Gonzaga Adds Fifth-Year Guard Javon Bennett From Dayton to Fortify Backcourt

There will be plenty of movement in college basketball over the next several weeks as more “5-in-5” NCAA lawsuits get settled.

Although some cases across the country that the Gonzaga Bulldogs are monitoring are still active, an Ohio judge granted an injunction for 15 players back on July 9. One of the players involved in the Ohio lawsuit was 5-10 Javon Bennett, who spent the last three seasons at Dayton, committed to the Zags on Wednesday, first reported by On3’s Joe Tipton.

Facing severe turmoil in their backcourt over the last few months, the Bulldogs add an experienced, productive guard who should give them solid minutes this upcoming season.

With Bennett’s commitment, Gonzaga officially has five spots remaining on its 2026-27 roster, not including the pending waiver approvals of Nathan De Sousa, Izan Almansa, and Skylar Wicks. Bennett joins rising sophomore Davis Fogle and Houston transfer Isiah Harwell as members of the guard rotation, with at least one addition to that group likely still coming. Of those three players, none stick out as a primary point guard option, and each has varying levels of experience running an offense.

Holding a spot in the starting lineup for each of his first four collegiate seasons, Bennett has been an effective player throughout his career, playing a slightly different role each year. The Orlando, FL native got started at Merrimack, where he averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in his freshman campaign. Bennett led the Northeast Conference in steals per game (2.9) and paced the country in total swipes with 99. Consistently flashing active hands and being aggressive in passing lanes, Bennett should slot in nicely for a Zags program that values tight perimeter pressure and forcing turnovers.

Offensively, however, Bennett struggled with his efficiency while adjusting to college competition. He shot just 35.9% from the field and 27.3% on 3-pointers, both being the lowest marks of his career. But the Warriors did have the first-year player assume lead point guard duties, likely impacting these numbers. Also in that season, he turned the ball over 2.9 times per contest and had a NEC-most 90 total turnovers, finishing with a 20.4% turnover rate.

Still, due to his all-around impact, Bennett was awarded NEC Rookie of the Year. He led Merrimack’s elite defense, which boasted a conference-record 105.7 defensive rating per KenPom, and helped his team clinch a regular-season title and conference championship. Across three wins in the league tournament, Bennett played 115 of 120 minutes, totaling 18.0 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 steals per game while shooting 52.6% from the floor and 47.1% from 3-point range. Because the Warriors were still in the last season of their four-year window to transition from Division II to Division I, they couldn’t be selected to the NCAA Tournament, but Bennett certainly did all he could during Merrimack’s run.

Upon first transferring to the Flyers in 2023, Bennett experienced consistent improvement in his production. During that initial season with Dayton, he averaged 8.4 points per game on 39.3% shooting and a 31.6% clip from distance. Bennett also improved his free-throw rate from 73% to 80% in his sophomore season, with over 62% of his shot attempts coming from beyond the arc in an off-guard role. He even led the Atlantic-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio as a secondary ball-handler.

Earning a bigger share of the shots in Dayton’s system the following year, Bennett posted his most efficient marks as a junior. On 11.6 points per game, he finished the season knocking down 43% of his field goal attempts, and 39% on 3-point tries, translating to a 57.2% true shooting clip. As a volume shooter, Bennett got really hot down the stretch for Dayton. He scored at least 20 points in the Flyers’ final five contests, including their opening round victory in the NIT over FAU, when Bennett dropped a career-high 30 points on a banner 8-of-12 night from deep.

In his senior season, Bennett paced his team in scoring (15.8 ppg) and assisting (2.9 apg) as Dayton’s lead guard. With more responsibility, he took seven 3s a game and connected on 34.9% of them while shooting 39.5% overall. Leading the league in shot attempts, points, and minutes played, Bennett took home First Team A-10 honors and became the third player in program history to transfer and score 1,000 points as a Flyer. Also becoming near automatic at the charity stripe, Bennett drained almost 90% of his free throws.

Due to his strong steal rates, Bennett can still be a positive defender despite his undersized frame. Even though he will be competing against the most difficult competition he’s faced by far, Bennett can be a pest for opposing players with his ball pressure. The Bulldogs shouldn’t run him as their primary point-of-attack defender, as he can run into trouble against longer, ball-handling wings, but Bennett can surely hold his own when matched up with guards that might have a few inches on him.

With the departure of Mario Saint-Supéry, who made a team-high 48 3-pointers last season, Bennett fills a void as a capable and confident shooter on the Zags’ roster. If GU lands another guard with a cleaner facilitating background, Bennett can be maximized as a floor spacer in both catch-and-shoot and off-the-dribble situations.

The big name to watch for Gonzaga in this reopened portal process is still Donovan Dent, who is one of more than 45 athletes involved in a California-based lawsuit. Whether Dent finally makes his way to Spokane, the Frenchman De Sousa gets his eligibility situation sorted out, or another name enters the fray, Bennett should be a solid piece in the Bulldogs’ backcourt mix.