Ex-Gonzaga wing Bryan Alberts joining Dan Monson at Long Beach State

Bryan Alberts, who announced in April he would be leaving Gonzaga, made his destination official four months later, tweeting on Saturday that he’ll play for Long Beach State.

The 6-foot-5 wing will join ex-Gonzaga head coach Dan Monson’s 49ers program. Alberts is immediately eligible as a graduate transfer and will have two seasons of eligibility.

“Great opportunity for me,” Alberts wrote in a text message. His other finalists were Weber State and Virginia Commonwealth.

The 49ers make sense for Alberts for several reasons. He’ll have a chance to make an immediate impact on the court and Long Beach State’s campus is about an hour’s drive from his hometown of Northridge.

“We really needed a perimeter scorer and we think he’ll give us that and the versatility to play multiple positions on the perimeter,” Monson said. “We have no returning starters on the perimeter so his experience is really big. He’s a kid that’s proven he can play at the Division I level.”

Monson, who led Gonzaga to the Elite Eight in 1999, is the winningest coach in Long Beach State history with a 170-159 record in 10 seasons. The 49ers annually face a demanding non-conference schedule.

Alberts struggled to find consistent minutes in Gonzaga’s eight-man rotation last season. He averaged 5.9 minutes and 1.8 points. He started 10 games in his redshirt freshman season before losing the spot to Kyle Dranginis.

Long Beach State won Big West Conference regular-season titles from 2011-13 and have played in one NCAA Tournament (2012) and three NITs under Monson.

They went 15-19 last season with Loyola Marymount transfer guard Evan Payne averaging a team-leading 14.2 points. Payne is skipping his senior season to pursue professional opportunities.