Gonzaga lands Tarleton State transfer Emmanuel Innocenti

Freshman wing was named to the WAC All-Defensive team and All-Freshman team

The Gonzaga Bulldogs landed a commitment from Tarleton State transfer Emmanuel Innocenti, a 6-foot-5 wing who was named to the WAC all-defensive and all-freshman teams this past season.

Innocenti, a top-50 available transfer according to Evan Miya, appeared in all 35 games and made 33 starts with the Texans. He averaged 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 31.7 minutes. Innocenti’s 1.4 steals per game was the fourth-most in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Italian forward scored in double-figures in eight games as a freshman, including a season-high 19 against UT Arlington in January. Innocenti had four games with 10 or more rebounds and six games with five or more assists.

The addition of Innocenti comes just 10 days after Mark Few brought in another 6-foot-5 player in Arkansas grad transfer Khalif Battle. Michael Ajayi, a 6-foot-7 wing who transferred from Pepperdine, is also set to join a Bulldogs team that brought back six of their top seven scorers from last season. 

Innocenti could rotate in for minutes in the backcourt with Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman or Battle. There’s potential for him to play on the wing and compete for time with Steele Venters, Dusty Stromer, Jun Seok Yeo and Ajayi. Either way, the Zags have options in how they utilize Innocenti.

Regardless of position, Innocenti is regarded as an elite defender and should help the Bulldogs on that end of the floor. According to KenPom, Gonzaga ranked No. 51 in adjusted defensive efficiency this past season a year after coming in at No. 73 in 2022-23. Innocenti's knack for the ball and activity on defense should help improve that standing in 2024-25.

According to reports, the Bulldogs also plan to host Colgate transfer Braeden Smith within the next week. Smith, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists this past season. Gonzaga still has an open scholarship available for the Seattle native, though it's unclear what his intentions will be after the Zags landed Innocenti.

Prior to his one season at Tarleton State, Innocenti played four seasons for Stella Azzurra Roma (Italy). He also represented his home country with the U18 national team in 2022-23, averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in seven games.

Here's what an anonymous WAC coach said about Innoncenti:

"He's good. Really guards the ball and is a good athlete. Doesn't shoot it great, but has a good handle at his size and length. He plays hard."