Coach Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs lost Graham Ike to eligibility at the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign. His coaching staff came back with an immediate answer for the five-spot through the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Arizona State Sun Devils freshman center Massamba Diop chose the Zags over coach Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm out of the Big East Conference, per CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. On3’s industry player rankings have the 21-year-old as the No. 5 best available recruit in the portal.
The 7-1, 230-pound standout from Rufisque, Senegal, jumped on the scene right away in Tempe, Arizona, this past season. Diop averaged 13.6 points per game on a shooting split of 56.9 field goal percentage/30.8 three-point percentage/71.5 free throw percentage. In 33 starts for previous coach Bobby Hurley, Diop grabbed 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game (ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference, No. 23 in all of college basketball).
He ultimately chose Gonzaga because of its proven track record of developing big men for the next level. Additionally, the program has developed a fresh, thriving pipeline to Spain under the leadership of Director of Basketball Operations Jorge Sanz. Diop played two seasons with Gran Canaria’s youth and reserve teams in Las Palmas, Spain, before being promoted to Spain’s top-tier ACB and EuroCup rotations in 2024-25.
On his official visit to the Inland Northwest during the weekend of April 18 to 19, Diop spent time speaking with freshman lead guard Mario Saint-Supery and sophomore seven-foot center Ismaila Diagne, who recently transferred to the San Francisco Dons in the West Coast Conference.
Saint-Supery competed with Unicaja in Malaga, Spain, in the Liga ACB/Basketball Champions League, as well as with BAXI Manresa in Manresa, Spain, in the Liga ACB/EuroCup. Diagne, a native of Nguekhokhe, Senegal, played with Real Madrid in Madrid, Spain, in the Liga ACB. That’s multiple ties to the continents of Europe and Africa for Sanz and his colleagues.
Diop, a projected NBA lottery pick in 2027, is someone who can guard in space, out on the perimeter, and act as an intense rim protector. Ike definitely didn’t have that last trait in his defensive prowess. There hasn’t been a shot blocker in Spokane, Washington, since Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren in 2021-22.
He’s still contributing offensively through pick-and-roll, lob opportunities, and even with his ability to stretch out the floor. The two-way, versatile threat with a freakish 7-4 wingspan will be plugged in next to a healthy redshirt junior forward Braden Huff, making arguably the most dominant frontcourt duo in all of college basketball in 2026-27.
Gonzaga’s 2026-27 roster right now looks like a top-ten team ready for the start of the Pac-12 Conference era, with 10 of the 15 roster spots filled (next season’s class listed below):
Sophomore point guard Mario Saint-Supery
Sophomore guard/wing Isiah Harwell
Sophomore wing Davis Fogle
Redshirt senior forward Braden Huff
Sophomore center Massamba Diop
Redshirt freshman forward Parker Jefferson
2026 four-star wing Luca Foster
2026 four-star center Sam Funches
2026 four-star combo guard Jack Kayil
Walk-on redshirt freshman guard Alonzo Metz
Harwell and Kayil will both test the 2026 NBA Draft waters as early entrants. The 2026 NBA Combine will run from May 10 through 17 at the Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago, Illinois. The deadline for college players like Harwell to withdraw their names is May 27. For international players, like Kayil, it’s June 13.
Regardless, what Few and the Zags have brought in is a defining transfer portal haul with the former McDonald’s All-American and one of the nation’s top big men.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
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