Spanish forward Izan Almansa arrives at Gonzaga for summer workouts
Gonzaga hasn’t formally announced the addition of Izan Almansa, but the Spanish forward has arrived in Spokane for summer workouts and accompanied his new teammates on Thursday for Domantas Sabonis’ strength and conditioning center dedication ceremony at the Volkar Center.
It’s an encouraging development for Gonzaga months after Mark Few’s program picked up a commitment from the 21-year-old forward who spent the 2025-26 season with Spanish ACB powerhouse Real Madrid.
Almansa hasn’t publicly acknowledged his commitment to the Zags and the forward’s eligibility was in question as a result of his experience playing in the G League, going through the 2025 NBA draft process and appearing at NBA Summer League last July with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It’s unclear if the NCAA has already approved an eligibility waiver for Almansa, but the forward’s arrival in Spokane suggests there won’t be any major hurdles toward him joining Gonzaga’s roster this fall.
The 6-foot-10 forward likely came to the United States directly from Tbilisi, Georgia, where Almansa, Gonzaga point guard Mario Saint-Supery and the Spanish national team recently played the second game of a FIBA World Cup qualifying window.
Almansa played 18 minutes off the bench and scored 12 points to go with three rebounds in Spain’s 109-81 victory over Denmark in Madrid on July 2 before logging 15 minutes, scoring two points and grabbing four rebounds in Sunday’s 91-89 loss to Georgia.
Saint-Supery started in Spain’s first game, scoring 16 points to go with three rebounds and three assists against Denmark. The sophomore point guard came off the bench to score 13 points with three rebounds and two assists against Denmark.
Almansa was considered a second-round NBA draft prospect last summer and picked up an invitation to watch the event from the green room at the Barclays Center. Almansa went undrafted and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, appearing in four games for the team at Summer League.
The forward returned to Spain to play at Real Madrid, averaging 4.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.2 minutes during Liga ACB play.
Almansa could cement one of the top frontcourt units in college basketball next season, potentially serving as a backup forward/center to junior Braden Huff and sophomore transfer Massamba Diop.
Prior to his time at Real Madrid, Almansa played for the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League and spent one season with G League Ignite in 2023-24.