SPOKANE, Wash. — With less than three months until the start of the 2026-27 season, Gonzaga men’s basketball appears to have found its starting point guard.

According to Joe Tipton of On3 Sports, Gonzaga has landed fifth-year guard Javon Bennett from Dayton.

The 5-foot-10 Orlando, Florida, native was one of 15 athletes granted a fifth year of eligibility after winning a lawsuit against the NCAA in Ohio challenging the organization’s age-based eligibility rules. The lawsuit challenged the NCAA’s five-year eligibility clock, which begins at a student-athlete’s initial full-time college enrollment or the academic year after turning 19, whichever comes first. The ruling granted Bennett and those athletes eligibility for the 2026-27 college basketball season.

Bennett now joins Gonzaga as one of the most experienced guards remaining in the transfer portal and is expected to play his final collegiate season under coach Mark Few and the Zags.

Last season, Bennett started all 37 games for Dayton and led the Flyers in minutes (34.5), scoring (15.8 points) and assists (2.9) per game. He also averaged 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 turnovers while shooting 39.5% from the field, 34.7% from 3-point range on seven attempts per game and 89.8% from the free throw line.

He earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors after his stellar season that saw him reach 1,565 career points.

Bennett began his college career at Merrimack, where he was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 after helping lead the Warriors to the conference’s regular-season and tournament titles. He averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.9 steals as a freshman before transferring to Dayton, where he spent the next three seasons.

While Gonzaga could still add another guard, Bennett is the clear favorite to fill one of the Bulldogs’ biggest needs following Mario Saint-Supery’s departure to Valencia of Spain’s Liga ACB in July.

Pending an official announcement, Gonzaga’s projected 2026-27 roster includes:

6-foot-6 sophomore guard Isiah Harwell (Houston transfer)5-foot-10 fifth-year guard Javon Bennett (Dayton transfer)6-foot-7 sophomore guard Davis Fogle6-foot-10 senior forward Braden Huff7-foot-1 sophomore center Massamba Diop (Arizona State transfer)6-foot-10 forward/center Izan Almansa (Real Madrid)6-foot-9 redshirt freshman forward Parker Jefferson6-foot-4 senior guard Nathan De Sousa (Cholet Basket)6-foot-6 senior guard Skylar Wicks (Saint Francis transfer)2026 signing class6-foot-5 freshman forward Luca Foster (Link Academy)7-foot freshman forward Sam Funches (Germantown)6-foot-6 freshman guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa (JL Bourg, France)Walk-ons5-foot-11 sophomore guard Alonzo Metz6-foot-5 freshman guard Carter Nilson

If Bennett’s commitment becomes official, Gonzaga would most likely have 14 of its 15 scholarship spots filled while adding the top remaining point guard available in the transfer portal.