Former Gonzaga center Ismaila Diagne announces commitment to WCC school

Diagne averaged 1.7 points across two seasons with Gonzaga

Gonzaga Bulldogs center Ismaila Diagne. | Photo by Myk Crawford

Six Gonzaga Bulldogs entered the transfer portal after the 2025-26 season, and four of them have already found a new home.

Ismaila Diagne is the latest Zag to announce his next destination, and he'll stay in the WCC after committing to the San Francisco Dons on Saturday.

The 7'0 big man from Senegal recently took a visit to Florida Atlantic, but will instead stay out on the West Coast to join a USF team that lost their entire frontcourt from last season - with 7'1 Saba Gigiberia and 7'0 Guillermo Diaz Graham out of eligibility, while forwards David Fuchs and Barry Wang hit the transfer portal.

Diagne joins guard Abdul Bashir (Auburn) as coach Chris Gerlufsen's two transfer portal additions thus far. There will be plenty more, however, after USF saw a whopping ten players enter the portal after a disappointing 17-16 season, which included a fifth-place finish in the WCC.

Tyrone Riley IV (Oregon), Ryan Beasley (Washington), Mookie Cook (San Jose State), and Legend Smiley (Oregon State) have all found new homes already, while Venjamin Abosi, Sean Blakely Drummond, Isa Silva, and Weilun Zhao join Fuchs and Wang still searching for a new home in the transfer portal.

Diagne was a mid-summer addition for Gonzaga ahead of the 2024-25 season, arriving in Spokane with a lot of promise having spent time developing in the Real Madrid system in Spain.

The true 7'0 big man was still 17 years old when his freshman season began, but he managed to appear in just 10 games due to injury and a concussion. Diagne averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per contest, including a nine-point, four-rebound performance at Santa Clara that showed every bit of his significant upside.

However, the native of Senegal didn't take the leap in year two, despite getting opportunities to do so after injuries to both Braden Huff and Graham Ike. In three starts without the frontcourt stars, Diagne played 48 total minutes but managed just five points on 2-7 shooting, along with 20 rebounds, four blocks, and eight personal fouls.

He finished his sophomore season, appearing in 28 games and averaging 1.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per game.

The arrival of 4-star center Sam Funches in the 2026 recruiting class, not to mention Gonzaga's pursuit of transfer portal centers - including Diagne's former roommate at Real Madrid, Massamba Diop - left little room for Diagne in Spokane, and now he'll have a chance to use his size and physicality to help anchor the Dons defensively in the new look WCC.

Diagne joins Emmanuel Innocenti (Arizona State), Steele Venters (Washington), and Braeden Smith (Notre Dame) among Zags who have found new homes in the portal, while guards Cade Orness and Joaquim ArauzMoore remain on the market.