Two Gonzaga players invited to G League combine ahead of NBA Draft

A pair of former Gonzaga Bulldogs - and one commit - are included among the 44 players invited to participate in the G League combine, taking place May 8-10 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Isiah Harwell, who committed to Gonzaga via the transfer portal in April after spending his freshman season at Houston, earned an invite after he was revealed as a surprise early entrant into the 2026 NBA draft process.

While Harwell is not currently projected to be selected in the NBA draft, a strong performance at the G League combine could earn him a spot at the NBA draft combine, which runs May 10-17 in Chicago and already includes 73 invited participants - including fellow Zag commit Jack Kayil.

Ryan Nembhard was one of the players invited to the combine after his strong performance at the G League combine last year, and while it did not result in the 6'0 point guard getting drafted he signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks and had a stellar rookie season, averaging 6.6 points and 5.3 assists in 60 games played.

Harwell will hope to secure his spot at the combine, but right now the expectation is that the 6'6 guard will suit up for Gonzaga as a sophomore in the 2026-27 season. The Pocatello, ID native was pursued heavily by the Zags out of high school, where he earned All-American honors at Wasatch Academy in 2024-25.

However, Harwell ended up committing to Houston, where he averaged 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 32 games played as a reserve guard for the Coogs. Harwell was recovering from an ACL injury suffered while in high school, and he gradually fell out of coach Kelvin Sampson's rotation while he struggled to find his shooting stroke - hitting 27.1% of his three point attempts.

While Harwell's athleticism, physicality, and 6'9 wingspan make him an appealing NBA draft prospect, he likely needs to prove more offensively before he is a realistic candidate to get picked up by a pro team. That is part of why he transferred to Gonzaga in the first place, and why he is still expected to be in Spokane this fall. The rising sophomore has until May 27 to withdraw from the draft, although it's fair to expect he'll at least wait through the G League combine before making a decision.

Former Gonzaga stars on the invite list

Graham Ike, who earned All-American honors for Gonzaga this past year, and Michael Ajayi were both among the 44 players invited to the G League combine.

Ike averaged 19.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and a career-high 2.4 assists last year for Gonzaga, shouldering a heavy load in the second half of the season following the injury to Braden Huff. At 6'9 and already 23 years old, Ike will have a hard time getting selected in the NBA draft.

However, a strong showing at the G League combine could get him attention as an undrafted free agent, where he could fight his way into the association like Drew Timme has done the last two years.

Ajayi spent one year at Gonzaga in 2024-25, coming over after earning All-WCC First Team honors at Pepperdine the previous year.

He never quite found his rhythm in Spokane, however, averaging just 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game with the Bulldogs, losing his starting spot to Ben Gregg in the middle of the season.

Ajayi transferred to Butler where he earned All Big East honors this past year, averaging 16.4 points and leading the conference with 11.1 rebounds per game.

At 6'8, Ajayi has the size and physicality of a modern NBA power forward, and his rebounding is certainly an NBA caliber skill, but with very little outside shot to speak of his odds of making, and sticking, in the league are slim.

Still, he'll showcase his tenacious playstyle and rugged physicality at the G League combine next week and could parlay that into an invite to the NBA draft combine.

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