The Kennel Has a Job to Do This Weekend With Four-Star Recruit Jalen Davis Visiting

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have just a lone commit out of the 2027 recruiting class: four-star Dooney Johnson. The 6-7 point guard, originally hailing from Milwaukee Juneau, Wisconsin, will play his senior high school season with East River in Orlando, Florida.

Another high-level backcourt talent from the Class of 2027 is four-star combo guard Jalen Davis, who recently named the Zags as one of his top-four schools, along with the Washington Huskies, UCLA Bruins, and North Carolina Tar Heels. He doesn’t have a commitment date yet.

The 6-3 prospect from Bremerton, Washington, will take an official visit to campus in Spokane, Washington, on Nov. 7 for Gonzaga’s 2026-27 home opener against the Conference USA’s New Mexico State Aggies.

Davis has already taken official visits to Washington on Sept. 27, North Carolina on Oct. 3, and UCLA on Oct. 13.

The 18-year-old, high-volume scorer plays mostly off-ball, but can make an impact in the passing lanes. During his standout junior high school season, Davis was awarded the state of Washington’s Gatorade Player of the Year honor with averages of 31.5 points on 63.9 field goal percentage and 40.0 three-point percentage, 9.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and a whopping 5.8 steals per contest for Bremerton High School.

He won back-to-back WIAA Class 2A state championships in 2025 and 2026 there, looking for his third in a row to cap his senior campaign.

An in-state commitment out of Kitsap County on the western part of Washington to pair alongside Johnson would change the perspective of what this Inland Northwest program can look like for at least the next two seasons, maybe more.

The Kennel does a fantastic job making those visiting recruits feel at home, chanting their names. But Davis is a much larger fish, and the students have to be at their loudest in order to convince him to make the McCarthey Athletic Center his permanent home.

It helps that this weekend’s matchup is the first home game of 2026-27 and the crowd’s first true chance to see this current group of Zags in action. The energy is going to be at its highest, even against a mid-major program in the non-conference that not many would be interested in watching.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho