River States Conference

On July 6, Klimas signed with CSM Oradea, one of the top teams in Romania. Terms of the contract were not released, but Klimas's agent said the newly signed player would be paid among the top three percent of players in the league.

"I'm very excited right now because it's been a dream of mine since I was five," says Klimas.

An NAIA Honorable Mention All American and two time All-KIAC (Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) selection, Klimas is the first international player to start for Berea College and is the first Mountaineer in decades to play professional basketball. During his career, Klimas, a native of Lithuania, scored 1,082 points, grabbed 921 rebounds (ranks third all-time at Berea), had 117 assists and 77 steals while averaging a double-double in points and rebounds the last two seasons.

"At first I was scared to come to an American college because I had some offers when I was 17 years old to play overseas, but I decided to come here and get an education," says Klimas. "I got my finance degree, learned to play basketball and became an overall better person."

Head Coach John Mills says Klimas's success at Berea will have lasting impacts on the basketball program. "He has helped take our program worldwide," says Mills. "Because of his success we are in better position to recruit other International players and when we do Tomas will always be the measuring stick."

Klimas graduated in May with a degree in business administration. He reports to Romania in a couple of weeks.

STORY COURTESY OF JAY BUCKNER OF BEREA COLLEGE