Gonzaga Forward Steele Venters Suffers Season-Ending Achilles Injury

Gonzaga forward Steele Venters will miss his second consecutive season after tearing his left Achilles tendon this week, the men’s basketball program announced Tuesday.

Gonzaga wing Steele Venters averaged 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds per game with Eastern Washington

In 84 career NCAA games (67 starts) with Eastern Washington, Venters averaged 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 27.9 minutes per contest while shooting 45.4% from the field, 40.3% from 3-point range, and 84.6% at the free throw line.

In 33 games (all starts) with the Eagles in the 2021-22 season, he averaged career highs of 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 33.7 minutes per contest. He led the Big Sky Conference in 3-point percentage, shooting a career-best 43.4%.

#Gonzaga announces that Steele Venters has suffered an Achilles injury and will miss the 2024-25 season. Heartbreaking news for the wing who missed the entirety of last season with an ACL tear. pic.twitter.com/liCW4MObEi

— Theo Lawson (@TheoLawson_SR) August 27, 2024

Additionally, in Eastern Washington’s 78-70 win over North Dakota State on Dec. 3, 2022, he recorded a career-high 33 points on 14-of-19 (73.7%) shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 (42.9%) from deep.

Venters, 23, then averaged 15.3 points per game and made 37% of his 3-point attempts at Eastern Washington during the 2022-23 campaign, when he last appeared in a regular-season game.

The Washington native was named Big Sky Conference MVP and was selected first-team All-Big Sky. Following the 2022-23 season, the 6-foot-7 wing transferred to Gonzaga.

Venters suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in a practice after playing in just one exhibition game for the Bulldogs last season

In the 2023-24 season, he played in just one exhibition game for the Bulldogs before he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in a practice. He had been a projected starter, according to ESPN’s Myron Medcalf.

Freshman Dusty Stromer moved into the starting lineup for a little while. It was until Gonzaga shuffled its starting unit with Ben Gregg replacing Stromer in January. Gonzaga went with a frontcourt of Gregg, Anton Watson, and Graham Ike in the starting five for the final 19 games of the season.

“Now I’m at peace with it for the most part,” Venters told The Spokesman-Review last January. “Now I’m just trying to cheer on the guys. … It’s tough to sit out and watch these guys hoop, especially knowing I could be out there helping them.”

Entering this season, he was again expected to be a key contributor. Per multiple sportsbooks, Gonzaga has sixth-best odds to win the national title this upcoming season. The Bulldogs could have used his perimeter shooting after he recovered from the torn ACL.

“We are heartbroken for Steele,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said in a statement. “He was working so hard to come back from his knee injury. We will continue to support Steele through his healing process and know he will come back better and stronger.”

Venters also attended Ellensburg High School. As a senior, he led Ellensburg to a 16-6 record and a Central Washington Athletic Conference title, averaging 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists per game. He was a first-team Associated Press 2A All-State selection and scored over 1,200 points in his high school career.