Gonzaga has added another experienced piece to its 2026-27 backcourt, with Skylar Wicks committing to the Bulldogs on Wednesday for what would be his final season of eligibility.
The 6-foot-6 guard from Jersey City, who played last season at Saint Francis, gives Mark Few a second veteran guard in the last ten days alongside 23-year-old French guard Nathan De Sousa. Wicks is also Gonzaga’s third portal addition, joining rising sophomores Massamba Diop and Isiah Harwell, who arrived from Arizona State and Houston, respectively.
That group will be part of a larger wave of newcomers headed to Gonzaga as the program prepares for its move into the Pac-12 in 2026-27. Along with De Sousa, the Zags also have another French guard in Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa and incoming freshmen Sam Funches, Luca Foster and Carter Nilson in the mix.
Wicks’ path has been a winding one. He started at Missouri State in 2020-21, appeared in six games, then sat out the 2021-22 season as a redshirt. From there, he dropped to the junior college level at State College of Florida, where he played 28 games and averaged 16.5 points and 5.6 rebounds before returning to Division 1 at Incarnate Word.
That’s where he first made a real impact. In 2023-24, Wicks averaged 13.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Cardinals while shooting 44.5% on twos and 31.1% from three on 4.5 attempts per game. He opened that season with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in a road loss to Texas, and it was one of seven 20-point games he posted against Division 1 opponents, four of them on the road.
After that, he moved to UTSA for 2024-25, but injury cut that season down to just 10 games. He averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in just under 12 minutes for the Roadrunners.
Last season at Saint Francis, Wicks put together the best year of his college career. He averaged 17.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 33.2 minutes per game, while shooting 43.9% on twos and a career-best 36.3% from three on six attempts a night. He also hit 72.5% from the foul line on 3.9 free throw attempts per game.
Those numbers put him second in the NEC in scoring, sixth in rebounding, sixth in steals and 12th in assists, and he earned All-NEC Third Team honors. He also handled high-major competition well, scoring 20 points in a road loss at Oklahoma, 18 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a road loss at TCU, 18 points with eight rebounds and six assists at Xavier, and 22 points with three rebounds and three steals at Florida.
In all, Wicks had 12 games with at least 20 points, three double-doubles and five games with at least five assists. His 61 made threes were 13 more than Mario Saint-Supery, who led Gonzaga last season.
The big question now is whether Wicks will actually wear a Gonzaga uniform. He turned 26 on Tuesday and began college back in 2020, so his eligibility situation is murky.
His 2020-21 season should not count because it was the COVID blanket waiver year, and his redshirt year in 2021-22 also should not count. His one year at the junior college level in 2022-23 does count, as do his seasons at Incarnate Word and Saint Francis.
The 10 games he played at UTSA should qualify for a waiver, which would leave him with three of his four seasons used. Still, the NCAA is tightening things up for players who are beyond the five-year window, and Wicks is reportedly seeking a waiver. How that process plays out remains unclear, and Gonzaga may once again have to wait on the NCAA before knowing whether a new addition is cleared to help.
Even with the uncertainty, Wicks fills a real need. Gonzaga’s backcourt was thin after German guard Jack Kayil said he intended to remain in the NBA draft process. Saint-Supery and Harwell were the only guards on the roster, with sophomore Davis Fogle and incoming freshman Luca Foster expected to spend time at the three.
De Sousa and Ekanga-Ehawa help the numbers, but Wicks brings something else: a proven scorer who can finish at all three levels, rebound well for his position and, based on last season, stretch the floor. If he gets eligibility clearance, he could even challenge Harwell for the starting shooting guard job. At minimum, he gives Few another scoring option as Gonzaga builds around Saint-Supery, Fogle, Diop and Braden Huff in pursuit of the program’s first Pac-12 title and a return to the Sweet 16.
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