Apr. 2—Dusty Stromer didn't wait long to enter his name in the transfer portal and didn't need much more time to identify a new school.
Stromer, who spent two seasons at Gonzaga before revealing last Monday he was planning to enter the portal, announced a commitment to Grand Canyon Wednesday night on Instagram.
Stromer's post included a photoshopped image of the guard/wing wearing a black and purple Grand Canyon jersey with a caption reading "Let's workkkkk."
The sophomore entered his name in the portal only a handful of hours after it opened to college players, becoming the first member of Mark Few's 2024-25 Gonzaga roster to do so. Two other players, Jun Seok Yeo and Michael Ajayi, reportedly entered the portal in the following days, giving Gonzaga at least six open scholarships for the following season.
Stromer played a key role for Gonzaga early in his freshman season, starting the first 15 games before relinquishing his spot to veteran Ben Gregg as the Zags shifted to a bigger lineup.
The former four-star recruit averaged 23.5 minutes in 2023-24 but watched his playing time diminish last season, starting just once and averaging only 17.5 minutes.
Stromer's scoring numbers as a freshman (4.8 points per game) and sophomore (4.3) were similar, but he averaged fewer rebounds in 2024-25 (1.8) and saw his playing time dip down the stretch of the season, logging 28 total minutes in the team's final five games.
He now joins a Grand Canyon program that's had tremendous success under coach Bryce Drew, who just completed his fourth season at the Phoenix-based school.
The Antelopes, more commonly referred to as the "Lopes," have won at least 23 games each of the last three seasons and have made the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years, only missing in 2021-22, when they went 23-8.
Gonzaga played Grand Canyon in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, winning 82-70 in Denver. The Antelopes beat GU's top rival in the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary's, in an opening-round game at the Arena in 2024, giving GCU its first NCAA Tournament victory since joining the Division I ranks.
Few has a relationship with Drew and older brother Scott, who's been the coach at Baylor since 2003-04 and led the Bears to a national championship in 2021, ending Gonzaga's unbeaten season in the title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
GCU won the Western Athletic Conference last season, but dropped a first-round NCAA Tournament game to Maryland, losing 81-49 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Stromer could play a big role immediately for GCU, which is expected to lose its top three scorers — guards Tyon Grant-Foster (14.8 ppg) and Ray Harrison (11.5 ppg), along with forward Jakobe Coles (14.4 ppg) — and just had fourth-leading scorer Duke Brennan (10.4 ppg) enter the transer portal.
GCU's athletic programs initially accepted an invitation to the WCC, joining fellow WAC member Seattle U, but reneged in November and flipped to the Mountain West Conference.
With two years of eligibility remaining, Stromer could spend one season with GCU in the WAC and one in the Mountain West when the school officially moves conference prior to the 2026-27 season.
