Gonzaga’s frontcourt is drawing national attention again, and this time the buzz starts with Braden Huff and Massamba Diop.
Both players landed on preseason watch lists for major position awards, with Huff up for the Karl Malone Award and Diop on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award list. They join Davis Fogle, who was also nominated for the Julius Erving Award as the top small forward in the country.
For Gonzaga, that kind of recognition has become part of the program’s identity. Mark Few’s teams have leaned on dominant interior play for years, dating back more than two decades to Casey Calvary, Ronny Turiaf, and JP Batista.
That run has continued through names like Kelly Olynyk, Domantas Sabonis, Brandon Clarke, Chet Holmgren, Drew Timme, and Graham Ike. In 2026-27, the Bulldogs appear to have another imposing pair ready to carry that tradition forward.
Huff is back for a fifth year after a strong 2025-26 season ended in January because of a knee injury. In 18 games, he put up 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds, numbers that point to a major senior season if he can stay healthy in Gonzaga’s paint-heavy offense.
He’s now in position to try to become the second Zag ever to win the Karl Malone Award, following Drew Timme’s win in 2021. Huff’s path won’t be easy, though. The field includes Arkansas forward Miika Muurinen, preseason All-American David Mirkovic at Illinois, former All-American JT Toppin at Texas Tech, and fifth-year seniors Malik Reneau of Miami and Jaxon Kohler of BYU, among others.
Diop’s spot on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar list adds another layer to Gonzaga’s preseason profile. After an excellent freshman season at Arizona State, the 7-foot-1 big man arrives in Spokane with the tools that make him hard to ignore: athleticism and shot-blocking. His offense, though, has been uneven through Gonzaga’s first two exhibition games.
He’ll have plenty of competition for the award, including Pat Ngongba of Duke, Oswin Erhunmwunse of Creighton, and Daniel Jacobsen of Purdue. That matters for Gonzaga right away, because the Bulldogs open the season against Purdue on Monday.
Other names on the center watch list include Matas Vokietaitis of Texas, Malachi Moreno of Kentucky, Mo Krivas of Arizona, Rueben Chinyelu of Florida, and former Saint Mary’s big man Andrew McKeever, now at Iowa.
Gonzaga also has three of five starters represented on the preseason top-20 positional lists, though there’s a case that Xaivian Lee, after a solid season at Florida last year, should have been among the top 20 nominees for the Bob Cousy Award. Isiah Harwell’s rough freshman year at Houston kept him off the Jerry West Award list, but he still looks ready for a breakout sophomore season that could put him into the conversation by midseason.
Gonzaga and Purdue tip at 4:30 PM PT on Monday, Nov. 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The game will air on TNT and stream on HBO MAX.
In Other News...
Gonzaga Is Still Waiting On A Key Addition Before Purdue
Gonzaga is still waiting on a late roster addition to clear the final hurdle before its matchup with Purdue, and the latest legal setback has only made the path murkier. A Texas judge denied the temporary restraining order that forward Chauncey Wiggins and other players were seeking in their push to gain eligibility through lawsuits filed in Texas, leaving his status unchanged for the Bulldogs as the game approaches.
Wiggins remains ineligible for Gonzaga at the moment and is expected to miss Mondays game against Purdue. The door is not necessarily closed on his season, though, as he could still look to continue the fight in another jurisdiction if he wants another shot at getting cleared. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga's Frontcourt Picture Just Got More Interesting Before Purdue
Gonzagas exhibition win over Lewis-Clark State offered a useful early look at how the frontcourt might shake out as Purdue approaches, and two names stood out in particular. Massamba Diop and Parker Jefferson both found ways to make an impact in the 91-59 rout, giving Mark Few a little more to sort through as the rotation takes shape.
Diop, who had to navigate early foul trouble, looked more comfortable as the game went on and gave the Bulldogs a glimpse of his upside. Jefferson also made his case with a strong all-around showing, finishing as one of the more productive bigs on the floor and reinforcing why his role in the frontcourt picture could matter once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga Women Suddenly Have Expectations This Program Has To Answer
Gonzaga womens basketball is carrying a little more offseason buzz than usual, and a big part of it starts with the coach. Lisa Fortier has landed on the preseason watchlist for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Award, a nod that puts her among the coaches being tracked as the best in the mid-major game and adds another layer of expectation around a program that already knows how to win.
The roster is drawing attention, too, with Lauren Whittaker earning preseason watchlist mention on the national awards circuit and junior guard Allie Turner coming off an All-West Coast Conference first-team season plus tournament honors. Turner and Whittaker are set to share the floor again, giving Gonzaga a foundation that looks capable of meeting the spotlight, even as the exact ceiling for this group still has to play out once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]