Braeden Smith embraces Gonzaga’s competitive environment: ‘Everybody is just working really hard'
Growing up in the Seattle area, Braeden Smith knew plenty about the Gonzaga men’s basketball program.
“Just being a basketball junkie, being around and knowing college basketball yeah, UW is like a big thing for guys in Seattle but just, being a basketball fan, you appreciate Gonzaga,” Smith said. “Obviously being from Seattle, just knowing about Gonzaga and the success that is here and the culture, I kinda knew about that.”
Smith’s journey back to the Evergreen State was unusual for a player of his caliber. Coming out of Seattle Prep, he was a three-star recruit who held offers from Colgate, Portland and UC Davis. He took just one visit, to Colgate’s campus in Hamilton, New York, before committing to Matt Langel and the Raiders.
Immediately the 6-foot-0 guard was an impact player on a veteran roster, as Smith joined four other seniors in the starting lineup to lead Colgate to a Patriot League title and NCAA Tournament berth while averaging 11.6 points, 4.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds as a full-time starter. The Raiders were bounced by Texas in the first round in an 81-61 defeat.
The next year, Smith was even better — 12.5 points, 5.6 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game as a sophomore. He was named the Patriot League Player of the Year and guided Colgate back to the postseason, though again it was physically outmatched by a Big 12 school, as Baylor downed the Raiders, 92-67.
“From those March Madness games I think the biggest thing for me was the physicality that those two teams played with,” Smith said. “Playing in the Patriot League, [the league] doesn’t compare to that type of athleticism throughout the year and then you get to that game, it’s just a bit of an adjustment.”
Smith knew it was time for a change of scenery.
“I just wanted to surround myself with that type of athleticism, that type of skillset every day,” Smith said. “That was a little bit of why I wanted to go into the portal, but also I just wanted to see what was out there … you want to play at the highest level out there and win in March Madness, so that’s kind of the things I was looking for.”
Upon entering the portal, Smith drew interest from some of the top programs in college basketball. Only a select few fit his criteria, which was “a winning program … a Power 5 [program] or a jump in competition.” And of course, playing time.
Gonzaga’s approach to the recruiting process was different from other schools. The Zags already had Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman locked in to return in 2024-25 and they had just added 6-foot-5 Tarleton State transfer Emmanuel Innocenti. Smith wanted playing time, but Gonzaga had other plans.
“The redshirt idea came up right away. When coach [Stephen] Gentry called me, he shot it straight and said you know, we have a different opportunity for you, we’d think it’d be great,” Smith said. “And at first, wanting to play was one of my things and I was kinda turned off by [redshirting].”
As he mulled the decision, Smith was reminded of Gonzaga’s lengthy track record of success with transfer players. Kelly Olynyk famously developed into an All-American and NBA Draft pick during his redshirt year. Joel Ayayi developed into a well-rounded guard coming off a redshirt season. Braden Huff is the most recent example of a productive player off the bench in 2023-24.
“The coaching staff did a great job explaining it and making me feel more comfortable with that idea,” Smith said. "Looking at it from a different perspective as a year of development, a lot of hard work instead of a year sitting out.”
Already in the first few weeks of practice, Smith has embraced Gonzaga’s competitive environment.
“It’s been awesome to have these athletes and these basketball players,” Smith said. “The skill level, getting up and down [the floor], that’s what I think I’m really good at and enjoy, so being able to have guys that can be as fast as you getting up like the bigs, they run extremely hard. The wings are running hard, everybody is just working really hard and it’s been very competitive and a lot of fun so far.”
Smith shared more about his journey to Gonzaga and much more on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.
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COLE FORSMAN
Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Nation, a member of Sports Illustrated’s FanNation network. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.