Gonzaga commit Jack Kayil earns prestigious award in Germany's Bundesliga

Kayil remains in the NBA draft process, and has until June 13 to withdraw

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Mercedes Smith

Gonzaga Bulldogs commit Jack Kayil earned major recognition for his performance this season with Alba Berlin, winning the Bundesliga's Under-22 Player of the Year honor given annually to the best young player in Germany's top basketball league.

Kayil was announced as the winner on Wednesday morning, earning a whopping 93.8% of the vote and joining an elite group of talented basketball stars to take home this award. Previous winners include Sananda Fru, who played last year at Louisville and transferred to Marquette this offseason, as well as Johann Grunloh, who played at Virginia this past season, and a trio of NBA stars in Franz Wagner, Daniel Theis, and Dennis Schroder.

Kayil has been outstanding for Alba Berlin this season, posting averages of 12.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game while shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc. The 20-year-old guard is among the youngest players in the league, and teammates include former Washington forward Moses Wood, former Houston forward J'Wan Roberts, and former Oregon State and Baylor forward Mikey Rataj - all of whom are at least four years older than Kayil.

Kayil committed to Gonzaga back in October, becoming the first of three recruits in the 2026 class. 6'5 4-star wing Luca Foster and 7'0 center Sam Funches followed suit, rounding out what is currently considered one of the best recruiting classes in program history.

NBA is calling

The big question for Kayil at this point is whether he is talented enough to forego the college route completely to go directly into the NBA. The 6'5 guard was invited to the NBA draft combine, which runs May 10-17 in Chicago. However, that is concurrent with Alba Berlin's playoff schedule, and most expect Kayil to forego the chance to showcase his skills at the combine in favor of a playoff push in his home country.

The season running into May is part of the reason international players have until June 13 to make a decision on withdrawing from the draft, which will give Kayil time to work out with teams individually before he has to commit one way or another.

The consensus at this point is that Kayil will end up withdrawing and locking in his decision to play for Gonzaga, but a strong performance in the playoffs - and a few great team workouts - could convince him to stay in the draft instead of heading to Spokane.

Fit at Gonzaga

Should Kayil honor his commitment to Gonzaga, he becomes the favorite to start at shooting guard alongside returners Mario Saint-Supery and Davis Fogle. He'll face competition from Houston transfer Isiah Harwell, but Kayil's innate scoring ability and skills both on and off the ball make him the perfect Mark Few guard, and a nice compliment to Saint-Supery as well.

If Kayil and Harwell - who is also in the draft process - both end up in Spokane, the Zags will have a young, but very deep, roster as they join the new look Pac-12 for the 2026-27 season.