With the NBA season now officially at its end after the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games and the NBA Draft being just over a week away, it’s time to check in on Gonzaga alums who got a taste of the 2025-26 NBA postseason.
From All-NBA honorees to two-way players, the Zags were once again one of the association’s more well-represented collegiate programs. 13 former Bulldogs logged NBA minutes this past season, and nearly all of them took noteworthy steps in their careers – for better or for worse. Seven of them played on teams that made the playoffs, each featuring in varying roles for their respective squads.
With four spots still open on its roster for the 2026-27 season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are continuing to fire darts down a familiar path.
Serbian teenagers Nikola Kusturica and Savo Drezgić are names to watch as new Zags additions, potentially filling roles as a versatile wing and a secondary ball-handler, respectively. They each have played professionally overseas, with the latter having already logged time in the NCAA.
No stranger to the international scene, GU will run out Mario Saint-Supéry and Massamba Diop in its starting lineup this fall, with Izan Almansa possibly coming off the bench. And for about six months, they had a commitment from German guard Jack Kayil. As is the case for Almansa and many other foreign prospects going forward, there will be eligibility questions with both Kustrurica and Drezgić, not even factoring in the obstacle of outbidding other high-profile programs, but landing these two players would bolster the Bulldogs’ depth and ceiling next season.
The 1999-00 season was Mark Few’s first as head coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. His senior class that season included 6-5 guard Mike Nilson, who won WCC Defensive Player of the Year and fueled the Zags to an Elite Eight finish in his fourth and final year with the program.
26 years later, Mike’s son, Carter Nilson, will also play under Few, as the Gonzaga prep graduate reportedly committed to GU, planning to play collegiate basketball in Spokane. It will be the first time that a father-son duo both play under Few in his tenure at the helm, besting John and David Stockton, with the former finishing his Zag tenure in 1984.
Carter’s role will be similar to a walk-on, but with the new language from the settlement in House v. NCAA, he will be on scholarship like every other men’s basketball student-athlete in the country. Currently, he slots in as the 11th player on Gonzaga’s roster, joining three other committed freshmen who are helping fill out the Zags’ bench. Carter is set to be the first Bullpup to transition to a Bulldog since Anton Watson in 2019.
Ahead of the 2025 MLB campaign, only two former Gonzaga baseball players found their way onto Opening Day Rosters – right-handed relievers Alek Jacob and Eli Morgan. But that number could increase in the coming years.
Although the pipeline for Gonzaga baseball products to the major leagues isn’t extremely rich historically, several players who suited up in Spokane are showing signs of life in 2026, including a lefty hitter solidifying himself as an above-average MLB bat, and a slew of relievers on varying tracks in their respective professional paths, including three from the same draft class.
These GU products might not have as tenured careers as former Zags Jason Bay and Mike Redmond, but the tools and production they’ve displayed in the early stages of their career create promise for the future.
Already one of the better-represented programs in the NBA, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have a chance to add at least two more players to that group next season.
Buzz continues to swirl around outgoing seniors Graham Ike and Jalen Warley, who each played huge roles in the Zags’ 31-4 campaign, and now look to join 13 former Bulldogs on active NBA rosters by breaking into the professional circuit themselves.
Ike has been the busier of the two, which should be of no surprise. The 6-9 big man received third-team All-American honors last season as a dominant scorer down low. Invited to the NBA G League Draft Combine in May, Ike first took part in the three-day event in Chicago before participating in team workouts with the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Meanwhile, Warley competed in pre-draft sessions with the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers following a season where he showcased his versatility on both ends for GU.
Exit one young French guard, enter another.
Saturday at 2 PM PT was the deadline for international players to withdraw from the NBA Draft, and to no surprise, Jack Kayil remained in the process and looks to hear his name called early next week in Brooklyn. But the Gonzaga Bulldogs have already been operating on the conclusion that he was never re-routing back to Spokane.
Pivoting to a countryman of Kayil, the Zags have reportedly landed a commitment from 6-5 combo guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa, adding the talented 18-year-old into a backcourt that already includes Mario Saint-Supéry and Isiah Harwell. The move marks GU’s seventh added player of the offseason, and its third incoming freshman.