SPOKANE, Wash. – Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga star Malachi Smith is going coast to coast to finish his college basketball career with a perennial national power.
Smith, one of the top players available in the NCAA transfer portal, signed Thursday with Gonzaga, adding to the good news for the Bulldogs at the end of a week in which they learned starters Rasir Bolton, Julian Strawther and Drew Timme have all decided to return to play another season at the West Coast Conference program with two runner-up finishes in the past five NCAA tournaments.
UTC returned to the NCAA tourney this year for the first time since 2016, with Smith one of the main reasons why. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard was the Southern Conference player of the year and averaged 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, three assists and 1.7 steals per game. He also won the Lou Henson Award as the top mid-major player in the nation.
“Malachi is going to be a great addition to our program,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said in a news release. “He does a lot of really good things on the floor, but his experience and leadership will also be huge.”
Smith – from Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis – was an All-SoCon first-team selection in both of his seasons on the court with the Mocs. He sat out the 2019-20 schedule after transferring from Wright State, where he made the Horizon League’s All-Freshman lineup.