Malachi Smith, considered one of the top players in the transfer portal, apparently is taking a close look at Gonzaga.

Dusty Stromer knows how to make a favorable first impression. He was a skinny 6-foot-3 freshman when Notre Dame High basketball coach Matt Sargeant first met Stromer, who recently became the first commitment in Gonzaga’s 2023 recruiting class.

Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar is down to two schools – Gonzaga and Kansas – if he decides to return to college basketball next season, according to On3.

Sharp-shooting guard Dusty Stromer on Sunday became the first commitment in Gonzaga’s 2023 recruiting class, roughly an hour after the Zags landed LSU transfer center Efton Reid for the upcoming season.

Any suspense surrounding Utah Valley transfer Fardaws Aimaq’s future destination was long gone by the time of his official announcement Friday, at least from Gonzaga’s perspective. Aimaq had the Zags in his top five when he narrowed his list two weeks ago, but the talented center told 247 High School Hoops on Thursday afternoon he was down to Washington, Texas Tech and Texas.

Gonzaga became the 23rd and most recent school to offer 2023 four-star prospect Wesley Yates, the Texas native announced on Twitter Monday afternoon.

Utah Valley transfer Fardaws Aimaq, one of the top post players in the portal, has Gonzaga among his final five college destinations.

Barring a late addition in the recruiting cycle, Gonzaga is prepared to bring in its smallest high school class since 2017, when an in-state wing named Corey Kispert became the only prospect to sign with the Bulldogs, who went on to compete for the national championship less than a year later.

Mookie Cook, one of Gonzaga’s top recruiting priorities in the class of 2023, committed to Oregon on Thursday at halftime of the Geico Nationals game on ESPNU.