Princeton looking to take on bigger roles, and a guard who went from Division II to becoming one of Stephen F. Austin’s top perimeter threats in his first Division I season.
Before we jump into the interviews, let’s learn a little bit about the players:
Thomas Batties II — Harvard
Batties enters his senior season as one of the Ivy League’s more accomplished returning players. The 6-foot-7 forward earned Second Team All-Ivy honors last season after averaging 12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from three. He enters 2026–27 already ranked 10th in Harvard history with 97 career blocks.
Narit Chotikavanic — Stephen F. Austin
Chotikavanic enters his junior season at Stephen F. Austin after establishing himself as one of the Lumberjacks’ top perimeter threats in his first Division I season. The 6-foot-2 guard played all 34 games in 2025–26, averaging 9.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game while shooting 39.4% from three. His 87 made threes led SFA, and he finished third on the team in scoring despite coming off the bench all season. Chotikavanic arrived at SFA after earning Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year honors at Division II West Texas A&M, where he averaged 11.4 points per game.
Ethan Lin — Penn
Lin arrives at Penn as a 6-foot-5 freshman point guard from Montgomery High School in New Jersey. A three-star recruit, Lin had offers from several high-academic Division I programs before becoming the first high school commitment of Fran McCaffery’s tenure at Penn. He was ranked among the highest-rated recruits to commit to the Quakers in the modern recruiting era.
Ryan Agarwal — Loyola Chicago
Agarwal brings the most high-major experience of the group, entering his fifth and final college season after spending four years at Stanford. The 6-foot-6 guard became a regular contributor for the Cardinal over his final two seasons, making 48 starts and averaging a career-best 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a junior. After transferring to Loyola Chicago, head coach Drew Valentine pointed to Agarwal’s shooting, shot-making and playmaking as reasons he believes the veteran guard can show more of his game in the Ramblers’ system.
Jacob Tsai — Yale
A San Diego native, Tsai enters his sophomore season at Yale after making his college debut as a freshman. Before arriving in New Haven, the 5-foot-11 guard played four years at The Bishop’s School, scoring 700 career points and shooting 41% from three during his senior season while helping Bishop’s reach the CIF semifinals.
Zio Kim — Princeton
Kim enters his junior season as a 6-foot-4 guard at Princeton after spending his first two years developing within the Tigers’ program. The Basking Ridge, New Jersey native played at The Pennington School before arriving at Princeton and enters 2026–27 looking to earn a larger role while returning from an injury.
Now let’s jump into the interviews:
Thomas Batties II
When did playing D1 basketball first start to feel like a realistic goal for you?
D1 basketball felt realistic to me once I made the varsity basketball team in my freshman year of high school. I had gone through a lot of self doubt and often dealt with confidence issues, but that moment showed me that other people saw great potential in me even when I sometimes didn’t. It felt like a very healthy shot of confidence when I needed it, and being with the other players on the varsity team at 14-15 years old showed me the level I needed to reach to be a D1 athlete.
What does your Asian heritage mean to you, both on and off the court?
My Asian heritage significantly helped shape my upbringing, and it has given me a deeper understanding of how important it is to both uplift and uphold different cultures across the world. Being able to represent my Filipino heritage through basketball has allowed me to connect with friends, family, and fans on a special level.
Who were the basketball players you looked up to most growing up?
Honestly, the players I looked up to most were the guys who played at my high school, Gonzaga College HS, before me. I knew I wanted to play there years before I could apply, and my proximity to the program through personal connections and my AAU team familiarized me with the passion and culture that they fostered both at the school and on the team. Those were the factors I valued most.
What are you most looking forward to during the 2026–27 season?
This season, I’m just looking forward to everything that comes with pursuing a championship with my team. That’s the goal every year of course, but it feels like I’ve been able to build up to this final opportunity in a special way now that I’m a senior and a captain of the team. The road was paved by many players that came before me, and there were many moving parts that helped put me in this situation, so now I’m responsible for continuing it and showing the younger guys how special the Harvard Basketball program is and where or how they fit in.
Narit Chotikavanic
When did playing D1 basketball first start to feel like a realistic goal for you?
Playing D1 basketball was a realistic goal for me during my sophomore year of high school when I decided to go all in on it. I had a dream of playing Divison 1 sports for a long time and knew if I stuck to my routine and habits it would come true.
What does your Asian heritage mean to you, both on and off the court?
My Asian and Thai heritage means a lot to me, on the court I use it as fuel to show other people that Asian Americans can hoop and do it at a very high level. I take a lot of pride in my Thai nationality and try my best to represent them to the highest level. Off the court I try my best to treat people with a ton of respect and overall be a good person.
Who were the basketball players you looked up to most growing up?
My favorite players growing up was for one, of course Jeremy Lin, because of the inspiration he brought me and many Asian Americans worldwide, but I was also a huge Russell Westbrook fan because I love the passion he plays with and how he plays every game like it is his last.
What are you most looking forward to during the 2026–27 season?
I am most excited for this 2026-2027 season to just show people what SFA basketball is about and try and win a championship and make a run in March. I am really excited for this group because it is a great group of guys and I am ready to go into battle with them.
Ethan Lin
When did playing D1 basketball first start to feel like a realistic goal for you?
Growing up, playing at the Division 1 level was always one of my dreams, but it really started feeling like a concrete reality through my high school years at Montgomery as well as against top tier talent on the UAA circuit and putting in consistent work in the gym made me realize that my skill set, basketball IQ, and work ethic could translate to the highest level of college hoops.
What does your Asian heritage mean to you, both on and off the court?
My heritage is an important point of pride. On the court, I love being able to represent Asian American athletes and show the next generation that we can compete and excel at the highest levels of the sport. Off the court, it keeps me grounded and deeply connected to my family, culture, and community values. Knowing I’m carrying that pride with me every time I step on the floor gives me extra motivation.
Who were the basketball players you looked up to most growing up?
I always paid close attention to high IQ guards who could control the tempo of a game, create for others, and score efficiently when needed like Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving. Jeremy Lin is also someone I look up to.
What are you most looking forward to during the 2026–27 season?
I’m really looking forward to stepping onto the court, competing and contributing every single night, and proving myself at this level. Beyond the games, I’m excited about building chemistry with my teammates, adapting to college life and taking major strides forward in my development.
Ryan Agarwal
When did playing D1 basketball first start to feel like a realistic goal for you?
D1 basketball first started to feel like a realistic goal for me going into my sophomore year of high school. Going into high school, my main goal was just to make the JV team and eventually make the varsity team and play high school basketball. But the summer going into my sophomore year, I started to get a little national recognition playing AAU ball and started having some coaches come into practices for high school.
So that’s when I kind of started to see a real possibility that I could play D1.
What does your Indian heritage mean to you, both on and off the court?
In terms of my Indian heritage, it means the world to me.
On the court, there’s not a ton of Indian basketball players, so just trying to do my best in workouts and understanding that the opportunity I have is so unique.
For me, that helps encourage me day in and day out with my workouts. If I’m struggling or just don’t have the urge to go do something, I remember that not everyone has this opportunity.
And I think off the court, it’s been such an amazing experience to see the support I’ve gotten from the Indian community.
Honestly, a lot of people ask me if it’s a lot of pressure, and I would say, as I’ve gotten older, it feels more like a support system. I’ve really embraced that and try to utilize those networks and connections to benefit me and the people I’m meeting, and to be an inspiration in any way I can.
Who were the basketball players you looked up to most growing up?
Being a Mavericks fan, I was a really big fan of Dirk Nowitzki and obviously Luka, and still am even though he’s got traded.
But I think what I really liked about Dirk is his humble manner and how he went about every game and when he won a championship. The way he kept so composed was super inspiring to me.
And I think that’s the way I try to go about as much as possible when I meet people. When I have victories, to kind of not do the most, if that makes sense. I try to really stay where my feet are and be humble because I feel like that’s also a strong attribute that my parents try to instill in me as well.
What are you most looking forward to during the 2026–27 season?
For me, it’s just being somewhere new and embracing that new.
Like, I think so far in the summer with workouts and this little bit of preseason that we’ve started so far, I’ve just really enjoyed kind of doing something new. I was in school for four years at Stanford. At Loyola, I’ve really enjoyed doing different workouts and experiencing new things in the city of Chicago and having a little bit of a different day-to-day.
In terms of the season, I’m really excited to try to elevate my role a little bit and play a little bit different than I have in the past.
My goal with this team…it’s just so talented. I really want to show there’s a bit more to my game than what I’ve shown during last four years.
Jacob Tsai
When did playing D1 basketball first start to feel like a realistic goal for you?
After attending Yale’s Team Jones Elite Camp for high schoolers, I got in touch with the coaching staff. At that time I went to the camp to get interest from D2 and D3 schools, so I really wasn’t thinking about playing D1 basketball at all. After I got into Yale as a regular student and notified the coaching staff, Coach Jones offered me a walk on position, which is when I truly realized my dream was about to become a reality.
What does your Asian heritage mean to you, both on and off the court?
On the court it means being brave, confident, and remembering that I am inspiring the next generation of Asian hoopers. Being on a division 1 basketball team ultimately means having the platform and visibility to pave the way for kids that look like me to believe that playing college basketball is an attainable goal. Off the court, it means embodying the value of respect and constantly trying to learn from those around me, which has not only helped deepen my relationship with my teammates but also everyone in the Yale community.
Who were the basketball players you looked up to most growing up?
Because my mom is from Lawrence, Kansas, I grew up watching a lot of Kansas basketball: Devon Dotson, Frank Mason, and Devontae Graham were my favorite guards to watch. I’ve always admired Kevin Durant for his effortless scoring ability, but as I got older, Spencer Dinwiddie became my favorite player because of his playmaking ability. Of course Jeremy Lin was a big inspiration as well, and we also happen to be distantly related.
What are you most looking forward to during the 2026–27 season?
I’m looking forward to helping the Yale Bulldogs win. I’m also excited to make more memories on and off the court with my teammates.
Zio Kim
When did playing D1 basketball first start to feel like a realistic goal for you?
To be honest, most of my time during high school I was expecting myself to end up playing D3 basketball. My goal was always just to play college basketball at any level, so I think playing D1 didn’t become a goal for me until I started talking to D1 coaches.
What does your Asian heritage mean to you, both on and off the court?
Being a Korean American is important to me in so many ways. Off the court it means being invested in the culture and carrying myself to a certain standard. On the court, it means I represent something bigger than just myself. I wouldn’t be who I am today without that part of my identity.
Who were the basketball players you looked up to most growing up?
My favorite player has always been Steph Curry. I looked up to him because you could tell that he had tremendous athletic abilities, but the majority of his skill and success on the court was rooted in hard work. I also really looked up to Jeremy Lin. As a fellow Ivy League Asian basketball player, it always is nice to think about people who faced the same struggles as me have found success before me.
What are you most looking forward to during the 2026–27 season?
Currently, I am recovering from an injury, so my main goal is to get healthy and stay healthy. Hopefully, I can get back quickly and have a great season!
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