Providence has landed a former Bull that is following Bryan Hodgson from USF. Gavin Hightower announced his commitment to be a Friar on April 11th on social media.
The 6-1, 165-pound playmaker from Los Angeles was a bench piece on USF’s 25-9 season, contributing to an AAC regular-season and tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. Hightower, who entered the transfer portal earlier on April 7th is ranked No. 257 overall among portalers by EvanMiya.com with a projected BPR of +2.42.
It’s a familiar story for Hightower. As a high school recruit, he was a longtime Iona commit before flipping to USF after Iona fired Tobin Anderson and Anderson joined Hodgson’s staff at USF. He again will follow the head coach he committed to as that head coach has taken a new job in Hodgson.
Hightower arrived at powerhouse Sierra Canyon as a senior transfer from Windward School in the summer of 2024. He told the team at Media Day that his goal in switching schools was simple: “put a banner on the wall.” Mission accomplished.
The four-star point guard (247Sports rating: 87; Composite: .9167, No. 200 nationally, No. 20 PG, No. 13 in California) helped Sierra Canyon capture the CIF State Division I championship. In the title game against Lincoln of Stockton, he led the Trailblazers with a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds in a 58-53 victory, earning Daily News Boys Athlete of the Week honors.
As a junior at Windward he had already put up big All-CIF numbers with 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals per game which cemented his reputation as a dynamic, high-IQ guard with offers from schools like Cal and Washington State.
Hightower played in 26 games off the bench as a true freshman in 2025-26, logging 10.1 minutes per night. His per-game line: 4.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, and 0.8 SPG. He shot 52.8% from the field (55.2% on 2s), 20.0% from three (small sample of just 1/5), and 67.4% from the free throw line.
Advanced metrics paint a more impressive picture than raw box-score numbers suggest:
- Offense: 57.3% true shooting, +0.1 ORAPM, 103.4 offensive rating. Versatile scorer who shot 60.4% at the rim and showed excellent free-throw rate (59.7, 95th percentile).
- Playmaking: 30.4% assist rate (96th percentile), capable secondary ball-handler with strong drive-and-kick ability. In 51 possessions, Hightower produced a very good 0.922 PPP as a pick and roll ball handler, per Synergy. That was the primary usage for Hightower last season.
- Defense: -1.8949 DRAPM (89th percentile), 99.2 defensive rating (90th percentile), 4.2% steal rate (98th percentile).
He had moments of brilliance, too. A career high 21 points (8-of-8 FG) in 17 minutes against UTSA, 12 points and four steals in USF’s NCAA Tournament loss to Louisville and multiple double-digit scoring nights off the bench.
Hightower gives Hodgson a familiar, high-floor guard who can run the show in spot minutes, defend at a high level and make plays without forcing shots. At just 19 years old with significant upside left in his game (especially if the 3-ball develops), he fits perfectly into what Hodgson wants to build.
Want to continue the conversation about Providence’s newest addition from the transfer portal, join the pcbb1917 portal committee now that the portal is open and use the cool bots to look up players or just join a community of Friar fans? Subscribe to the pcbb1917 Discord today!