Should Gonzaga pursue 6'6 senior guard with local ties out of the transfer portal?

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs already have five newcomers set to join the program in 2026-27, their first year in the new look Pac-12.

The team still has five additional roster spots to fill, however, and could use more experience and depth at nearly every position. Currently, the only player on Gonzaga's roster with more than 35 games played is Braden Huff, while five of the ten players on the roster have yet to play an official game at the collegiate level.

The staff has been connected to a handful of guards in the transfer portal, including a pair of upperclassmen in Ethan Copeland from Stetson and Jeremiah Johnson from Campbell, as well as rising sophomore Akai Fleming from Georgia Tech.

Another name - and a great one at that - the Zags should consider pursuing is Le Moyne senior guard Tennessee Rainwater.

Who is Tennessee Rainwater?

Rainwater is a 6'6 guard from Davenport, WA, a small town about 45 minutes from Spokane. He spent the first two years of his college career at Utah Tech in the WAC before transferring to Le Moyne in the NEC for his junior year.

Rainwater went from averaging 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.2 assists as a freshman to 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists as a sophomore with the Trailblazers, and he finished his two seasons at Utah Tech shooting 52.7% on twos, 31.9% (15-47) from three, and 60.5% from the free throw line.

However, the 6'6 guard improved on all those numbers his junior year with the Dolphins of Le Moyne, posting averages of 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 24.4 minutes per game, while shooting a career-high 60.4% on twos, 50% (21-42) from 3, and 67.2% from the free throw line on over four attempts per game.

He dropped a career-high 25 points with 10 rebounds and four steals in a win over Wagner in late January, shooting 13-15 from the free throw line, and had a strong game at ACC opponent Boston College - dropping 12 points with four rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes, while shooting 4-5 from the field.

Fit at Gonzaga

Gonzaga's starting lineup and rotation are mostly set, assuming both Jack Kayil and Isiah Harwell withdraw from the NBA draft to play for the Zags this season.

The team still needs to add depth in the backcourt behind Kayil, Harwell, and returner Mario Saint-Supery, and Rainwater would provide good positional size, veteran experience, and proven scoring ability.

His 87 career games played are just one behind Gonzaga's team leader, Braden Huff, and at 6'6, he would give the Zags another big guard to play at either the two or the three.

Rainwater is also a career 40.4% three point shooter, and while that is on a very low volume (1.0 attempt per game), it's not hard to imagine he'd shoot it well in Gonzaga's offense with so much gravity going toward Huff, center Massamba Diop, and wing Davis Fogle.

Rainwater indicated on social media he's looking for a chance to break out his senior year - but perhaps a move very close to home, and an opportunity to play for a top 25 team deep into the NCAA Tournament - will convince him to compete for a rotation spot at Gonzaga in the new look Pac-12.

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