Mark Few’s Gonzaga roster has spent the offseason living in uncertainty, but the national outlook still looks bright.
That’s the odd twist of this fall in Spokane: even with surprise departures and eligibility questions hanging around into mid-September, the Bulldogs are still being viewed as one of the country’s elite teams. Kraziness in the Kennel is now less than three weeks away, and the Zags have somehow assembled a group that projects near the top no matter how the eligibility situation shakes out.
Evan Miyakawa’s preseason rankings for the 2026-27 season placed Gonzaga at No. 5 nationally, trailing only Florida, Duke, Illinois and Arizona. The ranking includes the Bulldogs’ trio of fifth-year seniors - guards Xaivian Lee and Javon Bennett and forward Chauncey Wiggins - but EvanMiya also broke out an adjusted version for a scenario in which the players in eligibility limbo are unavailable.
Even then, Gonzaga stayed inside the top 10 at No. 9.
The biggest reason the Zags can still carry that kind of projection is the frontcourt. Braden Huff is back after a huge 2025-26 season cut short by a knee injury, and EvanMiya has him ranked as a top-25 player in the country. Before going down, Huff averaged 17.8 points while shooting 66.2% from the field in 18 games.
Few said Huff has been moving around great this summer, and the expectation is that he’ll be in the All-American conversation in 2026-27. He’ll have a major partner up front in Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop, who looks like an ideal fit because of his rim protection, finishing touch and a developing midrange and three-point game.
Diop gives Gonzaga something it hasn’t had since Chet Holmgren left in 2022: a true anchor at the rim. He should lighten Huff’s load on defense while also bringing physical screens and easy points around the basket.
The one lingering issue in the frontcourt is the status of 21-year-old Real Madrid center Izan Almansa. If he can’t play, Gonzaga’s depth becomes a little shaky, though there is still upside in redshirt freshman Parker Jefferson and incoming 4-star center Sam Funches.
The backcourt, meanwhile, remains tied to the same eligibility questions that have shadowed the offseason. Lee and Wiggins are projected starters if they are cleared, while Bennett could slide into a sixth-man role as a scoring burst off the bench. Gonzaga is hardly alone in banking on fifth-year seniors to become eligible this season, but that uncertainty has kept the roster picture from fully settling.
Even so, EvanMiya still has the Bulldogs in the top 10 without those players, which says plenty about the respect being given to Huff, Diop and sophomore wing Davis Fogle. Fogle is already one of the more popular breakout picks in college basketball, and sophomore Isiah Harwell and 4-star freshman wing Luca Foster add more talent to the mix.
That’s why Gonzaga’s ceiling still looks so high, even with so many moving pieces. Fans would obviously love to see the full group together, but the program already has enough firepower to matter nationally.
The first chance to see the Bulldogs in front of fans comes Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2:00 PM for Kraziness in the Kennel.
In Other News...
Gonzagas International Recruiting Edge Could Be Threatened By New Bill
Gonzaga has built a significant part of its basketball identity around finding and developing international talent, turning overseas recruiting into one of the programs clearest advantages. But that pipeline could eventually face a new layer of scrutiny after senators Tim Walberg and Jon Husted introduced the TEAM USA Act, legislation aimed at college sports rosters across the country.
The proposal would cap programs at no more than 20% internationally born student-athletes, while also requiring schools to report their international participation to the Department of Education each year. Even if the bill advances, it would not take effect until at least the 2029-30 season, and passage remains uncertain, leaving Gonzaga and other programs with international-heavy recruiting models waiting to see how serious this push really becomes. [Read more 🡒]