Gonzaga in contact with elite shooting guard from Big West via transfer portal

Could Gonzaga land a 39% three point shooter from Long Beach State?

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

Until last year, the Gonzaga Bulldogs had never once shot below 35% from beyond the arc under Mark Few.

Gonzaga's 33.3% clip from deep ranked 212th in the country, and dead last in coach Few's Hall of Fame tenure as the head man for the Zags. With five departing seniors and five more players out the door via the transfer portal, Gonzaga has plenty of holes to fill on next year's roster - and will look for multiple outside shooters to alleviate last year's shooting woes.

A known target for Gonzaga to fill this void is Gavin Sykes, a 6'4 shooting guard who lit it up as a freshman last year at Long Beach State.

Sykes entered the transfer portal after earning Big West Rookie of the Year honors and has been in contact with Gonzaga as well as a litany of high-major programs, including Indiana, NC State, Washington, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Virginia Tech, according to Tobias Bass of The Athletic.

Since entering the transfer portal, Gavin Sykes has heard from the following schools:

Oklahoma
Washington
Oklahoma St
Gonzaga
Indiana
NC State
Virginia Tech

Sykes he has been conducting zooms before any visits are set pic.twitter.com/cFl8Z94s8Q

— Tobias Bass (@tobias_bass) April 12, 2026

It's not hard to see why.

Despite having just one high-major offer out of high school, from Cal, Sykes blossomed into one of the best scorers and shooters in the country last year for Long Beach State. Across 28 games, the 6'4 guard averaged 19.4 points while shooting 53.8% on twos and an outstanding 38.7% from beyond the arc, taking six three-point attempts per game. He also hit 79.5% of his free throw attempts, proving himself as a dynamic three-level scorer in the Big West.

Sykes played just eight minutes against San Diego State in LBSU's season opener, and then played 25 minutes off the bench in game 2 against Fresno State. He started every other game after that, quickly establishing himself as the 49ers' go-to guy offensively.

The 6'4 guard dropped 20+ points in 15 of his 28 games played, with 16 or more points in 20 games. He only missed double figures twice: in that season opener against San Diego State and in a late January game against UC Santa Barbara.

Sykes really turned it on at the end of the season, scoring 28 points at Cal Poly, 39 points at Bakersfield, and 34 points at Hawaii in his final three games. He shot a blistering 14-25 (56%) from three during that stretch, willing his team to a pair of wins to close out the season.

Fit at Gonzaga

Gonzaga is returning three key pieces from last year's roster: big man Braden Huff, forward Davis Fogle, and point guard Mario Saint-Supery. Freshmen Jack Kayil and Luca Foster should fill roles in GU's backcourt, but there is still a big need for a shooting guard who can space the floor and create scoring opportunities alongside Saint-Supery and Fogle, while opening up space for Huff to operate around the rim.

Sykes provides exactly that, proving capable of driving to the rim, getting to the free-throw line, and drilling open threes consistently. Whether he can adjust from being 'the guy' for the 49ers to being a second or third option in Spokane will be a huge part of his decision, but the specific set of skills he has - and the room for growth as a player with three more years of eligibility - make him an extremely appealing target for coach Few and the Bulldogs heading into the new look Pac-12 in 2026-27.