Grand Canyon Transfer Sammie Yeanay Commits to Cal Basketball

Yeanay did not play much for Grand Canyon as a freshman but he was a highly touted high school player

Sammie Yeanay / Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Grand Canyon transfer Sammie Yeanay, who was a highly rated high school player, announced on social media on Monday that he has committed to Cal basketball.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Yeanay played in just five games, all off the bench, this past season as a freshman at Grand Canyon. He averaged just 5.4 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds. He had a season-high 17 points against Life Pacific.

He did not play at all after a December 19 game against Chicago State.

Yeanay becomes the fifth transfer to commit to Cal this offseason, joining Delaware transfer John Camden, Loyola-Maryland transfer Milos Ilic, Campbell transfer Nolan Dorsey and Virginia transfer Dai Dai Ames.

Let's work 💛💙 @CalMBBall @HofSportsGroup #AGTG pic.twitter.com/X40POoNu9h

— Sammie Yeanay (@SammieYeanay_1) April 15, 2025

Yeanay is from Gainesville, Florida, but he played his senior season of high school ball at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona.

He was rated a four-star recruit and had offers from Florida, Houston, Alabama, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech and Arizona State. He originally committed to Arizona State before moving on to Grand Canyon.

ESPN ranked Yeanay as the nation's 93rd-best prospect in the class of 2024. The 247 Sports site ranked him 104th, Rivals placed him at 116, and On3 ranked him 102nd

Here is the 2023 scouting report from 247 Sports scouting director Adam Finkelstein on Yeanay:

Yeanay is a strong-bodied forward with a high-motor and physical style. He’s competitive, powerful, runs the court, and plays hard on both ends of the floor. He came up the ranks as an undersized big man, who was physically mature at a young age and thus able to put up big numbers by overpowering people in the paint. As he’s gotten older, he’s expanded his game and become more versatile in the process. He’s still a definite threat with his back to the basket, who understands how to get deep post position and has good footwork. He can also put a lot of pressure on the rim as a face-up driver who almost dares opposing defenders to get in his way with an aggressive downhill style. He’s starting to extend his shooting touch away from the basket and has also shown some flashes of being an underrated passer in high-low action. Defensively, he can body-up and bang with bigger players on the block and has worked to improve his footspeed and lateral quickness when pulled to the perimeter. Yeanay is also an active rebounder on both ends of the floor.

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