Davis Fogle doesn’t need to be a mystery anymore. After one freshman season at Gonzaga, the 6-foot-7 wing has already gone from outside Mark Few’s rotation to one of the program’s most important returning pieces.
That kind of rise is why the buzz around a sophomore breakout is so loud. Fogle averaged 8.6 points while shooting 51.8% in just 16.7 minutes per game last season, and he now looks like Gonzaga’s No. 2 scoring option behind senior forward Braden Huff. With 12 players gone from last year’s roster and a batch of reinforcements coming in - Massamba Diop, Isiah Harwell, Chauncey Wiggins, Javon Bennett and Skylar Wicks - the ceiling for the Zags will hinge in large part on how much Fogle grows.
The good news for Gonzaga is that his freshman year already showed a player capable of making a major jump. Fogle came out firing, scoring in double figures in two of his first three games and putting up 7.7 points in just 8.7 minutes through December while shooting 60.5% on twos and 55.6% from deep. He was efficient, fearless and clearly too good to keep buried.
But Few had a specific ask for him: do more than hunt shots. The early numbers told the story. Through his first 10 games, Fogle had just four assists and five turnovers, a stretch where he was mostly coming in and looking for his own offense instead of working within Gonzaga’s flow.
That changed as the season went on. Over his final 20 games, he piled up 36 assists against 15 turnovers, a real sign that his game was expanding beyond pure scoring.
That growth matters even more now, because Gonzaga’s point guard situation is still in motion. Dayton transfer Javon Bennett is on the roster, while top targets Donovan Dent and Xaivian Lee are still pursuing a legal avenue to eligibility next season.
If the Zags land one of them, the position is in better shape. If not, Fogle could wind up handling more ball reps himself, something he did early in his high school career.
The next step is making the right reads consistently, no matter where he’s stationed on the floor. Whether he’s initiating offense or attacking as a wing, that decision-making will shape both his season and Gonzaga’s.
His outside shot is another area that has to level up. Fogle started hot from three, hitting five of his first nine attempts, but the touch cooled later in the year.
He went 9-for-31 from beyond the arc over his final 20 games, never making more than one three in a game, and finished 1-for-5 across Gonzaga’s two NCAA Tournament contests. He leaned on his rim pressure and his polished mid-range game to get by, but if he’s going to become a true problem, the open threes have to fall more often.
That’s especially true with Bennett and Florida State transfer Chauncey Wiggins now in the mix to boost perimeter scoring. Fogle attempted only 40 threes last season, and Gonzaga needs that number to climb. The shot doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be reliable.
Defensively, though, there’s already a strong foundation. Fogle’s impact on that end was easy to miss at times because his offense drew the spotlight, but he made real progress.
Late in the season, after Huff’s season-ending injury and with Jalen Warley dealing with a thigh bruise, he even spent time at small-ball four. He also saw minutes at the two and is likely to keep bouncing between roles in 2026-27.
His length showed up more and more as the year went on. He got better at contesting shots on the perimeter and was active in passing lanes, finishing with a 2.4% steal rate and a 3.4% block rate - fourth and third among Gonzaga’s rotation players, respectively. Still, the next step is becoming sturdier on the ball, especially with Warley, Tyon Grant-Foster and Emmanuel Innocenti no longer in the picture.
Massamba Diop should help clean up mistakes at the rim, but if Fogle raises his defensive level too, Gonzaga’s ceiling rises with him. That’s the real story here: the Zags already know he can score. Now they need him to round out the rest of the package.
In Other News...
Braden Huffs Return Could Change Gonzagas March Ceiling
Mark Fews Hall of Fame honor only adds to the sense that Gonzaga is entering another important stretch, and one of the biggest reasons for optimism is the status of senior forward Braden Huff. Few said Huff is now back in the mix after the knee injury that cut his previous season short, and the Zags are already looking at him as a central piece for the 2026-27 team. With Few leading the program into another chapter, Gonzaga is shaping its roster with Huff in mind.
Huffs return matters because Gonzaga has spent the offseason building around what he can bring when he is fully available. His presence changes the conversation about the Bulldogs ceiling, especially if the supporting cast around him comes together the way the staff envisions. Few has also made clear there is no reason to force the issue with Huff, which leaves the next step less about rushing him and more about how much higher he can lift this group once the season arrives. [Read more 🡒]