SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga men's basketball was ranked No. 21 in the preseason Associated Press poll, released Monday. The Bulldogs received 387 points in the preseason rankings.
This marks the 25th straight season GU has been ranked in the AP Poll and the 16th consecutive year the Zags have appeared in the preseason poll. Gonzaga joins Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina as the only programs to appear in each of the last 16 preseason AP Polls.
The Bulldogs have appeared in 161 of the last 175 AP Polls (92 percent) since the start of the 2016 season, ranking only behind Kansas's 169 appearances. Gonzaga has averaged a No. 7.1 ranking in the AP Polls since 2017, second only to Kansas (6.3).
Purdue topped the preseason poll for the first time in program history, earning 35 of the 61 first-place votes. Houston received 16 first-place votes and was ranked second. Defending national champion Florida was No. 3 with eight first-place votes, while UConn (two first-place votes) and St. John's rounded out the top five.
St. John's and Houston are potential opponents for Gonzaga on the final day of the Players Era Championship. The Bulldogs open the event against No. 15 Alabama on Nov. 24. The Zags host No. 23 Creighton on Nov. 11. No. 9 Kentucky and GU meet in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 5, before Gonzaga faces No. 12 UCLA in the Seattle Hoops Showdown on Dec. 13.
The Bulldogs close their nonconference schedule in the Northwest Elite Showdown versus Oregon in Portland on Dec. 21. The Ducks are two spots outside the Top 25, receiving 98 votes. Gonzaga welcomes Oklahoma to Spokane on Nov. 8; the Sooners received one vote in the poll. West Coast Conference foe Saint Mary's (Jan. 31 and Feb. 28) received two votes in the preseason rankings.
The 18-team Players Era Championship features 13 programs ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AP Poll: No. 2 Houston, No. 5 St. John's, No. 7 Michigan, No. 15 Alabama, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 19 Kansas, No. 20 Auburn, No. 21 Gonzaga, No. 23 Creighton, Oregon (98 votes), San Diego State (74 votes), and Baylor (one vote).
Gonzaga hosts Northwest (Wash.) in an exhibition game on Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on SWX, with live radio and stats available at GoZags.com.
2025-26 Preseason Associated Press Top 25 Rankings
| RANKING |
TEAM |
POINTS |
PREVIOUS |
| 1 |
Purdue (35) |
1485 |
14 |
| 2 |
Houston (16) |
1459 |
2 |
| 3 |
Florida (8) |
1382 |
1 |
| 4 |
UConn (2) |
1299 |
NR |
| 5 |
St. John's |
1203 |
11 |
| 6 |
Duke |
1123 |
3 |
| 7 |
Michigan |
1084 |
10 |
| 8 |
BYU |
1078 |
13 |
| 9 |
Kentucky |
1056 |
12 |
| 10 |
Texas Tech |
1015 |
8 |
| 11 |
Louisville |
966 |
21 |
| 12 |
UCLA |
741 |
NR |
| 13 |
Arizona |
715 |
15 |
| 14 |
Arkansas |
695 |
20 |
| 15 |
Alabama |
620 |
6 |
| 16 |
Iowa State |
616 |
17 |
| 17 |
Illinois |
567 |
NR |
| 18 |
Tennessee |
462 |
5 |
| 19 |
Kansas |
453 |
NR |
| 20 |
Auburn |
424 |
4 |
| 21 |
Gonzaga |
387 |
23 |
| 22 |
Michigan State |
188 |
7 |
| 23 |
Creighton |
158 |
NR |
| 24 |
Wisconsin |
136 |
16 |
| 25 |
North Carolina |
104 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: NC State 101,
Oregon 98, San Diego St. 74, Texas 35, Ohio St. 23, Kansas St 13, Mississippi 11, Southern Cal 10, Missouri 8, Washington 7, Vanderbilt 7, Iowa 6, Boise St. 4, Mississippi St. 3, VCU 2, Virginia 2,
Saint Mary's 2, Indiana 1,
Oklahoma 1, Baylor 1.
