Former Gonzaga guard Joaquim ArauzMoore finds new home via transfer portal

ArauzMoore becomes the sixth Gonzaga transfer to commit this offseason

Gonzaga redshirt freshman Joaquim ArauzMoore. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs saw six players enter the transfer portal at the conclusion of last season, and now all six have officially found a new home at the Division 1 level.

Joaquim ArauzMoore, who spent the past three seasons at Gonzaga, will join the High Point Panthers for the 2026-27 campaign, as announced by the men's basketball program on social media Thursday evening.

ArauzMoore, or Q, joined Gonzaga as a walk-on ahead of the 2023-24 season. After redshirting as a freshman, Q appeared in four games in 2024-25 - scoring five points with four rebounds and one steal in 10 total minutes played.

This past year, the 6'1 guard appeared in eight games, scoring six points with three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 19 minutes, while shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc.

Known for his energy on the sidelines and willingness to let it fly late in games when he got on the floor, Q will head to High Point, North Carolina, for his fourth year of college.

𝐉𝐨𝐚𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐦 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐳𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐞

-Spent 3 seasons at Gonzaga.
-Appeared in 8 games during the 2025/26 games.
-Scored a season high of 3 points on two occasions (vs Southern Utah & vs Portland).
-Played at Branson High School, averaging a 15.2 points on 49% from 3 point range… pic.twitter.com/ZtBndkOLPA

— High Point University Men's Basketball (@HPUMBB) June 4, 2026

Fit at High Point

High Point was outstanding last year in the Big South, going 15-1 in conference play and 31-5 overall to earn a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers secured the biggest upset of the entire tournament, dropping No. 5 Wisconsin in Portland, 83-82, behind 23 points and 10 assists from senior guard Rob Martin and 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench from Cam'Ron Fletcher.

High Point fell to Arkansas in the next round, and coach Flynn Clayman has been hard at work rebuilding a roster that lost a ton of talent to graduation, including Martin, Fletcher, and leading scorer Terry Anderson.

Clayman has raided the West Coast a handful of times via the transfer portal, bringing over Saint Mary's sophomore Liam Campbell and Monmouth guard Jason Rivera-Torres, who was previously at San Francisco. The Panthers also added South Florida point guard CJ Brown, Oakland forward Isaac Garrett, and Kennesaw State forward Frankquon Sherman as they look to stay atop the Big South again in 2026-27.

ArauzMoore will fight for a chance to be part of Clayman's rotation with the Panthers, and could have two or even three years of eligibility remaining depending on how the NCAA treats his smattering of games played while with the Zags.

Other Gonzaga departures

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Cade Orness (0). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Q becomes the fourth Gonzaga walk-on to transfer to another Division 1 school, joining Colby Brooks (San Diego), Graydon Lemke (Belmont), and Cade Orness (Mount St. Mary's).

Brooks averaged 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.7 minutes at USD in 2024-25, while Lemke scored 11 points in 13 games last year at Belmont and Orness transferred to MSM last month.

Q and Orness are joined by four other Zags who hit the portal following last season. Emmanuel Innocenti joins new head coach Randy Bennett at Arizona State, while Steele Venters heads across the state to the University of Washington to play for Danny Sprinkle. Braeden Smith heads to South Bend to join Notre Dame for his senior year, while junior Ismaila Diagne stays in the WCC and heads to the Bay Area to play for Chris Gerlufsen and San Francisco.

Gonzaga added a pair of transfers in Arizona State center Massamba Diop and Houston wing Isiah Harwell, as well as Real Madrid big man Izan Almansa and incoming freshmen Luca Foster and Sam Funches.