Gonzaga transfer Steele Venters staying in-state with portal decision

After spending the past seven seasons on the east side of the state, Steele Venters is set to wrap up his college basketball career on the west side of Washington.

Venters, who spent the past three seasons at Gonzaga following four seasons at Eastern Washington, announced on Instagram late Wednesday night that he's transferring to Washington for the 2026-27 season, giving Danny Sprinkle and the Huskies their second portal commitment of the 2026 cycle.

The 6-foot-7 Ellensburg, Washington, native will remain in his home state after putting up 5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15 minutes per game for the Bulldogs this past season. Venters started 10 of the 27 games he played in, though he fell out of Mark Few's rotation down the stretch of the Zags' 31-4 campaign and didn't play in the final five games.

Venters, who arrived at Gonzaga in 2023 as the reigning Big Sky Player of the Year, had his Zags tenure marred by injuries. He had to sit out the entire 2023-24 season after he tore his ACL prior to the team's opener, then had to miss the whole 2024-25 campaign because of a torn Achilles tendon he sustained in the offseason.

As such, Venters will need a medical waiver from the NCAA to play a fifth season of college hoops.

The first four years of Venters' career were spent in Cheney, Washington, where he joined Shantay Leagans' Eagles program as a walk-on out of Ellensburg High School. He redshirted his first season (2019-20), then appeared in 17 games off the bench during the pandemic-riddled 2020-21 campaign as a redshirt freshman.

Venters' redshirt sophomore season put him on the map, as he averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting a Big Sky-best 43.4% from 3-point range, helping David Riley's squad finish No. 5 in the league standings.

Venters and company took another step forward in the 2022-23 season, during which the sharpshooting wing earned conference player of the year honors after putting up 15.3 points per game on 37.1% shooting from the field, leading the Eagles to a 23-11 record and a trip to the NIT.

Venters became the second player from the 2025-26 Gonzaga squad to find a new home via the portal. Emmanuel Innocenti, who announced his pledge to Randy Bennett and Arizona State earlier in the week, was the first.

With Tyon Grant-Foster, Adam Miller and Jalen Warley departing due to exhausted eligibility, the Zags made their first move at replenishing their wing depth when they landed a commitment from Houston transfer and former top-20 high school recruit, Isiah Harwell, on Monday.

BREAKING: Per his his insta, @UW_MBB lands a commitment from wing and former Zag, Steele Venters. Riddled by injuries, Venters’ time at Gonzaga never came to fruition, but if he can return to his form at Eastern, Venters will be a great piece for the Huskies. Especially from 3 pic.twitter.com/o23Vsm6D33
— Jack McCauley (@JackMcCauley_) April 16, 2026

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