Braeden Smith becomes third Gonzaga transfer to land at power conference program

Gonzaga guard Braeden Smith grew up in Seattle, played his first two years of college basketball in New York at Colgate, and then moved back across the country to Spokane where he spent the past two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Now the 6’0 guard will land smack in the middle of the two coasts for his final collegiate stop, with Joe Tipton of On3 reporting the rising senior has committed to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2026-27.

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Smith flirted with a move back home after visiting Washington – where he’d reunite with former Zag Steele Venters – and he also took a visit to Utah before committing to Notre Dame.

The 6’0 point guard becomes the third Zag to commit elsewhere this offseason, joining Venters (Washington) and Emmanuel Innocenti, who will play for Randy Bennett at Arizona State.

Ismaila Diagne is reportedly on a visit to Florida Atlantic, while walk-on guards Joaquim ArauzMoore and Cade Orness remain uncommitted as of this writing.

Smith came to Gonzaga after earning Patriot League Player of the Year honors in 2023-24 in his sophomore season at Colgate. That year with the Raiders, Smith averaged 12.5 points, 5.6 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game, leading them to a 25-10 record including a first place finish at 16-2 in the Patriot League. They earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell, 92-67, to Baylor.

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Smith then hit the portal and committed to Gonzaga, with the intention of redshirting for the 2024-25 season to study GU’s system and play behind seniors Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman.

The end result was Smith being ready right out of the gate for the Zags in 2025-26, averaging 6.3 points and 4.9 assists through the first 16 games of the season, shooting 54.3% on twos and 39.3% from beyond the arc while leading Gonzaga to a 15-1 record.

That included a monster 21 point, seven assist performance on 7-10 shooting against Oregon, followed by a 15 point, eight assist showing on 6-8 shooting in 18 minutes to open up…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/braeden-smith-becomes-third-gonzaga-011810632.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-20 01:18:00

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