Now Valencia Basket’s Mario Saint-Supery of Spain in the EuroLeague and LSU Tigers’ Donovan Dent didn’t want to be a part of the Gonzaga Bulldogs with the larger paycheck calling. Florida Gators’ Xaivian Lee does, who has a natural fit with the program’s style of running a half-court offense and utilizing the pick-and-roll heavily.
The point guard transfer committed to the Zags after receiving a fifth year of college eligibility and the ability to enter the transfer portal through a temporary restraining
order in the state of California granted on Aug. 18. This move has been rumored for a couple of weeks now.
He’s currently eligible, but the NCAA continues to appeal all the Class of 2022 athletes’ statuses in what has been the craziest offseason full of nonsense and time-wasting lawsuits. Nothing is for certain in this time of age.
Despite him competing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League this past July, Lee is still eligible to return to college basketball since he didn’t officially sign an Exhibit 10 contract.
The 6-4, 180-pound floor leader originally from Toronto, Ontario, averaged 11.6 points on a 42.0 field goal percentage/29.2 three-point percentage/76.5 free throw percentage, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 35 starts under coach Todd Golden last season. He helped the Gators win the SEC regular-season title and reach the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
During his time in the Ivy League, Lee was the first player in the Princeton Tigers’ history to record a triple-double (actually did it twice during his tenure there), holds the program’s season assists record at 165 in 2024-25, and is a two-time unanimous All-Ivy First Team member from his 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns. Lee looks to follow in the footsteps of numerous fantastic past Gonzaga lead guards to represent their home country of Canada, just like Kevin Pangos and the Nembhard brothers.
This addition technically fills up the 2026-27 roster with 15 of the 15 spots filled, but it’s far from being officially complete. Point guard Nathan De Sousa of France’s Cholet Basket (awaiting an international eligibility waiver), forward/center Izan Almansa of Spain’s Real Madrid (awaiting an international eligibility waiver), and fifth-year point guard transfer Javon Bennett from the Dayton Flyers (ineligible after an NCAA stay in the state of Ohio) are all still in eligibility limbo.
The Pac-12 Conference looking into banning professional athletes from playing college sports will also be taken into account, something that the SEC, Atlantic Coast Conference, and Big Ten Conference have all done. That would further affect the status of both De Sousa and Almansa.
Regardless, it’s another great day to be a Zag. The national championship dream is back alive in Spokane, Washington, with a multitude of high-caliber starting lineup variations and depth in the frontcourt.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
