Gonzaga Ranked No. 8 Nationally With Half a Roster and Five Spots Still Open

Here's the wild part: Gonzaga is being projected as a top 10 team in college basketball for 2026-27, and they're doing it with only ten players on the roster right now. Five of those ten have never played a collegiate game. The transfer portal is still wide open, and the Bulldogs have five more spots to fill before the season tips off.

Bart Torvik, who runs the barttorvik.com site that actually matters to NCAA Tournament selection committees, just dropped his T-Rank projections for next season. His model has Gonzaga at No. 8 in the country, sandwiched behind Duke, Michigan, Arizona, Houston, Florida, Arkansas, and Michigan State. Louisville and UConn round out the top ten. Not bad for a team that's basically still under construction.

Young, Hungry, and Ranked No. 8 Anyway

The numbers back it up. Gonzaga grades out at No. 13 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency. They're one of only eight teams in the entire top 15 that crack both categories. That's elite-level stuff on both ends of the floor.

But here's what makes this projection actually shocking: Gonzaga has the second fewest returning minutes of any top 10 team at 30.5%. Only Louisville (11.5%) has lost more. Four of the five players the Zags lost to eligibility this offseason had been in college four or more years. Right now, Braden Huff is the only guy on the roster who's played in more than 35 total college games.

Building From Scratch With Impact Talent

The roster is four sophomores and five players who've never touched a college court. The sophomores are Davis Fogle, Mario Saint-Supery, Houston transfer Isiah Harwell, and Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop. The newcomers are true freshmen Jack Kayil, Luca Foster, and Sam Funches, plus redshirt freshmen Parker Jefferson and Alonzo Metz.

Five more roster spots are coming, which should only add experience. Still, Gonzaga is going to be very young in 2026-27. That's the bet Torvik is making: that the talent is good enough to overcome the inexperience.

In the new Pac-12, Gonzaga stands alone at the top. San Diego State (61), Colorado State (75), Utah State (79), and Oregon State (92) are the only other conference teams cracking the top 100 nationally. Boise State (104), Washington State (134), Texas State (137), and Fresno State (151) round out the rest.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.