This marks the 25th straight season that Gonzaga has been ranked in the preseason Associated Press Poll. The Zags join Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina as the only programs to appear in each of the last 16 preseason AP Polls.
No. 21 Gonzaga (387 votes) has matchups with No. 23 Creighton (158 votes), No. 15 Alabama (620 votes), No. 12 UCLA (741 votes), and No. 9 Kentucky (1,056 votes). No. 27 Oregon received 98 votes, No. 42 Saint Mary’s received two votes. The Zags will most likely play another ranked adversary in the Las Vegas Players Era Festival in November.
Here is how the Power Five conferences (plus the West Coast Conference) stack out in the 2025-26 preseason AP Poll:
Big Ten Conference – six programs
Big 12 Conference – six programs
Southeastern Conference – six programs
Big East Conference – three programs
Atlantic Coast Conference – three programs
West Coast Conference – one program
As for the KenPom rankings, Gonzaga starts out the 2025-26 season ranked No. 8 (the same spot they ended at for the 2024-25 season). The Zags have the No. 6-best offensive ranking at 124.7, the No. 29-best defensive rating at 96.7.
Saint Mary’s is ranked No. 55 overall, and San Francisco is at No. 84 (per KenPom).
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
