Updated WCC Transfer Portal rankings: Gonzaga holds top spot after Braeden Smith commitment

Zags No. 1 in the WCC transfer portal rankings, with Washington State close behind

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

With most of his Gonzaga men's basketball roster returning from yet another Sweet 16 run, Mark Few has managed to reel in some big fish out of the transfer portal this offseason.

Michael Ajayi, a 6-foot-7 All-WCC wing from Kent, Washington, is poised to have a huge impact on both ends of the floor after averaging 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds with Pepperdine this past season. Arkansas grad transfer Khalif Battle provides a scoring punch as a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 29.6 points over his final seven games with the Razorbacks. Emmanuel Innocenti complements both proven scorers as a defensive specialist who was named to the WAC All-Defense and All-Freshman teams at Tarleton State.

Broadly, the Zags’ 2024 transfer portal class addresses some areas of growth from last season’s team — 3-point shooting, backcourt depth, defensive versatility and overall individual scoring ability. Their latest addition aims to provide a roadmap for the future of the point guard position, as Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Battle all enter their final seasons of eligibility. 

Colgate transfer Braeden Smith will likely take the reins from Nembhard in 2025 as a redshirt junior. The reigning Patriot League Player of the Year chose to take a redshirt year at Gonzaga after averaging 12.5 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds with the Raiders as a sophomore. Having that talent reserved for two more seasons gives the Bulldogs a solid building block for the future.

Though he won’t suit up next fall, Smith’s commitment puts Gonzaga firmly at No. 1 in our latest West Coast Conference transfer portal rankings. Here’s how the rest of the league shakes out heading into June.

NO. 1 GONZAGA BULLDOGS

Transfers in: Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine), Khalif Battle (Arkansas)
, Emmanuel Innocenti (Tarleton State), Braeden Smith, Colgate; Transfers out: Colby Brooks, Pavle Stosic, Luka Krajnovic

NO. 2 WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

Transfers in: LeJuan Watts (Eastern Washington), Ethan Price (Eastern Washington), Dane Erikstrup (Eastern Washington), Rihards Vavers (Quinnipiac), ND Okafor (California), Nate Calmese (Washington)
Transfers out: Ruben Chinyelu (Florida), Myles Rice (Indiana), Andrej Jakimovski (Colorado), Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State), Kymany Houinsou (Loyola Chicago), Jabe Mullins (Montana State), Joseph Yesufu (West Virginia), AJ LaBeau (Cornell), AJ Rohosy, Dylan Darling (Idaho State), Spencer Mahoney, Jaylen Wells

The Cougars jumped up to No. 2 in the latest transfer portal rankings after bringing in Calmese, a 6-foot-2 guard from Washington who flashed tremendous potential as a freshman at Lamar. The Arizona native didn’t take off with the Huskies, as he put up just 4.1 points per game and played sparingly down the stretch of the season. Perhaps Calmese can spread his wings under new WSU head coach David Riley.

Additionally, the Cougars replace their top eight scorers from last season’s second-place Pac-12 team with the reigning Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and two other potential starters from Eastern Washington.

NO. 3 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS

Transfers in: Jan Vide (UCLA), Matar Diop (Nebraska), Jevon Porter (Pepperdine), MJ Amey (San Jose State), Caleb Stone-Carrawell (Utah Valley)
Transfers out: Dominick Harris (UCLA), Justin Wright (UNC Asheville), Michael Graham (Hofstra), Noah Taitz

Stan Johnson and his new assistant coach Lorenzo Romar scored early and often in the portal cycle. The Lions landed two commitments from power conference players (Vide and Diop), an NBA prospect within the WCC (Porter) and an All-Mountain West honorable mention who averaged 15.7 points as a junior (Amey).

Porter tapped into some of the potential that pro scouts admired about the 6-foot-11 multi-skilled scorer during his time at Pepperdine. Vide wasn’t able to showcase much of his game after playing sparingly at UCLA as a freshman, but if Johnson and Romar can maximize the talent of both of their highly-touted transfers, LMU could make some noise next season. 

Losing Harris, the league’s leading 3-point shooter last season, along with Wright and Graham’s departures could hurt on the offensive end of the floor. Continuity is often a major factor in a team’s success, and Johnson won’t be returning much experience from last season (21.4% of last season’s minutes are back, the fourth-lowest rate in the WCC). Still, Johnson and Romar have a lot of offensive firepower to replace their losses.

NO. 4 PACIFIC TIGERS

Transfers in: Lamar Washington (Texas Tech), Jefferson Koulibaly (SMU), Elijah Fisher (DePaul), Jazz Gardner (Nevada), Petar Krivokapic (Florida International)
Transfers out: Moe Odum (Pepperdine), Donovan Williams (Western Michigan), Cam Denson (Long Beach State), Tyler Beard (Cal State Northridge), Makai Richards, Nick Blake, Villiam Garcia Adsten, Judson Martindale (Cal State Northridge), Tan Yildizoglu (VMI)

The Dave Smart era in Stockton, California, is officially a go after the widely successful Canadian coach snagged two starting-caliber guards in Washington and Fisher. Gardner is still unproven but has upside as a 7-foot center, while Krivokapic is another experienced guard who’s played 123 college games in his career. Koulibaly rounds out the backcourt rotation after taking a year off this past season.

The outgoing transfer portal class is somewhat overwhelming, though it wasn’t to be expected that the Tigers would retain much talent from last season’s 6-26 team. Perhaps a new set of faces and talent can turn the page on a new chapter of Pacific basketball.

NO. 5 OREGON STATE BEAVERS

Transfers in: Parsa Fallah (Southern Utah), Isaiah Sy (JUCO), Damarco Minor (SIU Edwardsville), Matthew Marsh (Wake Forest), Tyler Cochran (Toledo)
Transfers out: Jordan Pope (Texas), Tyler Bilodeau (UCLA), KC Ibekwe (Washington), Justin Rochelin, Dexter Akanno, Christian Wright, Chol Marial (San Jose State), Jayden Stevens (Idaho)

Wayne Tinkle has to replace the production from four of his top five scorers from this past season. Fallah, a 6-foot-9 post who averaged 13.2 points as a redshirt junior, and Minor, an All-OVC guard who averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, are two good places to start in achieving that goal. Cochran, the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year, could also replace Pope in the starting lineup if Tinkle doesn’t play him and Minor together.

Marsh didn’t play a lot of minutes behind Efton Reid at Wake Forest last season, though he adds a lot of size at 7-foot-1, 250 pounds. He hasn’t been a notable shot blocker in his career, but the potential for that to change is there (2.1 blocks per 100 possessions last year). 

Marsh, who didn’t play a lot of minutes behind Efton Reid at Wake Forest last season, adds a lot of size at 7-foot-1, 250 pounds. He hasn’t been a notable shot blocker in his career, but the potential for that to change is there (2.1 blocks per 100 possessions last year). 

Oregon State doesn’t bring a whole lot of continuity with it in the school’s first season as a member of the WCC. Perhaps change is necessary if the Beavers are to have their first winning season since 2021.

NO. 6 SAN FRANCISCO DONS

Transfers in: Jason Rivera-Torres (Vanderbilt), Carlton Linguard (UTSA)
Transfers out: Mike Sharavjamts, Isaiah Hawthorne (Northern Colorado), Stefan Todorovic (Pepperdine), Justin Bieker (Utah Tech), Jake Cioe

Dons fans would’ve loved to have Jonathan Mogbo back at The Hilltop for another season, though with the 6-foot-8 forward staying in the NBA Draft, another multi-faceted big man from the transfer portal is set to step in as Mogbo’s successor.

The 6-foot-11 Linguard has the tools to be the ultimate package on offense. In addition to battling for rebounds, he poses a legitimate lob threat in the dunker’s spot along the baseline. The UTSA transfer can also provide some floor spacing as a career 30.2% 3-point shooter. 

Rivera-Torres is a 6-foot-7 guard who can flat-out score. In San Francisco’s guard-friendly offense, perhaps he’ll be more efficient from the field as a sophomore.

NO. 7 PEPPERDINE WAVES

Transfers in: Aaron Clark (Wake Forest), Stefan Todorovic (San Francisco), Alonso Faure (Loyola Maryland), Moe Odum (Pacific), Javon Cooley (Marist)
Transfers out: Houston Mallette (Alabama), Michael Ajayi (Gonzaga), Jevon Porter (LMU), Nils Cooper (UC Davis), Malik Moore (Montana), Jalen Pitre (Sacramento State), Cord Stansberry (Western Carolina), Aladji Gassama, Curtis Williams

Pepperdine had the most outgoing talent of any team in the WCC. Six of the top seven scorers, including the Ajayi-Porter-Mallette big three, have found greener pastures elsewhere. New head coach Ed Schillings, formerly an assistant at Grand Canyon, will have some veteran leadership to lean on in his first season at the helm, though time will tell if it translates positively to the win-loss column.

Odum was one of the top playmakers in the WCC this past season with 4.6 assists as a sophomore, the second-most in the league behind Ryan Nembhard. The 6-foot-1 guard now has to adjust to new teammates and play style. If he can get his teammates in the right spot, Schilling has a solid lead guard to work with.

NO. 8 SAINT MARY’S GAELS

Transfers in: Paulius Murauskas (Arizona), Ashton Hardaway (Memphis)
Transfers out: Aidan Mahaney (UConn), Chris Howell (UC San Diego), Jensen Bradtke (Montana), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State)

The Gaels had a rough start to the offseason. Mahaney, a two-time All-WCC guard and hometown product, surprisingly left for the two-time national champions UConn Huskies. That came after Joshua Jefferson took his talents to Iowa State. Those departures, on top of four-star recruit Zion Sensley requesting release from his National Letter of Intent, put Saint Mary’s in quite a spot heading into the summer.

Murauskas, a 6-foot-8 Lithuanian, had NBA buzz around him heading into his freshman season at Arizona. Limited opportunities with the Wildcats paved the way for the stretch forward to fall right into Randy Bennett’s hands. Bet on the reigning WCC Coach of the Year to tap into more of Murauskas’ potential as a 3-point weapon on the wing for the Gaels, who won’t be with Alex Ducas next season. 

Hardaway, a 6-foot-8 forward who will be a sophomore next season, brings a lot of athleticism and versatility to the frontcourt.

NO. 9 SANTA CLARA BRONCOS

Transfers out: Kosy Akametu
Transfers in: Carlos Stewart (LSU)

Herb Sendek wasn’t very active during the first wave of the transfer portal, though bringing back Adama Bal was arguably the most important offseason task anyway. Joining the All-WCC guard is Stewart, who played his first two seasons with Santa Clara before transferring to LSU last year. 

Stewart was an All-WCC guard in 2022-23 and averaged 15.2 points and 1.8 steals. He and Bal form a formidable duo in the Broncos' backcourt.

NO. 10 PORTLAND PILOTS

Transfers in: Max Mackinnon (Elon) Jermaine Ballisager (American
Transfers out: Tyler Harris (Washington), Juan Sebastian Gorosito (Ball State), Yuto Yamanouchi (Wyoming), Vasilije Vucinic (Weber State), Thomas Oosterbroek, Drew Stack, Cyprian Hyde (VMI), Andrew Younan

Shantay Legans is once again tasked with rebuilding the Pilots. Harris would’ve been a solid building block for the future after he showed promise as a freshman, averaging 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 46.0% from the field. Already set to lose program stalwart Tyler Robertson, Portland loses 74.7% of its minutes from last season’s squad.

Legans brought in Mackinnon, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 12.1 points as a sophomore, to be Robertson’s replacement at the point guard position. The Australian won’t have the same flare to his game that his predecessor possessed, but he should translate well to the WCC regardless. 

Ballisager provides presence on the interior at 7 feet tall and weighing 240 pounds. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds last season, though he wasn’t much of a shot blocker (0.2 blocks per game).

NO. 11 SAN DIEGO TOREROS

Transfers out: Wayne McKinney III (San Diego State), Deuce Turner (UC Santa Barbara), Kevin Patton Jr. (USC), PJ Hayes (Rutgers), Jimmy Oladokun Jr. (Rice)
Transfers in: None

You can’t judge an incoming transfer portal class that doesn’t exist. Steve Lavin hasn’t brought in any talent from the portal despite losing three of his top four scorers. The Toreros expect nearly half of the minutes played from last season to return for another run next fall, though they don’t seem to be getting much outside help.