Four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia chooses Duke over Gonzaga, UCLA

Nikolas Khamenia, a four-star forward who’d been on Gonzaga’s recruiting radar for three years, committed to Duke over the Zags and UCLA on Tuesday afternoon.

The Harvard-Westlake (Los Angeles) High standout announced his college decision on a YouTube live stream through 247Sports.com.

In August, Khamenia, who held nearly two-dozen high-major offers from schools in every power conference, narrowed his list to Duke, UCLA, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Arizona.

By Tuesday, Khamenia had whittled the group of finalists to Duke, UCLA and the Zags.

According to a report on Monday from On3.com’s Jamie Shaw, Duke and UCLA had taken the lead in Khamenia’s recruitment.

The versatile 6-foot-8 wing/forward told 247Sports choosing Duke felt like “a gut feeling” and added “going on my visit, it felt like my next home and ultimately I think that is the best place for me.”

Khamenia is the latest addition to a strong Duke recruiting class that includes other top-25 national prospects in Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the sons of former NBA star Carlos Boozer.

Gonzaga has struggled to find another prospect to join four-star Davis Fogle in the recruiting class of 2025, missing out on Khamenia and five-star guard Isiah Harwell, who also listed the Zags as one of his final schools.

Kingston Flemings, a five-star prospect from San Antonio, had listed Gonzaga as one of his final five schools, but the 6-3 point guard didn’t wind up taking an official visit to the Spokane school for Kraziness in the Kennel as originally reported. Many believe he’ll focus on the other schools in his final five: Arkansas, Texas, Houston and Texas Tech.

Gonzaga could lose up to six rotational players from its current roster – Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Ben Gregg, Graham Ike, Michael Ajayi and Khalif Battle – but the Bulldogs are built to withstand those departures.

The group eligible to return for the 2025-26 season includes junior Jun Seok Yeo, sophomores Dusty Stromer, Braden Huff and Emmanuel Innocenti, freshman Ismaila Diagne and junior Braden Smith, who’s planning to redshirt this season. Barring a full recovery from his Achilles injury, Steele Venters could also return to GU’s roster next season.