11 Players Are GONE But Gonzaga Is Still A Top-10 Team, And Nobody's Talking About How Wild That Is
Alright, Zags fans, listen up! I just saw the craziest thing, and if you haven't, you NEED to hear about it. Mark Few and the boys over in Spokane are staring down a new-look Pac-12 in 2026-27, and get this: after basically gutting their entire roster, 11 players OUT THE DOOR, FOX Sports analyst Casey Jacobsen still dropped them at No. 10 in his updated Top 25. Seriously, No. 10! You'd think losing nearly an entire squad would send them spiraling, but apparently, the Zags are built different.
The Unbelievable Roster Shakeup
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. Eleven players from last year's team? Gone! Five seniors ran out of eligibility, and six transfers bolted. That's a clean slate, a blank canvas for Coach Few, and usually, that screams "rebuilding year." But nope. Casey Jacobsen, the FOX Sports guru, just dropped his updated top 25 on Monday, and there sit our Zags, chilling comfortably at No. 10. Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Duke, Louisville, UConn, Michigan State, St. John's, Arizona... they're all there ahead of us. And guess who's right behind at No. 11? Texas, the team that bounced us from the NCAA Tournament second round last season. Man, that stings, but seeing us still ranked above them after all that change? You love to see it.
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So, how are they pulling this off? Well, even with 11 guys heading for the hills, Few and the staff pulled off some magic, keeping three critical pieces in the fold: sophomores Mario Saint-Supery and Davis Fogle, and redshirt senior Braden Huff. Those are our guys! Add in the new blood, transfers Massamba Diop from Arizona State and Isiah Harwell from Houston, and boom! You've got yourself a formidable projected starting five ready to tear it up in the non-con and straight into Pac-12 play.
But let's be real, it's not all sunshine and roses. The big question mark right now is depth. Outside of those starting five, the Zags don't have a single player with college basketball experience. Zero! Real Madrid's Izan Almansa is expected to be the third big, assuming the NCAA gives him the green light, and then it's a bunch of fresh faces like incoming freshmen Luca Foster and Sam Funches, plus redshirt freshman Parker Jefferson, all battling for those crucial rotation spots. The coaching staff is clearly on the hunt, scouring international and transfer options for backcourt depth. They need to find those missing pieces, because if they do, we're talking about a genuine national championship-caliber roster. You hear that? Championship!
This upcoming season is already looking like a gauntlet. The Zags are set to face off against No. 4 Duke on February 20th in Detroit, and then a showdown with No. 7 Michigan State on December 19th in Palm Springs. Two top-10 matchups that will tell us exactly where this new-look squad stands. We were supposed to get Kentucky too, but that series got cancelled. Doesn't matter, though. If Few can shore up that bench, these Zags are coming for blood. Get ready, Emerald City, it's gonna be a wild ride!
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.