Coming out of the preliminary injunction granted in the state of Ohio’s age-based eligibility/5-in-5 lawsuit against the NCAA, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were able to receive a pledge from a transfer point guard out of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Per agent Harrison Gaines of SLASH Sports & Entertainment, Dayton Flyers’ Javon Bennett is eligible as of right now to play his fifth year during the 2026-27 season. The 5-10, 160-pound 23-year-old is a more experienced competitor with 136 games under his belt (125 of which were starts) through three seasons at Dayton and his freshman campaign with the Merrimack Warriors in 2022-23.
Bennett led the Flyers in scoring (15.8 per game), assists (2.9 per game), and steals (1.5 per game) this past season. He finished with a 39.5 field goal percentage, a dependable 34.7 three-point percentage on exactly seven attempts per game, and a clutch 89.8 free throw percentage in 37 starts for coach Anthony Grant, earning him First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.
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Coach Mark Few and his staff are still not done yet completing the upcoming roster. Possible subtractions could be made due to eligibility issues with the NCAA, with players like point guard Nathan De Sousa (looks unlikely), wing Skylar Wicks (more than likely), and/or forward/center Izan Almansa (a coin toss). That means UCLA Bruins lead guard Donovan Dent, who is involved in the state of California’s legal case, as well as Florida Gators combo guard Xaivian Lee, who just finished up a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League on an Exhibit 10 contract, are still on the table as feasible backcourt additions.
What about UCLA Bruins combo guard Skyy Clark or in the frontcourt with Auburn Tigers small forward Keyshawn Hall? Another move from the Zags could be happening real soon.
Regardless, the Inland Northwest program out in Spokane, Washington, brought on much-needed experience and depth at the primary ball-handler position with Bennett in lieu of Mario Saint-Supery’s departure back to his homeland of Spain with Valencia Basket of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Will he start or be a lift off the bench? That’s yet to be determined with all the craziness going on this late in the offseason and three months until the start of the college basketball season.
Gonzaga’s 2026-27 roster now has 13 of the 15 roster spots potentially filled.
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*6-3 point guard Nathan De Sousa (France’s Cholet Basket)
6-6 sophomore shooting guard/wing Isiah Harwell (Houston Cougars transfer)
6-7 sophomore wing Davis Fogle
6-10 redshirt senior power forward Braden Huff
7-1 sophomore center Massamba Diop (Arizona State Sun Devils transfer)
5-10 fifth-year point guard Javon Bennett (Dayton Flyers transfer)
6-6 true freshman combo guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa (France’s JL Bourg)
6-9 redshirt freshman power forward/small-ball center Parker Jefferson
*6-10 power forward/center Izan Almansa (Spain’s Real Madrid)
*6-6 wing Skylar Wicks (Saint Francis Red Flash transfer)
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6-5 four-star wing Luca Foster (2026 high school recruiting class)
6-11 four-star center Sam Funches (2026 high school recruiting class)
6-5 walk-on wing Carter Nilson (2026 high school recruiting class)
*Needs NCAA to approve college eligibility
5-11 walk-on sophomore point guard Alonzo Metz will not count against the roster’s limit as he’s a designated student-athlete.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
