The Gonzaga Bulldogs have added another player to their 2024-25 college basketball squad after former Arkansas guard Khalif Battle signed a financial aid agreement with the school on Thursday. The 6-foot-6 guard will be a Bulldog with one year of eligibility remaining. He joins Gonzaga after spending a year at Arkansas, three years at Temple, and one at Butler.
Gonzaga fans already had high hopes for their Bulldogs as they returned six of their seven rotational players. This past season, GU had a slow start to their season but were able to make it to the Sweet 16 for the ninth consecutive time. But this veteran team is expected to start their season strong, and the preseason rankings are already showing that the Zags will be a standout team.
However, with their strong returners, Battle will easily fit into the mix. During his SEC season at Arkansas, he averaged 14.8 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 40.6% from the field, including 35.3 from three. During his final seven games with the Razorbacks, he averaged 29.6 points and 6.3 rebounds.
During his time in collegiate basketball, he has totaled 1,343 points in 101 games at Arkansas, Temple, and Butler. A year after making a career-high 77 threes at Temple as a junior, Battle made 48 threes at 35 percent from behind the arc. He made 186 free throws last season, which ranked 17th in the nation at 87.3 percent, which was fifth in the Southeastern Conference.
He will add an offensive boost to the Zags, along with point guard Ryan Nembhard and shooting guard Nolan Hickman. The Hillsdale, New Jersey, native will join three other transfers to the Gonzaga 2024–25 roster. Michael Ajayi, a former Pepperdine wing, was the first to sign with the Zags for next season. He was the top scorer in the West Coast Conference last season and declared for the NBA Draft. Recently, Emmanuel Innocenti, a transfer forward from Tarleton State, announced he would be joining the Zags with three years of eligibility.
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