Gonzaga ranges from 18 to 25 in most way-too-early college basketball polls

It takes a little longer scrolling than usual, but Gonzaga can be found in the bottom portion of nearly every way-too-early top 25 poll for the 2025-26 college basketball season.

The Zags appeared in nine of 10 polls – high of No. 18, low of No. 25 and consensus No. 23 – released within 24 hours of Florida’s 65-63 win over Houston in Monday’s national championship.

The Zags are ranked No. 20 by ESPN, USA Today and Fox Sports, and On3.com had Gonzaga at No. 25. GU didn’t make the Athletic’s top 25.

Houston is No. 1 by eight of the 10 outlets. The Athletic went with Purdue at the top and Sporting News had Duke.

The consensus top 10: Houston, Duke, Purdue, UConn, Louisville, Florida, St. John’s, Michigan, Alabama and BYU. Kentucky is No. 11, followed by Kansas, Texas Tech, Arkansas, UCLA, Auburn, Michigan State, Iowa State, Arizona, Tennessee, Creighton, Wisconsin, GU, North Carolina and Oregon.

Compiling top 25 rankings has become increasingly more difficult with the transfer portal, NIL and NBA draft early entrants that might or might not return to the college game. The deadline to declare is April 26 and the withdrawal deadline is June 15.

Gonzaga, which was in the top 10 in most way-too-early polls last April and No. 6 in the AP preseason rankings, loses at least four seniors – Ryan Nembhard, Ben Gregg, Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman. Graham Ike has an extra year of eligibility but hasn’t announced his intentions.

Gonzaga has lost three players in the portal: Michael Ajayi (transferring to Butler), Dusty Stromer (Grand Canyon) and Jun Seok Yeo. Virginia transfer Jalen Warley joined the Zags months ago but won’t play until next season. Colgate transfer Braeden Smith, who sat out last season, is the likely replacement for Nembhard at point guard.

GU hasn’t added a transfer since the portal opened March 24, but the Zags have been in contact with numerous players. Delaware transfer Izaiah Pasha is expected to visit Gonzaga later this month. Pasha is also considering Texas Tech and Penn State.

“It’s going to be a new look for Gonzaga, with starters Nembhard, Hickman, Battle and Gregg all out of eligibility,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote. “But Ike can return as the team’s anchor down low, and Braden Huff should be back to play alongside him in the frontcourt.

“The perimeter has plenty of questions. Smith and Warley both sat out this past season after transferring, and Steele Venters hasn’t played since 2023 due to injury.”

The Zags’ schedule next year includes Kentucky, UCLA, Arizona State and Baylor. Kentucky and UCLA figure to be in the top 15 when the AP preseason poll is released. Baylor was between Nos. 21 and 24 in four way-too-early top 25s.

Gonzaga is also scheduled to play in the Players Era Festival, an NIL tournament in Las Vegas. The event includes Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Creighton, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. Joseph’s, St. John’s, Syracuse, Tennessee and UNLV.

The Zags will also face Saint Mary’s at least twice in their last season in the West Coast Conference before joining the revamped Pac-12. The Gaels are No. 25 in Sporting News’ rankings.

Duke is favored to win the national championship at 10/1, followed by Houston (12/1), Purdue and Louisville (14/1) and BYU (16/1), according to BetOnline.ag.

Gonzaga is 33/1, tied for 16th with Arizona, Tennessee and UCLA. Saint Mary’s is 200/1 and San Francisco and Santa Clara are 500/1.