West Coast Conference transfer portal update: Gonzaga, Santa Clara, LMU reload for 2023-24

The Zags might have won the offseason, but other WCC teams got better as well

The transfer portal was once seen as a last resort for college basketball players. It has quickly become a viable strategy for building a championship-caliber roster.

The portal has made the sport an unpredictable year-round arms race dictated by which coaches and programs offer the best opportunities on and off the court through playing time and lucrative NIL deals. From March through August, roughly 1,400 Division-I men’s basketball players went through the portal in hopes of finding greener pastures elsewhere.

Love it or hate it, building a team through the portal is a legitimate strategy. Last season’s Sweet 16 featured 69 transfers among 14 teams, with Princeton and UCLA being the exceptions. Of those 14 programs, Houston was the only one that didn’t have a transfer in its starting lineup. There were nine transfer players in the national championship between UConn and San Diego State, including Huskies' guard Tristen Newton (East Carolina) and SDSU’s Matt Bradley (Cal).

Outside of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, there aren’t waves of former four- and five-star recruits flooding the West Coast Conference as they do in the Power 5, but the talent pool in the conference has certainly improved over the last few seasons with the new transfer rules. Last year's co-WCC Player of the Year, Santa Clara's Brandin Podziemski, was an Illinois transfer while Sixth Man of the Year Malachi Smith transferred from Chattanooga to Gonzaga. 

Here’s a look at where WCC teams stand based on their activity in the transfer portal this offseason:

GONZAGA BULLDOGS

Incoming: G Ryan Nembhard (Creighton), G/F Steele Venters (Eastern Washington), C Graham Ike (Wyoming)

Departing: G Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest), F Efton Reid III (Wake Forest), G Dominick Harris (LMU)

The Zags lost a lot of firepower in the offseason, but coach Mark Few reloaded through the portal with the additions of Nembhard (12.1 ppg, 4.8 apg in 2022-23) and Ike (19.5 ppg, 9.6 rpg in 2021-22), who looks to bounce back after sitting out last season with a lower leg injury. The pair should be a formidable duo in Few’s offense, which utilizes a lot of pick-and-roll sets.

Venters, the reigning Big Sky Player of the Year, is a complementary shooter on the wing (40.3% in three seasons at EWU) who’s used to playing an up-tempo style from his time with the Eagles. The backcourt lacks depth with Sallis and Harris gone and will be something to monitor as the season goes along. Regardless, landing two top-25 transfers in Nembhard and Ike makes the Zags the big winners of the transfer portal in the WCC.

SAINT MARY'S GAELS 

Incoming: None

Departing: C Matt Van Komen (Hawaii Pacific)

Much like last season, Randy Bennett wasn’t active in the transfer portal this offseason, though the reigning WCC Coach of the Year will field another strong team to compete for the conference crown against Gonzaga.

The Gaels bring back three double-digit scorers in Aidan Mahaney (13.9 ppg), Alex Ducas (12.5 ppg) and Mitchel Saxen (11.6 ppg). Mahaney is coming off an impressive freshman campaign in which he was selected to the All-WCC First Team. The conference’s best defender, Logan Johnson, isn’t going to be in Moraga anymore, but the Gaels still have plenty of defensive talent on hand.

Coming off another NCAA Tournament berth last season, Saint Mary’s is going to compete for another bid to the Big Dance come March.

PEPPERDINE WAVES

Incoming: G Ethan Anderson (Wyoming)

Departing: G Mike Mitchell Jr. (Minnesota), C Carson Basham (NAU), F Jan Zidek (Chattanooga), G Majok Deng

The portal was not kind to Waves' head coach Lorenzo Romar this offseason. Losing sharpshooter Mike Mitchell Jr. (11.4 ppg, 44% from 3) is going to sting on top of starting center Carson Basham (7.5 ppg) and sixth man Jan Zidek (7.3 ppg) also walking out the doors. Last season’s leading scorer Maxwell Lewis is now in the NBA.

In need of guard depth, Romar landed former Wyoming and USC point guard Ethan Anderson in the portal. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound graduate student won’t be expected to carry the load offensively but will certainly be a reliable on-ball defender who will play physically and bring a sense of toughness with him. Anderson averaged 7.9 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 54% from the field last season in 21 games and 17 starts.

Unless Romar puts all of the pieces together and everything goes right in Malibu, the Waves are likely staring at a third-straight season in the WCC basement.

PORTLAND PILOTS

Incoming: F Thomas Oosterbroek (Miami), C Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (Lamar), Alimamy Koroma (Cal Poly)

Departing: Moses Wood (Washington), Mike Meadows (Cal) Alden Applewhite (Murray State), Wyatt Lowell (Chaminade) Chika Nduka (Montana State), Jarrett Bryant

The Pilots lost two quality starters in Moses Wood (15.3 ppg) and Mike Meadows (11.0 ppg) and key role player Alden Applewhite (7.7 ppg) is gone as well. The losses are a brutal blow for coach Shantay Legans’ program which is coming off of a seventh-place finish last season, a drop-off from Legans’ first year at the helm.

The portal wasn’t a complete disaster though. Cal Poly grad transfer Alimamy Koroma will bring more size and athleticism to the frontcourt. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward averaged 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 33 games last season.

PACIFIC TIGERS

Incoming: F Burke Smith (Boise State)

Departing: G Jordan Ivy-Curry (UTSA), G Keylan Boone (UNLV), F Sam Freeman

Following a 14-17 season and a fifth-place tie in the WCC, the Tigers lost their two leading scorers in backcourt mates Keylan Boone (13.9 ppg) and Jordan Ivy-Curry (10.3 ppg) to the portal, on top of Luke Avdalovic graduating in the spring. That’s a lot of firepower to lose for a team that was fighting to stay in the middle of the WCC pack last season.

Pacific has plenty of depth at the guard spot but not in the frontcourt. Coach Leonard Perry landed former Boise State forward Burke Smith out of the transfer portal, a 6-foot-11 redshirt junior. Smith has played just 14 games in his collegiate career.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS

Incoming: F/C Lars Thiemann (Cal), G Will Johnston (UT Rio Grande Valley), G Justin Wright (NC Central), G Dominick Harris (Gonzaga), G Justice Hill (LSU)

Departing: Jalin Anderson (Ball State), Chance Stephens (Maryland), Kane Marble (Niagara), James Nobles, Kian Nader, AJ Williams

If any team in the WCC had a comparable offseason to Gonzaga, it was Stan Johnson and the Loyola Marymount Lions, who added two transfers from Power Five schools and a pair of potential starters in the backcourt. 

Now the keys of the offense have been handed over to Will Johnston (14.5 ppg and 3.6 apg) and Justin Wright (16.1 ppg). Along with his playmaking, Johnston adds even more 3-point shooting to a team that knocked down the third-most triples per game in the WCC last season at 9.6 per game. Wright, a second-team All-MEAC player last season, averaged the fifth-most points in the conference while shooting an efficient 47.3% from the field. Should their respective games translate to the WCC, they’ll be a tough guard for opponents on any given night.

There’s a lot of experience in the frontcourt too. Graduate student Lars Thiemann gives the Lions a scoring presence down low next to fellow fifth-year big man Keli Leaupepe. The former Cal Bear started in 30 of 31 games last season, averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds.

The Lions also landed former Zag Dominick Harris, a former four-star recruit from Murrieta, California, which is about 90 miles away from LMU’s campus.

SAN DIEGO TOREROS 

Incoming: None

Departing: None

The Toreros saw their top three scorers from 2022-23 depart over the offseason, including All-WCC second-team member Marcellus Earlington along with guards Jase Townsend (15.0 ppg) and Eric Williams (14.6 ppg). Forward Jaden Delaire, who transferred to San Diego last offseason as a graduate student, is also gone. That’s roughly 73% of the team’s scoring output out the door, yet Steve Lavin wasn’t active in the transfer portal to replace that production.

SAN FRANCISCO DONS 

Incoming: G Malik Thomas (USC), F Jonathan Mogbo (Missouri State), F Mike Sharavjamts (Dayton), F Stefan Todorovic (SMU)

Departing: F Zane Meeks (Arizona State), G Julian Rishwain (Florida), G Bryce Whitaker, C Jonas Visser

Khalil Shabazz won’t be running the show on The Hilltop anymore. Tyrell Roberts and Zane Meeks are gone too, but second-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen added four versatile pieces to his rotation through the transfer portal in hopes of being competitive in the WCC once again.

USC transfer Malik Thomas, a former four-star recruit, is a three-level scorer and athletic guard who can rebound and guard 1s and 2s alike. Josh Gerson of 247Sports projected him as a “high-major starter” prior to his commitment to USC in 2020 — perhaps Thomas reaches that level of play with a fresh start in San Francisco.

Gerlufsen also brought in sharpshooting forward Stefan Todorovic, a Serbian with experience playing at the international level in FIBA competition. Last season at SMU, he averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 31 games and shot 43.5% from behind the arc, the second-best mark by a freshman in program history.

Jonathan Mogbo (8.0 ppg) can impact both ends of the floor, as the 6-foot-8 forward averaged over a steal and a block in his lone season at Missouri State. A former JUCO player, Mogbo’s ascension to the Division I ranks has been quite the journey.

SANTA CLARA BRONCOS 

Incoming: G Adama Bal (Arizona), C Francisco Caffaro (Virginia), F Johnny O’Neil (American), G Jalen Benjamin (Mount St. Mary’s), G Tyeree Bryan (Charleston Southern)

Departing: G Carlos Stewart (LSU), F Parker Braun (Kansas), C Jaden Bediako (Seton Hall), F Jacob Holt (Sacramento State), G Giordan Williams (Montana)

Broncos' coach Herb Sendek brought in two former four-star recruits and a trio of double-digit scorers, which is quite the haul for a team that finished third in the WCC. Though a few of last year’s stars are gone, the 2023-24 squad could compete for a similar finish once again.

Santa Clara lost its top five scorers — Brandin Podziemski, Carlos Stewart, Keshawn Justice, Parker Braun and Jaden Bediako — but reinforcements are on the way. Former four-star recruit and French guard Adama Bal could have been picked in the 2023 NBA Draft, but he opted to stay in college for at least one more season. Scouts admire the 20-year-old’s length and ball-handling abilities, as well as his shot creation. Depending on how this season pans out, he could hear his name called in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

After spending five seasons under head coach Tony Bennett at Virginia, Francisco Caffaro will spend his final year of eligibility at Santa Clara. The former four-star recruit has international playing experience dating back to 2016 when he represented Argentina in the FIBA U17 World Championships. At 7-foot-1, he’ll be a strong inside presence on both ends of the floor.

Forward Johnny O’Neil is a multi-level scorer who can also rebound (6.6 per game), while guards Jalen Benjamin (16.0) and Tyeree Bryan (10.5 ppg) can put the ball in the basket too. Both can space the floor and are solid playmakers, giving Sandek a couple of options in terms of who he wants to run the show.

Losing All-WCC first-team guard Carlos Stewart is going to hurt, but there’s no doubt the Broncos’ offseason will put them in a position to compete in 2023-24.