Key matchup: Former NWAC POY Jaiden Feroah returns to Washington for Gonzaga-Southern Utah

Jaiden Feroah’s never visited McCarthey Athletic Center, but Southern Utah’s top scorer and rebounder has a strong track record in the state of Washington, and might be able to provide a quality geography lesson on the Pacific Northwest from two years playing in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).

Feroah’s college hoops career has quite literally taken the Draper, Utah, native coast to coast. Before settling back down in the Beehive State this season, the 6-foot-9 forward spent one year at Holy Cross, a Jesuit institution located 40 miles outside of Boston. He averaged 6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds while starting in 21 of 32 games for the Crusaders.

Prior to that chapter of his career, Feroah was residing much closer to where the Thunderbirds (1-3) will be Monday when they visit the 19th-ranked Zags (4-0) for a 6 p.m. (KHQ) tip at the Kennel.

From 2022-24, Feroah played at Green River College, a public community college in Auburn, Washington, that competes in the Northwest Athletic Conference.

Feroah won a 2024 playoff matchup against Spokane Community College, scoring 16 points in a game that was held in Pasco, but the only time he visited the Inland Northwest was in 2022, when the Gators lost 86-77 to North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene.

Now he’s the driving force of a Southern Utah team that’s still seeking its first Division I victory after losses to Arizona State (81-64), UT Rio Grande Valley (95-72) and Omaha (90-85).

A former player of the year and champion in the NWAC, Feroah is leading the Thunderbirds in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) while making 57.6% of his shots from the field and 92.9% of his free throws.

And none of those account for his most impressive statistical column.

Only five Division I players are averaging more blocks than Feroah, who’s turning away 3.75 shots per game for Southern Utah. Feroah’s average skyrocketed after the senior rejected eight shots against UTRGV, falling two blocks shy of a rare point/rebound/block triple-double after scoring 24 points and securing 10 rebounds against the Vaqueros.

The Zags haven seen a variety of defensive looks and schemes this season, but they’ve yet to encounter a rim protector of Feroah’s caliber. Among GU’s four opponents, Arizona State’s Allen Mukeba is the top shot-blocker at 2.0 bpg.

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike and Braden Huff pose an equally stiff challenge to Feroah. Both GU frontcourt players have roughly 30 pounds on the Southern Utah forward and Ike’s coming off his second consecutive 20-point game.

Feroah won’t be alone in trying to contain Ike and Huff. Seventh-year senior Isaiah Cottrell, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound forward who previously played at West Virginia and UNLV, also starts in the Thunderbirds’ frontcourt. Cottrell averages 9.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg.