This official visit from Sam Funches has been a long time coming. As mentioned in The Sipper Still Fit’s conversation with the 6-11 big man a couple of months back, he was interested in learning more about the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Kraziness in the Kennel. Funches will be in attendance for the popular event on the weekend of October 4th.
According to On3, the four-star is ranked as the No. 48 overall recruit, No. 5 player at his position, and No. 1 from the state of Mississippi. Assistant coach R-Jay Barsh has been handling his recruitment over the past year while Funches has been playing with Germantown in Madison, Mississippi, along with Team Sipp United on the NXT Pro Circuit with Puma this summer.
“He was talking about my development. Mainly development. It was something along the lines of like it’s not about what you do, but it’s about how you do it… They always go 110 percent.” – Sam Funches via The Slipper Still Fits
Funches has already taken official visits with the Kansas Jayhawks, Ole Miss Rebels, and California Golden Bears. Five additional trips have been planned with the Vanderbilt Commodores (August 1st-3rd), Xavier Musketeers (August 22nd-24th), Kansas State Wildcats (August 29th-31st), Mississippi State Bulldogs (September 26th-28th), and LSU Tigers (October 10th-12th).
In other recruiting news, Gonzaga hasn’t been afraid to shoot their shot at both the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes. Either of 2026’s Tyran Stokes or 2027’s Babatunde Oladotun has the potential to lead any program in the nation deep in March Madness. No official visits with either star prospect have been set at this time.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho