Former Gonzaga recruits who have been to Kraziness in the Kennel
Kraziness in the Kennel gives Gonzaga men's basketball fans a first glimpse at the team through a skills challenge, 3-point contest and intrasquad scrimmage. Sometimes there's even a slam dunk contest. But regardless of who wins the individual competitions or how well the team plays together, the annual event has become much more important for shaping future Gonzaga teams.
Because amid the hype and excitement that comes with the festivities, there are often highly touted high school recruits taking their official visit to Gonzaga. Other programs across the country plan out similar visits during the preseason, and the Kraziness in the Kennel event has been one of Mark Few's most effective recruiting tactics in recent years.
On Saturday, 2025 four-star Nik Khamenia (Harvard-Westlake) is slated be in attendance for this season's event. Based on the previous recruits who have visited in the past, there's plenty of reason to be excited about Khamenia's visit heading forward.
Here's a look at previous Gonzaga commits who visited Kraziness in the Kennel.
DUSTY STROMER (2022)
Stromer, the 47th-ranked recruit in the 2023 class according to 247Sports Composite, visited campus three times over an 11-month span that included a trip to last season's Kraziness in the Kennel event.
The 6-foot-6 wing from Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California) was also in attendance for Gonzaga-Texas in November 2021 and Saint Mary's in February later into the 2021-22 season. Stromer committed to Gonzaga in May, and in October, he experienced Kraziness in the Kennel for the first time as a Bulldog.
Stromer confirmed his commitment to Gonzaga by signing a letter of intent roughly a month later, setting the stage for his Bulldogs debut on Saturday.
Khamenia was also in attendance along with Stromer, as the 2025 recruit will see Kraziness in the Kennel for a second time this season.
BRADEN HUFF (2021)
Photo by Jesse Tinsley, The Spokesman-Review
Gonzaga's coaching staff made a heavy push for Huff, the 93rd overall recruit in 2022, late into his recruitment process. The four-star forward from Glenbard West in Chicago was being pursued heavily by schools across the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference when Gonzaga made an offer in August 2021. Huff had already taken visits with Virginia Tech and Wisconsin by that point, but it was just a month later that he committed to the Bulldogs.
A few weeks later, the former "Mr. Illinois of Basketball" was in attendance to witness Drew Timme, Andrew Nembhard and Gonzaga's talented 2021 recruiting class, headlined by five-star and consensus No. 1 recruit Chet Holmgren.
Huff was the only freshman to make his debut at last season's Kraziness in the Kennel event, finishing with three rebounds, a block, a steal and two turnovers without a field goal. With Timme, Ben Gregg, Efton Reid and Kaden Perry in front of him in the rotation, Huff took a redshirt year. Now, he'll be in a position to be the Bulldogs' second big man off the bench.
CHET HOLMGREN, JALEN SUGGS, DOMINICK HARRIS, JULIAN STRAWTHER (2019)
Photo by James Snook, USA TODAY Sports
The 2019 Kraziness in the Kennel was a who's-who of highly touted high school recruits who would go on to help shape the future of the program for years to come.
A key piece to landing all four recruits was actually Harris, the No. 8-ranked combo guard in the 2020 class who had been committed to Gonzaga since he was a sophomore in high school. He lobbied Suggs and Strawther to come to Gonzaga and form what would later be dubbed by fans "the tricky trio," as Harris went two-for-two in his recruitment.
Strawther had also previously committed before Kraziness in the Kennel, as the 63rd-ranked recruit had made his intentions clear in April. Arguably the deal maker was Suggs, the No. 10 recruit in the 2020 class. There were indications that Suggs was locked in on Gonzaga heading into the official visit, which would be his last before committing and signing in the spring of 2020.
Suggs' commitment would be crucial in the Bulldogs landing Holmgren, the program's highest-rated recruit of all time. After watching Suggs shine in the Final Four, Holmgren, who was teammates with Suggs at Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minnesota), committed to Gonzaga in April 2021.
Three of the four Gonzaga commits would go on to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. Suggs went No. 5 overall in 2020 before Holmgren was selected No. 2 overall in 2021. Strawther was the 28th pick in the 2023 draft. As for Harris, he enters his first season with the Loyola Marymount Lions after transferring from Gonzaga in the offseason.
DREW TIMME, BROCK RAVET (2018)
Photo by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports
Timme was a heavily sought-after recruit as the 41st-ranked player in the 2019 class according to 247Sports Composite. There weren't many announcements throughout the recruiting process, but the 6-foot-10 Texan was pursued by numerous Power 5 programs, especially by Texas A&M, Alabama and Illinois.
The Zags were among the first to get in on the Timme sweepstakes when they made an official offer in October 2017. After numerous coach visits and unofficial visits with other programs, Timme announced he'd be attending the 2018 Kraziness in the Kennel just days before the event. He also had official visits with the Crimson Tide and Fighting Illini, but it the Bulldogs' coaching staff had the last say before Timme's decision. The four-star forward committed in November 2018, and the rest is history.
As for Ravet, the No. 5 recruit in the state of Washington, he signed his letter of intent with Gonzaga around the same time Timme did after committing to the program in June 2017. After appearing in the 2019 Kraziness in the Kennel, Ravet decided to take an indefinite leave from the program for personal reasons just a few months into his freshman season.
ANDREW NEMBHARD (2017)
Photo by Rob Gray, USA TODAY Sports
Nembhard signed his letter of intent with the Florida Gators just 24 hours after attending the 2017 Kraziness in the Kennel, according to 247Sports, but the Ontario, Canada, native ended up a Bulldog in the end, anyway.
The 6-foot-5 guard heavily considered Gonzaga at one point when he listed the program on his list of final four schools, ultimately choosing the Gators over USC, Ohio State and the Zags. After earning SEC All-Freshman honors, Nembhard nearly went pro that spring but decided to return to Florida for one more season. He averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 assists per game as a junior, making him one of the top point guards in the transfer portal in 2020.
Nembhard chose Gonzaga over Duke, USC, Memphis, Georgetown and Stanford in June 2020. After he was granted immediate eligibility, he formed a dynamic backcourt duo with Suggs to help lead the Zags on a historic run in the 2020-21 season. Nembhard boosted his NBA stock heavily during his two seasons at Gonzaga before going to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.
Nembhard's career paved the way for his younger brother Ryan, who transferred to Gonzaga from Creighton last April.
