Six Gonzaga Bulldogs entered the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, the most in program history.
Three of those players – Steele Venters, Emmanuel Innocenti, and Braeden Smith – have committed to new schools already in Washington, Arizona State, and Notre Dame, respectively.
Of the other three, two of them are seldom-used guards, Joaquim ArauzMoore and Cade Orness, while the other is rising junior center Ismaila Diagne.
Diagne showed a lot of promise in ten games as a freshman in 2024-25, but struggled to build on that despite getting major opportunities this past season due to injuries to Braden Huff and Graham Ike.
All told, the 7'0 big man averaged 1.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 38 games while at Gonzaga, and now he'll look for another program to bank on his big frame and untapped potential next season.
Below is a look at five schools that could give the native of Senegal a look this offseason, starting with a program that already had him on campus:
1. Florida Atlantic Owls
Despite being located nearly 3000 miles away from each other, FAU and Gonzaga are closely connected. FAU's head coach, John Jakus, was a director of basketball operations at Gonzaga for two years, while former Zag guard Eric McClellan is on staff as the Director of Player Development.
Diagne could become the third Zag connection in Boca Raton, with the big man making the long trip to visit campus this week.
The Owls have a ton of holes to fill after losing a whopping 11 players to the transfer portal, including bigs Devin Williams, Xander Pintelon, Maxim Logue, and Vincent Neugebauer. While they did bring in former Colorado center Fawaz Ifaola and Indiana forward Josh Harris, a true seven-footer like Diagne would be a huge addition – literally and figuratively – for Jakus and the Owls.
2. Boise State Broncos
Diagne could end up squaring off against Gonzaga next season, should he end up heading to Boise to play for Leon Rice and the Broncos.
Boise State lost four players to the transfer portal, including star big man Drew Fielder, leaving 6'10 sophomore Spencer Ahrens as the lone rotation player over 6'9 returning to the team.
While Rice did add a quality rim protector in Jerquarius Stanback from Alabama State, a true 7'0 big man in Diagne would really help boost this team's frontcourt defense as they transition into the Pac-12.
3. Santa Clara Broncos
Every year, there are a significant number of transfers who end up playing for a team they had a monster game against previously. Gonzaga's best example is Geno Crandall, who dropped 28 points on 9-16 shooting in an overtime loss in Spokane while at North Dakota State, before finishing his career with the Zags the following year.
Perhaps Diagne will do the same thing and head to Santa Clara to play for the Broncos. The big man played 38 games at Gonzaga and scored nine of his 64 career points, with four of his 24 made field goals, in a lone appearance against the Broncos as a freshman in 2024-25. He was pushed into the lineup due to foul trouble for Braden Huff and Graham Ike and shone as a screener and rim protector – but unfortunately wasn't able to build on that game the following year.
However, Santa Clara lost star forward Allen Graves and starting center Bukky Oboye to the transfer portal, leaving rising 6'10 sophomore Francis Chukwudebelu (1.8 points per game) as the lone big man on the roster.
Diagne would fit nicely in coach Herb Sendek's system that prioritizes toughness and physicality down low, and could develop into a quality WCC big man with the Broncos.
4. Seattle Redhawks
Seattle took a seldom-used international player from Gonzaga last year in Jun Seok Yeo, a move that worked great for both parties as Yeo finished third on the Redhawks in scoring with 12 points per game.
Coach Chris Victor needs more size heading into next season after losing Austin Maurer, Brock Felder, and Houran Dan to the transfer portal, and Diagne's 7'0 frame and rim protection would line up perfectly alongside WCC Defensive Player of the Year Will Heimbrodt and Yeo in Seattle's frontcourt.
5. San Francisco Dons
USF lost basically their entire frontcourt this offseason, with 7'1 Saba Gigiberia and 7'0 Guillermo Diaz Graham both out of eligibility, while forwards David Fuchs and Barry Wang hit the transfer portal.
With no portal additions to date, the Dons could look at Diagne as a much-needed big man to help anchor coach Chris Gerlufsen's defense in 2026-27, as they look to get back to their winning ways in the new-look WCC.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as 5 potential landing spots for Gonzaga big man Ismaila Diagne in the transfer portal.