Mid-major men’s basketball preseason rankings: How Gonzaga, San Diego State look after offseason moves

What even is a mid-major in Division I college basketball in 2025?

It’s not a straightforward answer. With conference realignment scrambling so much of what we know about the college hoops landscape — which has included numerous longtime mid-majors moving into power conferences over the last few years — it’s hard to keep up.

It’s strange, for example, to consider Gonzaga a mid-major, given that they’ve made two national championship appearances in the last nine years and play a tougher nonconference schedule than numerous high-major programs. But because they’re still in the WCC, that’s how the world sees them. (That changes next year when the Zags join the re-vamped Pac-12 with Oregon State, Washington State and Boise State, among others, and morphs into a conference more on par with the Big East).

In the transfer portal era, where athletes are almost always immediately eligible to play at their new school, mid-majors are often ravaged by high-major programs with more resources. The schools below lost their share of important pieces from last year’s rosters, but given their track record of success, they’ll make any high-major team who draws them in the NCAA Tournament nervous, and rightfully so.

One quick note: It’s not uncommon for some of the best mid-majors to meet in conference games — Boise State and San Diego State both play in the Mountain West, for example, and Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga boast one of the nation’s best basketball rivalries in the WCC. But mark Dec. 14 on your calendars right now. That’s when Saint Mary’s and Boise State meet in Idaho Falls in what should be one of the best games of the season — mid-major or otherwise.

Here is a breakdown of the top five mid-major teams according to Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings.

1. Gonzaga

Last season: 26-9 (NCAA Tournament second round)

Coach: Mark Few  (27th season)

Top bench players: Mario Saint-Supery (international), Steele Venters (redshirt, Eastern Washington), Emmanuel Innocenti (1.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg), Ismaila Diagne (3.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg) Jalen Warley (redshirt), Davis Fogle (freshman, No. 39)

Biggest losses: Khalif Battle (13.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Ryan Nembhard (10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 9.8 apg), Nolan Hickman (10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg)

Why they’re here: The biggest question in Spokane right now is, will Tyon Grant-Foster be eligible? As of Sept. 29 Grant-Foster is still waiting for the NCAA to grant his waiver request, and the Zags’ ceiling this season could hinge on if he plays or not. Grant-Foster’s case is unconventional, to say the least: He’s 25, played a year of junior college and is on his fourth Division I school after stops at Kansas, DePaul and GCU, where he was the 2024 WAC player of the year. He’s missed two full seasons because of a heart condition, but is healthy now.

Gonzaga, the No. 14 team in CJ Moore’s Top 25 rankings, has plenty of other players to be excited about, though, including freshman Davis Fogle, finally healthy former Big Sky MVP Steele Venters and Adam Miller, who connected on 42.9 percent of his 3-point attempts at ASU. This is Gonzaga, so of course they’ve got an international player to keep an eye on: Mario Saint-Supery has been one of the top players in Spain’s youth national program for years, and was named MVP of the 2022 FIBA U16 European Championship. Gonzaga has a long history of signing international gems. But how much will Saint-Supery play in Mark Few’s 27th season in Spokane?

2. San Diego State

Last season: 21-10 (NCAA Tournament first round)

Coach: Brian Dutcher (ninth season)

Top bench players: Reese Dixon-Waters (redshirt), Pharaoh Compton (5.4 PPG, 2.4 rpg), Davis Latrell (11.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg at San Jose State), Tag Degourville (5.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg),

Biggest losses: Nick Boyd (13.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.9 apg), Jared Coleman Jones (7.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

Why they’re here: The Aztecs return three starters, including Magoon Gwath, the 2025 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Who will be the second-best player on this roster?

There’s a lot of hype around Reese Dixon-Waters, the former Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year when he came off the bench at USC in 2022-23. After a solid junior season in 2023-24 in which he averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds, Dixon-Waters redshirted last season. He should push for a starting spot.

Pharaoh Compton underwhelmed as a freshman last year when you consider the accolades he had coming out of high school as the top-ranked player in Nevada and SDSU’s first top-100 signee in almost 20 years. Look for a big jump from him. Transfer-wise, Sean Newman Jr. was an assist machine in Conference USA with an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio (2.66). How quickly does that translate to a new league with new teammates?

3. Boise State

Last season: 26-11

Coach: Leon Rice (16th season)

Top bench players: Drew Fielder (7.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg at Georgetown), Dominic Parolin (redshirt, Lehigh), Ethan Lathan (redshirt)

Biggest losses: Tyson Degenhart (18.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Alvaro Cardenas (11.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 6.9 apg)

Why they’re here: The Broncos are in need of a new point guard after graduating Alvaro Cardenas, which is exactly why they went and got Dylan Andrews, a former top-50 recruit, out of the portal. He’s not the only newbie to keep an eye on: Forward Dominic Parolin redshirted last season but was a solid player at Lehigh, averaging 11.5 points per game in 2023-24. What can he do in the nation’s best mid-major conference? Drew Fielder, who came from Georgetown, should also contribute early.

Boise State will have its share of youth, with five freshmen on the roster. The most intriguing player from that bunch is Ethan Lathan, the No. 34 center prospect in the 2024 class who redshirted last year and will be expected to contribute, in some capacity, almost immediately. It’s hard to predict what will happen with so much inexperience to start the season, but it helps to have such an experienced coach, with Leon Rice entering his 16th season leading the Broncos.

4. VCU

Last season: 28-7

Coach: Phil Martelli Jr.(first season)

Top bench players: Tyrell Ward (redshirt, LSU), Michael Belle (2.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg), Ahmad Nowell (1.5 ppg, 1.1 apg at UConn)

Biggest losses: Max Shulga (15.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.0 apg), Joe Bamisile (15.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

Why they’re here: Losing all five starters is never fun, but VCU should be solid again this season with a new coach, experienced veterans finally getting serious minutes and a few key transfers.

Tyrell Ward, a former top-40 recruit who played two seasons at LSU, could explode. He was an important player for the Tigers for two seasons, making 18 starts in 54 total games. He redshirted last season, but is likely to push for a starting spot. Barry Evans is also poised for a big year after a breakout 2024-25 season at Bryant, where he was named the American East newcomer of the year. Evans was one of two players to follow first-year coach Phil Martelli Jr. from Bryant to VCU; Keyshawn Mitchell, who started at Bryant last year, was the other.

And don’t be fooled by Ahmad Nowell’s underwhelming stats from UConn. The 6-foot point guard was a top 40 recruit in the 2024 class when he committed to UConn over offers from Kansas, Kentucky and Auburn, among others. He struggled with a shoulder injury last season. Now healthy, he has the skillset to be a star in the Atlantic 10.

Max Shulga is one of the key departures for the Rams after he was drafted in the second round this past NBA Draft. (Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images)

5. Saint Mary’s

Last season: 29-6

Coach: Randy Bennett (25th season)

Top bench players: Jazz Gardner (4.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg at Pacific)

Biggest losses: G Augustas Marciulionis (14.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.9 apg), Jordan Ross (8.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg), Mitchell Saxen (10.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg), Luke Barrett (9.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

Why they’re here: The Gaels lost a lot in the offseason, mostly to graduation but also, in a perfect example of how mid-majors have become farm system teams to a degree, to the transfer portal, as Jordan Ross left for Georgia. As a result, Saint Mary’s returns just one starter from 2024-25, though two guys who were solid off the bench, Mikey Lewis and Harry Wessels, are also back; a significant uptick in production from them will be necessary.

Freshman Mantas Juzenas is the newest Lithuanian to join the Gaels, and they’ve got a history of developing top players from that country. The two intra-conference transfers Saint Mary’s signed are also worth keeping an eye on. Bottom line: This roster might look mostly new, but in Randy Bennett we trust. There’s a reason SMC has been one of the top mid-major programs for more than a decade.

Also considered ranking: Utah State, Memphis, South Florida