Woldetensae was born and raised in Bologna, Italy and is the son of an Eritrean mother Zaid Woldetensae. Growing up, he played basketball, soccer, and swimming but is also interested in art. Woldetensae played two seasons at Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Florida, the only American high school that responded to him.[1] He received a scholarship offer from UMKC, but ran into NCAA issues and instead committed to play at Indian Hills Community College[2] in Ottumwa, Iowa.
College career
As a freshman at Indian Hills, Woldetensae averaged 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.[3] He averaged 17.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a sophomore, shooting 47.6 percent from three-point range, which helped his team get to the NJCAA National Tournament's second round.[4] However, was forced to miss the last four games, including the NJCAA Tournament, due to a broken bone in his wrist. He was named a First Team NJCAA All-American, the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Division I Player of the Year and was a First Team all-region selection. Woldetensae committed to Virginia, after receiving interest from Arizona, UCF, Maryland and Oregon.[5]
On 15 February 2020 he scored 18 points and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining in a 64–62 win at North Carolina.[6] As a junior, Woldetensae averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.[7] He averaged 4.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game as a senior.[8] On 7 April 2021 Woldetensae announced that he would turn professional rather than take advantage of the additional season of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
^Centenari, Andrea; Yahyabeyogu, Fersu (February 11, 2022). "Tomas Woldetensae joins Varese". Eurobasket. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
