SPOKANE, Wash. — After a busy May that saw the Gonzaga Bulldogs and head coach Mark Few land two transfer players and one high school recruit, the Zags have moved up in ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early” Top 25 rankings.

With the additions of Arizona State’s Adam Miller, Grand Canyon’s Tyon Grant-Foster through the transfer portal, and the signing of Parker Jefferson, Gonzaga climbed from No. 22 to No. 19 in Jeff Borzello’s latest college basketball rankings.

Though the Bulldogs lost key players this offseason — including Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle and Ben Gregg — GU retained two of the nation’s top big men in Graham Ike and Braden Huff. Along with the big transfer portal additions, Gonzaga also has several skilled players who redshirted last year or sat out with injuries, including Steele Venters, Colgate transfer Braeden Smith and Virginia transfer Jalen Warley.

Venters sat out the past two seasons with knee injuries. Smith redshirted last year after averaging 12.5 points per game at Colgate in 2023–24, while Warley also redshirted after putting up 7.5 points per game at Florida State in 2023–24.

There’s still a long offseason ahead, and plenty could change between now and late October, but here’s a look at Gonzaga’s projected starting lineup for the 2025–26 season:

Projected Starting Lineup
G — Braeden Smith (redshirted 2024–25)
G — Adam Miller (transfer from Arizona State)
G — Tyon Grant-Foster (transfer from Grand Canyon)
F — Braden Huff (11.0 PPG in 2024–25)
F — Graham Ike (17.3 PPG in 2024–25)

Smith, a Seattle native, played his sophomore season and second year with the Colgate Raiders in 2023–24. That year, he averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 39.3% from the field, 31.1% from 3-point range and 78.6% from the free-throw line.

Miller, a four-year veteran who will be playing for his fourth school at GU, spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Illinois and LSU before transferring to Arizona State for the past two years. He has appeared in 117 college games, starting 113 of them. A career 10.3-point-per-game scorer, Miller averaged 9.8 points last season while shooting a career-best 42.9% from 3-point range — at least eight percentage points better than any previous year.

Grant-Foster, a 25-year-old guard/wing, spent the past two seasons at Grand Canyon, where he led both the Lopes and the Western Athletic Conference with 20.1 points per game in 2023–24. That season, he earned WAC Player of the Year and WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after guiding GCU to a conference tournament title and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win — a historic March Madness victory against Saint Mary’s at Spokane Arena.

This past season, Grant-Foster’s numbers dipped. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 39.9% from the field and 23.2% from 3-point range in 26 games. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior will need a waiver from the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility.

This projected lineup is far from official, and other players could earn starting roles, including Venters, Warley and Emmanuel Innocenti. Coach Few’s starting five likely won’t be known until the season opener.