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Gonzaga’s Khalif Battle signs one-year contract with Italy’s Aquila Basket Trento

Coming off an NBA Summer League stint with the Phoenix Suns, Khalif Battle has a permanent professional basketball home in Italy’s Lega Basketball Serie A.

The Gonzaga guard signed a one-year contract with Aquila Basket Trenta, a club that plays in Trento, Italy, and competes in the country’s top basketball league along with the popular EuroCup competition.

Aquila Basket announced Battle’s addition on Thursday on its website and social media channels.

“I like Khalif’s capability and his desire to live basketball in an intense way,” Trento coach Massimo Chancellieri said in a translated statement on Thursday on the team’s website. “(He) gives us versatility and speed.”

Battle spent his sixth college season at Gonzaga after previous stops at Butler, Temple and Arkansas. The guard started in 31 of 35 games in his lone season with the Zags, averaging 13.6 points per game, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

The New Jersey native scored a season-high 26 points in a 96-68 win at LMU and came on strong toward the end of the year, averaging 19 ppg in the WCC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. That included a 26-point, eight-rebound outing in GU’s 89-68 first-round NCAA Tournament win against Georgia.

According to EuroBasket.com, Battle will be one of five American players on Aquila’s roster entering the 2025-26 season. The team also signed Andrej Jakimovski, the former Washington State forward who spent his final college season at Colorado.

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