Gonzaga earns top seed in Joe Lunardi's way too early Bracketology projection for 2026-27

The ink has barely run dry on the 2025-26 college basketball season, but that won't stop the diehards from projecting how the NCAA Tournament field might look in March of 2027.

The window to enter the NCAA transfer portal closed on Tuesday, April 21, and while there are still thousands of unsigned players available, it's a good time to take an early - very early - look at how programs are shaping up across the country.

Joe Lunardi, ESPN's resident bracketologist, released his way too early NCAA Tournament field on Wednesday, forecasting the entire field of 68 based on current rosters, with expected NBA departures considered as well.

The end result for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs is quite promising, as Lunardi slotted them in as a No. 2 seed in the midwest region, meaning they would open up the Big Dance with a massive homecourt advantage, playing at the Spokane Arena for their first two games.

Lunardi has Gonzaga lined up against projected No. 15 seed Merrimack. The Warriors went 23-11 last year but lost in the MAAC Tournament championship to Siena, who nearly took down No. 1 Duke in the first round.

The projected No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup in Spokane includes the Indiana Hoosiers and LSU Tigers, respectively. Indiana is widely considered one of the biggest winners so far out of the transfer portal, landing four transfers ranked inside the top 275 at EvanMiya: No. 8 Aiden Sherrell from Alabama, No. 93 Markus Burton from Notre Dame, No. 120 Samet Yigitoglu from SMU, and No. 274 Bryce Lindsay from Villanova. The Hoosiers also bring in shooting guard Jaeden Mustaf from Georgia Tech and Duke guard and former Top 50 prosect Darren Harris as well.

Meanwhile, LSU is now coached (again) by Will Wade, who was with the Tigers before getting fired for recruiting violations. He ended up at McNeese State, where he led the Cowboys to multiple NCAA Tournament berths - including a blowout loss to No. 5 Gonzaga in 2024 - before moving to NC State last year and leaving to head back to LSU.

The Tigers have been rather quiet in the portal, landing star forward Mo Dioubate from Kentucky but otherwise watching eight players transfer out, including star guard Dedan Thomas and center Michael Nwoko, who landed at Houston and Xavier, respectively.

Gonzaga's outlook

Gonzaga has just nine of their 15 roster spots filled at the moment, making them one of many teams that is difficult to project heading into 2026-27. The Zags returned three key players in Braden Huff, Mario Saint-Supery, and Davis Fogle, while adding Houston transfer Isiah Harwell and a trio of freshmen in German guard Jack Kayil, 4-star wing Luca Foster, and 4-star center Sam Funches.

The team is also hot on the trail of Arizona State transfer center Massamba Diop, which would instantly boost their upside for next year by providing much needed rim protection alongside Huff.

Adding a player like Diop along with some outside shooting - potentially in the form of targets Jeremiah Johnson, Gavin Sykes, or Ethan Copeland - would go a long, long way toward selling this team as a top two seed in the 2027 NCAA Tournament.

Pac-12 Panic?

Lunardi is quite high on Gonzaga here in the early part of the offseason, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the new look Pac-12. None of the other Pac-12 schools are projected in Lunardi's bracket, with Utah State listed among the next four out while San Diego State, Boise State, and the rest are not included at all.

There is plenty of time for those projections to change, but for now the confidence level in Gonzaga's new league is rather low.

Santa Clara is projected to represent the WCC in the league's first year without Gonzaga in over 40 years, with the Broncos projected to earn a No. 11 seed. Notably Saint Mary's - who lost head coach Randy Bennett to Arizona State - is not in Lunardi's field, while the Sun Devils are on the outside looking in as well.

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