KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan head men's basketball coach Kahil Fennell announced his program's first signee on Friday, bringing UTRGV transfer guard Julien Gomez to Kalamazoo.
 
Gomez spent his freshman season with Fennell at UTRGV, where he appeared in all 33 contests. He worked his way into the starting lineup for the final 21 games of the season, helping the Vaqueros to a 14-7 record in that span.
 
The Huntington Park, Calif., native shot 48.8 percent from the floor, 43.7 percent from three-point range, 78.2 percent from the foul line and scored in double-figures 10 times on the way to 7.5 points per game. Gomez netted a career-high 20 points in a victory at Incarnate Word and nearly notched the first double-double of his collegiate career twice, collecting a career-high nine rebounds against Nicholls and UIW. For the season, he averaged 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest and collected 24 steals.
 
Before taking his game to the collegiate level, Gomez was a four-year letterwinner at La Mirada High School. He started off his prep career with 500 points as a freshman and went on to score over 2,000 points for the Matadores. He tallied 658 points as a junior and in 2023 was given the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.