Yvonne Ejim is having a year for Gonzaga. She has helped the Canadian National Team qualify for the Olympics. She is currently averaging 20.2 points and 8.3 rebounds as the Zags are looking to corral the highest NCAA Tournament seed in history.
Ejim is getting Naismith Award Watchlist honors and has started appearing on WNBA mock drafts left and right. As a senior, at this point in her career, we should expect her to be leaving.
And surprisingly, she isn’t.
Ejim, rather than cash in on the current wave of success, will be running it back for the bonus COVID year. And in doing so already, has removed any future planning for head coach Lisa Fortier and her staff.
Arguably, the announcement seems a little odd. The Zags might be at the peak at the moment, as the squad will be losing Brynna Maxwell and the Truong twins–also known as the entire starting backcourt.
The Zags are stacked at the frontcourt, but it is the balance that is making it all work for the Zags this year.
That said, if Ejim is looking at a future in the WNBA, one more year is going to pad the resume rather nicely for the future. By returning, Ejim should be a preseason All-American.
The 2024 WNBA Draft is full of some rather stacked names, the likes of Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, Hailey van Lith, possibly Paige Bueckers, among others. Another year in the limelight might propel Ejim from her current Draft standing, low first round, to a lottery pick.
Or maybe she just hecking loves Gonzaga so much and never wants to leave. If I had free tuition, I wouldn’t blame her. Either way, Ejim returning is a massive boost in continuing forward momentum for the program, and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out next season.