Coach Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs already had a supreme frontcourt, and now add even more to their profusion of riches.
Per agent Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports, Florida State Seminoles forward Chauncey Wiggins from the SEC has committed to the Zags. The second in the last two days, with Dayton Flyers point guard Javon Bennett joining the program as a fifth-year recruit just 30 hours before. The pair of different talents are eligible at this particular moment, with Wiggins receiving a fifth year of eligibility from the most recent state of Georgia lawsuit against the NCAA.
The 6-10, 220-pound forward is at his best as a stretch-four, averaging 13.3 points on 38.7 percent from deep this past season with the Seminoles. In 30 starts out of his 32 games played, the Atlanta, Georgia, native shot 47.9 percent from the field and hit 85.1 percent at the charity stripe.
Wiggins competed with the Clemson Tigers in the Atlantic Coast Conference for his first three college basketball campaigns, beginning in 2022-23. Most recently, he suited up with the Boston Celtics organization at the NBA Summer League out in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past July.
This addition of versatile and mobile size is one positive, but it’s more of Wiggins’ reliability to spread out the floor with his long-range touch. That’s something that Gonzaga struggled with across the board last season at 33.3 percent as a team, ranked No. 212 in the entire country.
The inclusion of his specific skill set next to redshirt senior power forward Braden Huff and sophomore center Massamba Diop just continues to prove that Spokane, Washington, is home to the most optimal band of interior players.
What does bringing on Wiggins mean for the impending eligibility issue against the NCAA with forward/center Izan Almansa from Spain’s Real Madrid? Something to ponder as the upcoming group finally looks to take true shape.
Length and magnitude win championships, and the Zags got a whole lot of both. The 2026-27 roster in the Lilac City has 14 of the 15 roster spots potentially filled at this point in time.
*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)
6-10 fifth-year spacing forward Chauncey Wiggins (Florida State Seminoles 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)
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.
Only 88 days until the season opener against the Purdue Boilermakers at the T-Mobile Arena in Sin City on Nov. 2, with Gonzaga’s main question yet to be answered at the starting lead guard spot.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
