From Campus to Continent: College Athletes at the 2026 Asian Games

The 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan (Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, with some team sports starting days earlier) had a strong U.S. college accent. Players from Seattle U, UC Merced, Duke, Pepperdine, Stanford and Harvard wore the colors of South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and the Philippines. Several came home with medals.

Here’s who they were and how they did.

Seattle U teammates, opposite benches

The men’s basketball final came down to two Seattle University Redhawks on rival rosters. Fifth-year forward Junseok Yeo plays for South Korea; junior forward Yuto Kawashima plays for Japan.

South Korea ran the table. It beat Japan 100-83 in the group stage, then beat the host nation again, 67-57, in the Sept. 20 final in Nagoya. Yeo, a Seoul native who has played for South Korea since 2018, missed the final through injury but still collected his first international gold.

The matchup was personal. Kawashima told The Spectator he knew Yeo’s pump fake and his habit of crashing the paint from months of practice together. Yeo’s verdict on guarding a teammate who knows all your moves: “He’s so annoying!”

The two posed for a photo together at the medal ceremony. Head coach Chris Victor says Kawashima, who saw limited minutes last season, came back from the summer a more confident player. His goal for the Redhawks’ season is simple: more playing time.

UC Merced’s Nicole Lukito suits up for Indonesia

Nicole Lukito made the jump from NCAA Division II to continental competition. The UC Merced senior forward from Fremont, Calif., was named to Indonesia’s women’s roster.

orward from Fremont, Calif., was named to Indonesia’s women’s roster.

Her college résumé is a record book of its own:

• The only Bobcat ever with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds
• Program-record 12.6 rebounds per game and 50 double-doubles
• Three-time All-Conference First Team and a 2025 Third Team All-American

Indonesia went 1-1 in Group A, beating Thailand and losing to China, to reach the quarterfinals. It finished sixth of 11 teams, matching its quarterfinal run from 2022. Lukito returns to Merced for the 2026-27 season with Asian Games experience few D-II players can claim.

Duke and Pepperdine sophomores take on the pros

Two sophomores left campus in the first weeks of the fall semester to face fields full of professionals.

Rianne Malixi (Duke) — Philippines, golf. The reigning WGCA National Freshman of the Year and No. 10 amateur in the world tied for fifth at Kasugai Country Club. The Manila native shot 70-66-71-67 for a 6-under 274 and made 19 birdies. She was the top Filipino finisher and improved on her 11th-place finish in 2023. India’s Pranavi Urs won gold at 265, per Inquirer. Malixi skipped Duke’s Windy City Collegiate Classic to play.

Sonja Zhiyenbayeva (Pepperdine) — Kazakhstan, tennis. The WCC Freshman of the Year from Almaty arrived straight from the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a career-high WTA ranking of No. 382, per Pepperdine. She opened with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Hong Kong’s Adithya Karunaratne. Then she took a set off China’s Wang Xiyu, the eventual gold medalist, before falling 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. She also played doubles for Kazakhstan with Zhibek Kulambayeva.

The Filipino-American pipeline

No delegation leaned on U.S. college talent more than the Philippines. The Philippines allows dual citizenship, and Fil-Am NCAA athletes filled its track and gymnastics rosters.

Victoria Bossong (Harvard) — bronze, 800m. The Cumberland, Maine, native switched her sporting nationality in July 2026 and medaled in her first meet for the Philippines. She was the fastest qualifier, then took bronze in 2:05.34 behind China’s Wu Hongjiao and Bahrain’s Nelly Korir. It was the first Asian Games athletics medal for a Filipina in 32 years, per AsAmNews. She also helped set a Philippine record in the mixed 4x400m relay.

Levi Jung-Ruivivar (Stanford) — elite comeback. The Paris 2024 Olympian had stepped away from elite gymnastics to recover from an eating disorder. Nagoya was her first elite meet since Paris. She led the Philippine women into the team final and placed 10th in the all-around. Next up: her second season on the Farm, then a run at LA 2028 qualification.

Lauren Hoffman (Duke alumna) — 400m hurdles. The Paris Olympian and former Blue Devil placed ninth in the heats in 57.94, just missing the final.

Zachary Nunez — men’s gymnastics. An NCAA standout in his second meet for the Philippines, competing on pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar alongside two-time Olympic champion Carlos Yulo.

More names, and the scorecard

Val Tarazi (Auburn alumna) — Palestine, swimming. The Crystal Lake, Ill., native and Paris 2024 flag bearer swam six individual events in Nagoya. Her best finish was 14th, in both the 50m and 200m breaststroke.

Why it matters

For college athletes with roots in Asia, the Asian Games are a real path to elite competition, not a side trip. Bossong went from a 1:58.52 personal best in June to an Asian Games medal in September. Jung-Ruivivar used Nagoya to restart her road to LA 2028. Kawashima came back to Seattle with the confidence his coach says he was missing.

Watch these names this winter in college gyms, pools and arenas. Several are already planning their next national-team trips, from the 2027 Asian Championships to the 2027 Worlds.

For more college athletes on the international stage, see RallyFuel’s Winter Olympics 2026 tracker, with 68 athletes and an NIL medal count from Milano Cortina.