SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball has added a trio of transfers to their 2025-26 roster, each coming from the power six ranks. The newest Broncos are Gehrig Normand (Michigan State), Chris Tajdo (Iowa) and Aleksander Gavalyugov (Villanova).
Gehrig Normand | Guard | 6-5 | 190 lbs | RS-Soph. | Michigan State
A four-star recruit that was a near top-100 consensus recruit in the 2023 recruiting cycle, Normand joins the Broncos after two seasons playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. After redshirting in 2023-24, the Irving, Texas, native played sparingly off the bench in 13 games for the Spartans during their 2024-25 Elite Eight run. He posted a season-high five points on the road against Minnesota in just five minutes on the floor and knocked down his lone 3-point attempt in a win over Florida Atlantic.
Prior to his time in East Lansing, Normand was a First Team All-State and 5A Offensive Player of the Year performer at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills, Texas, where he averaged 19 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists as a senior. He was considered among the top shooting guards in the nation, ranking as high as No. 8 at the position by Rivals, as well as 20
th by On3 Sports, 24
th by ESPN and 29
th by 247 Sports. His highest overall ranking was No. 83 by On3 Sports while Rivals tabbed him as the 84
th best overall prospect. ESPN included him just inside of their top 100 rankings (98) while 247 Sports labeled him 124
th overall.
Gehrig joins the Broncos as a redshirt sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining.
Chris Tadjo | Forward | 6-8 | 240 lbs | Sophomore | Iowa
A product of Montreal, Quebec, Tadjo extends Santa Clara's longstanding Canadian Pipeline. Like Normand, he was also a four-star recruit for the 2024 cycle, ranking as high as 55
th overall by On3 Sports, and was On3's ninth-best power forward. The 6-foot-8 prospect played in 11 total games for the Hawkeyes as a true freshman in 2024-25. He shot 50 percent from the field for the year and tallied a season-high five points on three occasions.
Originally from Africa before moving to Quebec, Tadjo attended the NBA Academy Latin America – an elite basketball training program for top prospects from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. He was a two-time Most Valuable Player of the All-Canadian Games.
Tadjo joins Santa Clara as a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining.
Aleksandar Gavalyugov | Guard | 6-2 | 175 lbs | RS-Fr. | Villanova
Gavalyugov joins Santa Clara from Villanova where he made four appearances off the bench for the Wildcats as a true freshman before missing the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury. Prior to injury, he was averaging 4.5 minutes of work and had a season-high six points on a pair of 3-pointers against Temple.
An under the radar prospect from Sofia, Bulgaria, Gavalyugov played for the NBA Global Academy where he put forth a great performance to earn his offer to Villanova. He was a star at the Adidas EuroCamp where he averaged 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. The 6-foot-2 guard also has extensive experience at the national team level. He played for Balkan in the Bulgarian U18 League where in four games he posted 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per outing and helped win the Bulgarian U19 League Championship title in 2024. He also played for the Next Generation Select Team U18 squad in 2022-23. Representing Bulgaria at the FIBA U18 European Championship, he was the top scorer at the event at 21.9 points per game.
Gavalyugov joins the Broncos as a redshirt freshman with four years of eligibility remaining.
